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Trademarks of the True Messiah – A Homily for the 22nd Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • September 2, 2017 • In Sunday’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages.I. The Pattern that is Announced – The text says, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.The...

You Have to Serve Before You Sit – A Homily for the 22nd Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • August 27, 2016 • In the Gospel for Sunday’s Mass, the Lord Jesus summons us to a deeper appreciation for what brings true honor, for what makes a person truly great. As you may imagine, what the world considers great and honorable is rather different from what God thinks and sees. Let’s look at this Gospel in three parts and discover its paradoxical vision. I. THE PERSON who HONORS – The Lord is at a banquet and notices...

August 30, 2015   Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Dt 4:1-2, 6-8 Moses said to the people:“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decreeswhich I am teaching you to observe,that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the landwhich the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,which I enjoin upon you,you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it. Observe them carefully,for thus will you give evidenceof your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,who will hear of...

The Love of the Law and the Law of Love – A Homily for the 22nd Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • August 29, 2015 • Today’s readings teach a proper understanding of the Law and its relationship to our hearts. The readings go a long way toward addressing the false dichotomy that many set up between love and law, as though the two were opposed; they are not. For if we love God, we want what He wants and love what He loves. And the Law goes a long way toward describing what God wants and loves....

In today’s Gospel the Lord firmly sets before us the need for the Cross, not as an end in itself, but as the way to glory. Let’s consider the Gospel in three stages.I. The Pattern that is Announced – The text says, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Note here that the Lord does not announce only the Cross, but also the Resurrection. In effect, He announces the pattern of the Christian...