Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies podcast

Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies

A weekly homily podcast from Bishop Robert Barron, produced by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

A weekly homily podcast from Bishop Robert Barron, produced by Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

 

#999

Faith Without Works Is Dead

Friends, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread”—and this week, I am going to go once more into the issue of faith and works, which has been dividing Western Christianity since the Reformation. Our second reading from the Letter of James is a key text on this issue, and its metaphor of healing—together with Paul’s forensic metaphor—orient us to the Catholic view of justification. ... Read more

Yesterday

14 MINS

14:52

Yesterday


#998

Be Opened!

Friends, our Gospel for today is the evocative scene of Jesus healing a man who cannot hear and cannot speak. This man is beautifully symbolic of many in our culture today: we don’t listen to God, and therefore we can’t speak clearly about God. To us, as to him, Jesus says, “Ephphatha!”—be opened to the Word of God! ... Read more

03 Sep 2024

14 MINS

14:49

03 Sep 2024


#997

The Goodness—and Dangers—of the Law

Friends, as Americans, we have a very ambiguous relationship to law. On the one hand, we are a nation of independently minded people; we don’t like the law imposing itself on us. At the same time—let’s face it—we are a hyper-litigious society. We see the same ambiguity about law—both its beauty and its shadow side—in our three readings today. ... Read more

27 Aug 2024

14 MINS

14:47

27 Aug 2024


#996

Do You Accept This Teaching?

Friends, we come now to the close of this great discourse of Jesus in the sixth chapter of John, where we see the aftereffects of his teaching on the Real Presence. The Eucharist is a standing or falling point of Christianity, and the question Jesus poses to the Twelve is posed to every one of us today: Do you also want to leave over this teaching? Do you reject it, or do you accept it?  ... Read more

20 Aug 2024

14 MINS

14:52

20 Aug 2024


#995

Really, Truly, and Substantially Present

Friends, we continue reading from the sixth chapter of John, this pivotal section of the New Testament where John lays out his Eucharistic theology. And we come today to the rhetorical high point of this discourse, where things really come to a head. It is the ground of the doctrine of the Real Presence: Jesus is not simply symbolically present in the Eucharist; he’s really, truly, and substantially present under the signs of bread and wine. ... Read more

13 Aug 2024

14 MINS

14:42

13 Aug 2024


#994

Strength for the Journey

Friends, we’re continuing our reading of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, which is all about the Eucharist. And here’s my take on our reading for today: A long trip by car or plane can be uncomfortable, even overwhelming. But we’re heading somewhere else; we’re on a journey. And on a long journey, you have to find sustenance to keep going. ... Read more

06 Aug 2024

14 MINS

14:14

06 Aug 2024


#993

Everything in This World Passes Away

Friends, in the midst of our country’s great Eucharistic Revival, we continue our reading of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. And this week, I want to reflect on a line that names something so spiritually basic: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” ... Read more

30 Jul 2024

14 MINS

14:27

30 Jul 2024


#992

Where Heaven and Earth Meet

Friends, this Sunday we begin five weeks of Gospel readings from the sixth chapter of John, which is all about the Eucharist. Jesus will get into a lengthy discourse about the Eucharist, but it commences narratively with the familiar story of the multiplication of the loaves, which is an iconic presentation of the Mass. ... Read more

24 Jul 2024

14 MINS

14:43

24 Jul 2024


#991

The Shepherd Has Arrived

Friends the readings for this Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time are interwoven with each other in a very interesting way. I want to start with the first reading from Jeremiah, then look at the Gospel from Mark, and then circle back to the second reading from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, which I think sheds the most light on the thematics here—namely, God’s desire to shepherd his people, and the arrival of the shepherd in Christ. ... Read more

16 Jul 2024

14 MINS

14:42

16 Jul 2024


#990

The Earliest Moments of the Church

Friends, on this Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, our Gospel from the sixth chapter of Mark is Jesus sending the Twelve out on mission. These are the very earliest moments of the Church—in a way, the “pre-Church”—so it’s important for us to pay attention to what the Lord tells them.  ... Read more

09 Jul 2024

15 MINS

15:47

09 Jul 2024


#989

A Thorn in the Flesh

Friends, on this Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time, our second reading is from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. The focus of the reading is “a thorn in the flesh” that was given to Paul “to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.” What was it? We don’t know, but whatever it was, it wasn’t trivial. We all have something like this—some physical, psychological, or spiritual suffering that’s chronic and deeply troubling. Yet this struggle with the thorn in the flesh is very often what brings us back to God. ... Read more

03 Jul 2024

14 MINS

14:43

03 Jul 2024


#988

Reach Out in Faith

Friends, there’s something Hemingway-esque about Mark’s Gospel—something very direct and uncomplicated. But in another sense, he shows great literary sophistication, and you see it especially in this famous passage for today: the story of the daughter of Jairus, which is interrupted by the story of the hemorrhaging woman. Of course we read these as marvelous miracle stories of Jesus, but they’re meant to speak of the miracle of grace that still goes on in the life of the Church today. ... Read more

25 Jun 2024

15 MINS

15:28

25 Jun 2024


#987

Peace in the Storm

Friends, our Gospel for today is Mark’s account of the stilling of the sea. We know the basic structure of the story: Jesus is in the boat with the disciples; when a storm kicks up, he’s asleep in the stern. The disciples are panicking and wake Jesus up, and once he’s awakened, he calms the storm. Then he says, “Do you not yet have faith?” What I'm going to do is give you three separate interpretations of this story, all of which have come up out of the ancient Church, and all of which shed light on the spiritual life. ... Read more

17 Jun 2024

14 MINS

14:15

17 Jun 2024


#986

See Things Differently

Friends, people of faith just see things differently. They see what the nonbeliever sees—they read history and watch the news and see what’s going on in the world—but they see more than that. They see the world according to God’s plans and purposes—an ample and even peculiar vision that can often make spiritual people seem a little crazy. All three of our readings this Sunday are touching on this theme. ... Read more

11 Jun 2024

14 MINS

14:23

11 Jun 2024


#985

What Is Sin?

Friends, we return now to Ordinary Time, and this Sunday, the Church gives us such a fundamentally important reading from the third chapter of the book of Genesis, which is about the fall. To return to this story—written, under God’s inspiration, with stunning perceptiveness—is to discover again the nature and basic dynamics of sin. ... Read more

04 Jun 2024

14 MINS

14:55

04 Jun 2024


#984

The Power of Eucharistic Adoration

Friends, we come to the great Feast of Corpus Christi—the Body and Blood of Christ. This year, as the Church in the US is going through a lengthy Eucharistic Revival, it’s good for us once again to turn to this greatest of sacraments. What I want to do today is to talk about a spiritual practice that has become very dear to me in the course of my life—and that is Eucharistic Adoration. ... Read more

28 May 2024

15 MINS

15:10

28 May 2024


#983

Three Ways of Approaching the Trinity

Friends, we come once again to Trinity Sunday. The Church has reflected very deeply on who God is, and this great doctrine of the Trinity has emerged from that speculation. What I want to do is give you, appropriately enough, three ways of approaching this profound mystery. ... Read more

22 May 2024

14 MINS

14:56

22 May 2024


#982

Fruits of the Spirit, Works of the Flesh

Friends, we come to the Feast of Pentecost, the great celebration of the Holy Spirit. I want to focus on our second reading from the fifth chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, which I’ve used for years in spiritual direction. What you find there are what Paul calls “the fruit of the Spirit,” which he contrasts with “the works of the flesh.” Maybe you’re struggling and wondering, “What should I do? What path do I take?” Whatever is giving rise to the fruits of the Spirit in you is the path you want—and whatever is giving rise to the works of the flesh, stay away from. ... Read more

14 May 2024

15 MINS

15:42

14 May 2024


#981

Get to Work!

Friends, today we come to the wonderful Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. Like the disciples in our first reading, we often want to ask the Lord, “When is all of this going to come to fruition? What’s it all about? When is all of this going to make sense?” Reasonable enough questions. And we hear the same answer: It’s not for you to worry about. Rather, get to work! In the Ascension, the Lord moves to a higher dimension and then sends the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, so that we can be empowered to do Christ’s work in the world. ... Read more

07 May 2024

14 MINS

14:17

07 May 2024