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Bishop Barron’s Sunday Sermons - Catholic Preaching and Homilies

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Bishop Robert Barron

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

#981

How Not to Think About Heaven

Friends, the parable at the heart of our Gospel today from Matthew 20 is one of those passages in the New Testament that really bothers people. It proves that this parable is not just conveying correct information about God; it is reaching into our souls and doing spiritual work, shining light upon a certain darkness in us that resists him. And in this case, the darkness is a false view of what heaven is all about. ... Read more

19 Sep 2023

14 MINS

14:18

19 Sep 2023

#980

Enter the Adventure

Friends, today in our second reading, St. Paul says, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.” In many ways, the whole Bible, the whole of revelation, is summed up in this statement. Yet everything in our culture militates against this: it’s all about your life, your choice, finding your voice, asserting your prerogatives. When we live in this little world, we remain stuck in a kind of permanent adolescence; when we live for the Lord, we enter into the adventure of being truly human. ... Read more

12 Sep 2023

14 MINS

14:23

12 Sep 2023

#979

Are We Saved by Faith Alone?

Friends, they say that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Well, today I’m going to rush in to some stormy waters by looking at the central issue of the Protestant Reformation: this issue of faith and works, or faith and the law. Martin Luther famously said that what he discovered in Paul is that we are justified or saved by faith alone. But why does the same Paul, in our second reading, say that "one who loves another has fulfilled the law"? The witness of the New Testament is richly complex on this question, and the Catholic position honors that richness and complexity. ... Read more

05 Sep 2023

14 MINS

14:20

05 Sep 2023

#978

A Fire in the Heart

Friends, our first reading for this weekend is from the twentieth chapter of Jeremiah. There is so much spiritual wisdom in Jeremiah, but more than any of the other prophets, we come to know his personality and his life. And in this passage, all the texture of being a prophet is on display: both the terror on every side and a fire burning in the heart—both the opposition of those who refuse to hear the Word and the irresistible desire to announce it. ... Read more

29 Aug 2023

14 MINS

14:13

29 Aug 2023

#977

When God’s Ways Are Confusing

Friends, I do a lot of debating and dialoguing with agnostics and atheists, and very often, when they attack the faith, it's along the lines of: How could an all-knowing and all-good God allow (fill in the blank)? Why does he allow childhood leukemia, or natural catastrophes, or animal suffering? Much of the objection hinges upon the puzzle that is proposed by the existence of God. And we hear a classic answer from within the heart of our tradition today in our second reading from St. Paul to the Romans. ... Read more

22 Aug 2023

14 MINS

14:21

22 Aug 2023

#976

Chosen for the Sake of the World

Friends, our Gospel today from Matthew 15, the famous story of Jesus and the Syrophoenician woman, is one of those Gospels that bothers and unnerves people. How should we read it? It is not that Jesus was grouchy after a tough day of ministry, and this plucky woman speaks truth to power to get what she wants. We are meant to read it in a much more subtle way. This story is driving at an issue that is central to the Bible—namely, the relationship between Israel and the other nations. ... Read more

15 Aug 2023

14 MINS

14:22

15 Aug 2023

#975

In the Storm? Look to Christ

Friends, our Gospel for today is Matthew’s account of the calming of the storm and the walking on the water. This is an event that reached very deeply into the hearts and minds of the first Christians: we can find an account of it in all four Gospels. And the iconic representation in the Gospels shows us the theological and spiritual implications of this real event. It is an image of the Church, the barque of Peter, passing through the stormy times of life. ... Read more

08 Aug 2023

15 MINS

15:25

08 Aug 2023

#974

The True King Has Come

Friends, it’s a wonderful grace that the Feast of the Transfiguration this year falls on Sunday. The first reading the Church gives us from the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel might strike you as curious, but it’s very apropos. Daniel has a vision of four beasts rising from the sea, symbolic of four worldly kingdoms, each one being destroyed in preparation for a final kingdom—the kingdom of God. In Jesus’ time, they read these four kingdoms as Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. If you think this is just wild speculation that had nothing to do with Jesus, think again. ... Read more

01 Aug 2023

14 MINS

14:04

01 Aug 2023

#973

A Wise and Discerning Heart

Friends, our first reading is from the First Book of Kings, and it's one of my favorite passages in the entire Old Testament. If you're going on a retreat, spending a Holy Hour, or just wanting to get in touch with the Lord at the end of the day, it's a wonderful little passage to focus on. The setting is the early days of the reign of King Solomon, and the question it raises is this: If you could ask God for anything, what would you ask for? ... Read more

25 Jul 2023

14 MINS

14:27

25 Jul 2023

#972

The Parasite of Evil

Friends, we are reading during these weeks of summer from the thirteenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, which contains many of the great parables of Jesus. But I want to focus just on one today because it’s so rich both theologically and spiritually: the parable of the wheat and the weeds. Jesus’ story shows us how evil, by its very nature, is a corruption of the good. It is a parasite—and we need requisite care and patience in dealing with it. ... Read more

20 Jul 2023

14 MINS

14:46

20 Jul 2023

#971

God Has Spoken; Are You Listening?

Friends, our first reading and our Gospel today are about the word of God, both from God’s side as he speaks, and then from our side as we receive. God has spoken through creation, the prophets, the Scriptures—and, in the fullness of time, the very Word of God. If you open your mind and heart to the power of God’s word, it will change you. ... Read more

11 Jul 2023

15 MINS

15:17

11 Jul 2023

#970

Enter the Inner Life of God

Friends, the Gospel for this weekend from the eleventh chapter of Matthew contains a passage that has been called “Matthew’s most precious pearl.” “No one knows the Son except the Father,” Jesus exclaims, “and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” We are on very holy ground here because we are being invited into the very inner life of God. ... Read more

07 Jul 2023

14 MINS

14:44

07 Jul 2023

#969

You Can’t Be Neutral About Jesus

Friends, there is no religious figure anywhere in the religions or philosophies of the world who is stranger, more demanding, more relentless, and more unnerving than Jesus. And therefore the religion attached to Jesus is the strangest of them all. Exhibit A is our Gospel from Matthew 10. What Jesus says to his Apostles about himself, no other spiritual teacher would say. And you can’t be neutral about it: you have make a decision about Jesus. ... Read more

27 Jun 2023

14 MINS

14:28

27 Jun 2023

#968

Be Not Afraid

Friends, the readings for today are really magnificent, and they are all about something central to the spiritual life—namely, fear. Years ago, I was on a retreat, and the retreat director said that there are two basic questions always to ask. First; Deep down, what do you want? Second: Ultimately, what are you afraid of? In a way, answering those two questions will tell you everything you need to know about yourself, spiritually speaking. ... Read more

20 Jun 2023

14 MINS

14:19

20 Jun 2023

#967

Shepherds, Warriors, Healers

Friends, as we resume Ordinary Time, I want to talk to you about vocations—specifically, vocations to the priesthood. Our Gospel for today from Matthew shows us the call of the priest: to be a shepherd of lost sheep, a warrior against unclean spirits, and a healer of sin-sick souls—one that teaches and preaches and proclaims the kingdom of God. This summons from Christ has been the greatest joy in my life. If you are feeling the call, don’t ignore it; follow it. ... Read more

13 Jun 2023

14 MINS

14:14

13 Jun 2023

#966

Food for the Hungry Heart

Friends, we come now to the marvelous Feast of Corpus Christi, of the Body and Blood of Christ. What has been on my mind a lot recently is the famous story of the feeding of the five thousand—the only miracle, with the exception of the Resurrection, recounted in all four Gospels. Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes to the feeding of this great crowd must have made a massive impression on the first Christians. With this feast in mind, let’s look at the earliest version of this story in the Gospel of Mark, because every part of it is worthy of meditation. ... Read more

06 Jun 2023

14 MINS

14:51

06 Jun 2023

#965

To the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit

Friends, today we come to Trinity Sunday, which has been called “the preacher’s nightmare.” But as you probably know from previous sermons of mine, I don’t agree with that at all. I think every Sunday is Trinity Sunday. The Trinity names what is most fundamental and basic in our whole theology and spirituality, and we should rejoice in talking about it! Today, let’s look at the Trinity through three lenses: the words of Scripture, an analogy from St. Augustine, and the viscerally real “so what” of salvation. ... Read more

30 May 2023

14 MINS

14:45

30 May 2023

#964

Surrender to the Spirit

Friends, we come to the great Feast of Pentecost—the feast, par excellence, of the Holy Spirit. A critique of the Western Church is that we don’t speak sufficiently of the third person of the Trinity, and there might be some truth to that. I’d like to follow Vatican II in trying to bring the Holy Spirit very much into the forefront. Our readings today show us the great power of the Spirit—a power that unleashes great saints, fiery speech, and a liberating unity. Surrender your life over to the Holy Spirit, and—trust me—you will tap into this source of power to change things for the better. ... Read more

23 May 2023

15 MINS

15:08

23 May 2023

#963

Why Did Jesus Ascend to Heaven?

Friends, right at the end of the Easter season and in anticipation of Pentecost, we come to the great Feast of the Ascension of the Lord. We should do a theological reflection on this feast—how we should and shouldn’t understand the Ascension, and what it means for Christ’s work in the world—because it is key to understanding the dynamics of the Christian life. ... Read more

16 May 2023

13 MINS

13:39

16 May 2023

#962

What Are the Signs of the Holy Spirit?

Friends, on this Sixth Sunday of Easter, the Church gives us a kind of foretaste of Pentecost. In all three readings, we hear descriptions of the work of the Holy Spirit—the animating principle of the Mystical Body. What are the signs that the Holy Spirit is at work? Let’s look at five of them. ... Read more

09 May 2023

15 MINS

15:03

09 May 2023

#961

Be a Holy Priesthood

Friends, there is an enormously important line in our first reading today that we might just pass over: “The number of the disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly; even a large group of priests were becoming obedient to the faith.” Priests were so important in Jewish religious life, and these priests knew that Jesus was the fulfillment of the whole tradition of temple sacrifice. We, all the baptized, do not just admire Christ’s supreme priesthood from afar; we participate in it. ... Read more

02 May 2023

14 MINS

14:21

02 May 2023

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#981

How Not to Think About Heaven

#980

Enter the Adventure

#979

Are We Saved by Faith Alone?

#978

A Fire in the Heart

#977

When God’s Ways Are Confusing

#976

Chosen for the Sake of the World

#975

In the Storm? Look to Christ

#974

The True King Has Come

#973

A Wise and Discerning Heart

#972

The Parasite of Evil

#971

God Has Spoken; Are You Listening?

#970

Enter the Inner Life of God

#969

You Can’t Be Neutral About Jesus

#968

Be Not Afraid

#967

Shepherds, Warriors, Healers

#966

Food for the Hungry Heart

#965

To the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit

#964

Surrender to the Spirit

#963

Why Did Jesus Ascend to Heaven?

#962

What Are the Signs of the ﻿Holy Spirit?

#961

Be a Holy Priesthood

What Are the Signs of the Holy Spirit?