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Picture This! A Homily for the 4th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope • January 28, 2017 • The Gospel passage on the Beatitudes is one of the most familiar. Yet the Beatitudes are difficult to understand because many of them are paradoxical. We do not usually refer to the poor as blessed, but rather the well-off; we do not typically call those who mourn blessed, but rather the joyful.The word “beatitude” itself means “supreme blessedness.”First, it is critical to understand that beatitude is not something we achieve; rather it is something we receive. The Beatitudes declare an...

A "Rule of Life" for Prophets - A Homily for the 4th Sunday of the Year Msgr. Charles Pope January 30, 2016 Prophets are those who speak for God. They Love God and His people; they speak the (often painful) truth of God to His people. They do so not to win an argument, but because of their love and conviction that only the undiluted truth of God can save us in the end.People-pleasing and other forms of human respect cannot supplant reverence for God and His truth. Prophets are willing to endure pain and suffering in order to...

A Portrait of Powerful Preaching – A Homily for the 4th Sunday of the Year By: Msgr. Charles Pope There are four aspects of powerful preaching displayed by Jesus in this passage. Jesus is not just a powerful preacher Himself, but also models what it means to be a powerful and effective preacher.In using the word “preacher” here we ought to be careful not to reduce preaching merely to what takes place in a church. For surely the clergy have churches in which to preach. But all Catholic parents ought also to learn from Jesus here, for they have...