Jacob Neusner, Benedict XVI, and the Vocation of Israel
In his new book, Pope Benedict engages in a fascinating dialogue with the American rabbi Jacob Neusner on the identity and meaning of Jesus. In this sermon, I will tease out the implications of this d...
26 Aug 200715min
Trusting the Darkness
Authentic faith has nothing to do with credulity or intellectual naivte. It has everything to do with placing one's trust in the God whom we cannot, even in principle, know with clarity. It is the wil...
12 Aug 200714min
The Lessons of Qoheleth
Both our first reading and Gospel function as a slap in the face, cold water, a wake-up call. They show how passing, ephemeral, and unreliable are the goods of this world. The idea is to set our heart...
5 Aug 200714min
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Gospel for this week is of the utmost importance, for we hear the Son of God himself teaching us to pray. In this homily, I walk rather carefully through the major petitions of the Our Father, not...
29 Jul 200714min
Paul's Suffering
Paul says in our second reading that he "makes up in his own sufferings what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ." This means that Paul-and all of us-have the enormous privilege of participating in...
22 Jul 200714min
The Natural Law
What the church calls "the natural law" is, as Moses suggests in our first reading, close to us, in fact, written on our hearts. Thomas Aquinas said that this natural, moral law is a reflection of the...
15 Jul 200714min
Gospel Freedom
Our readings for this weekend are completely counter-cultural and counter-intuitive. We put a huge premium on freedom and self-determination in regard to choosing our careers. But this is not the Bibl...
1 Jul 200714min
Great Canticle of Zechariah
Another homily from Fr. Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
24 Jun 200714min
