Catholic Homilies 2014 (Fr. Phil Bloom)

Catholic Homilies 2104

Current Homilies

Will Animals Go to Heaven? " I return to the question: Will our pets be with us in heaven? Well, Pope Francis did address this in a way. He gave a talk on what the Church teaches about..." (December 28, 2014 - Holy Family Sunday)

There is More "Jesus birth happened 2000 years ago and as President Obama points out, it continues to inspire us. But there is more..." (December 25, 2014 - Christmas Homily)

Preparing Our Hearts Week 4 "I recommend these books - great Christmas presents! God made us male and female. There's a great mystery in all this, as well as a never-ending source of humor and confusion! But also marvelous gifts in both masculinity and femininity. ...'" (December 21, 2014 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year B)

Preparing Our Hearts Week 3 "A lot of people believe in reincarnation and they go so far as to say that the New Testament teaches reincarnation. They point to Jesus' statement that John the Baptist 'is Elijah, the one who is to come...'" (December 14, 2014 - Third Sunday of Advent, Year B)

Preparing Our Hearts Week 2 "Hatred for God, says Lewis, 'means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness.' This sounds extreme - and it is, but you and I have seen it - and perhaps experienced it in our own person..." (December 7, 2014 - Second Sunday of Advent, Year B)

Preparing Our Hearts Week 1 "To illustrate the meaning of 'heart' I quote from an exchange of letters during the Civil War. A soldier from the Iowa regiment had lost a leg and arm. The boy wrote to his girl back home saying...." (November 30, 2014 - First Sunday of Advent, Year B)

Solidarity Week 4 "Someone asked her why she does her work - caring for people that others consider useless and repulsive: people with terrible sores that give off foul odors. Blessed Mother Teresa raised one hand and began to touch the top of each finger..." (November 23, 2014 - Feast of Christ the King, Year A)

Solidarity Week 3 "For sure Martin experienced prejudice, put-down's and envy. None of that stopped him or even slowed him down. When he died at age 59 he had won the admiration of all. After his death Martin kept working..." (November 16, 2014 - Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Solidarity Week 2 "Today's Gospel might seem odd for a talk on money. We hear about Jesus driving the money-changers out of the Temple and can conclude we should focus exclusively on 'spiritual things.' But is that the real message? . ..." (November 9, 2014 - Dedication of Lateran Basilica)

Solidarity Week 1 "In light of all that is happening in our world, especially the shootings at Marysville High School, it is vitally important that we make this commitment to prayer for each other and for our youth. ..." (November 2, 2014 - Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed: All Souls Day)

Trust No Matter What Week 5 "The book grabbed her deeply and she spent the night reading it. By the time the sun rose, she was convinced of the reality of God - and of Jesus and his Church. ..." (October 26, 2014 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Trust No Matter What Week 4 "Fr. Jerzy they struck with bats until he fainted. Then they stuffed his body in the trunk..." (October 19, 2014 - Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Trust No Matter What Week 3 "'Scientific atheism' they call it. Atheism has an immediate attraction because it seems to free a person from guilt - and responsibility. But Karol Wojtyla, first as a priest and later as a bishop, fought atheism by showing how ..." (October 12, 2014 - Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Trust No Matter What Week 2 "The boy realized he had been spared - but for what? At first all he and Fr. Ceolfrith could do was bury the dead and continue to pray the hours..." (October 5, 2014 - Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Trust No Matter What Week 1 "If I talk about trusting God, people can say, "Easy for you, Father; you don't know what I am going through." I admit that I have not suffered as much as many others, but no one can say that about the five people in this series..." (September 28, 2014 - Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Finding Your Place Week 7 "When I see someone get something I want, I do feel a twinge of envy. One of my fellow pastors receives a fifty thousand dollar bequest. I congratulate him, but I am thinking, what about me?..." (September 21, 2014 - Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Finding Your Place Week 6 "As you and I look at the cross we see God in human flesh. For that reason the cross not only reveals envy, it provides the remedy...." (September 14, 2014 - Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross)

Finding Your Place Week 5 "According to one study, only four percent of women consider themselves beautiful. That's like saying only 4% of sunrises are beautiful..." (September 7, 2014 - Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Finding Your Place Week 4 "I'd like to apply this to a specific type of envy - one that I hear a lot about as a priest: the problem of "jealousy" or envy in marriage..." (August 31, 2014 - Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Finding Your Place Week 3 "Jesus selects men with weaknesses, sometimes embarrassing weaknesses. One of my favorites is a man named Callixtus. Born into a slave family, his owners gave him positions of responsibility and to be honest, he made some major blunders..." (August 24, 2014 - Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Finding Your Place Week 2 "It was emotional to see Pope Francis praying at the Temple wall in Jerusalem. With him was his friend, Abraham Skorka, the chief rabbi of Buenos Aires...." (August 17, 2014 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Finding Your Place Week 1 "This new homily series has a vital theme: Finding Your Place. It's about discovering God's plan and achieving peace in your heart. It will help in overcoming envy..." (August 10, 2014 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Life in the Spirit Week 5 "Sky Valley Pity Party, hosted by Father Bloom, bring the whole family! I realize of course that these thoughts are futile, even foolish - especially when I compare myself with others who have so much less than I do. But the problem is..." (August 3, 2014 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Life in the Spirit Week 4 "This man was a physical giant - six foot, six inches tall. He entered the Venetian army dreaming of military glory. He fell into the vices common to soldiers, especially drinking and gambling..." (July 27, 2014 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Life in the Spirit Week 3 "As your pastor, your spiritual father, I want you to be that good harvest and I want to be part of it myself. But what is the difference between the weeds and the wheat?..." (July 20, 2014 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Life in the Spirit Week 2 "If a seed could speak, it might say, 'Please, leave me alone. I am happy in my little shell.' A seed can live in its shell indefinitely. Archaeologists discovered a date palm seed when they excavated Herod's Palace in Judea..." (July 13, 2014 - Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Life in the Spirit Week 1 "It's like the prayer of the man who said, 'So far, God, I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been selfish, grumpy, nasty or overindulgent. I'm really happy about that. But, now...'" (July 6, 2014 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)

Did Jesus Found the Church? "The question is not whether the Church seems attractive - sometimes she is beautiful and glorious, but other times disappointing. That's not the question. The real question is: Did Jesus found the Church? Let me give you some of the evidence..." (June 29, 2014 - Saint Peter and Saint Paul)

Like Someone Dying of Hunger "In his book, 'Journey to the Heart of Jesus,' Archbishop Sartain writes about the importance of consistency in attending Mass. He uses the example Matt Talbot who by age 13 became addicted to alcohol..." (June 22, 2014 - Corpus Christi - Body and Blood of Jesus, Year A)

Who Look Into the Depths "While you and I cannot look into the depths as God does, we can know this: at the depths we find not so much individual units as relationships..." (June 15, 2014 - Trinity Sunday)

Practical Sign of Hope "I know a woman in her nineties who runs and wins 10K races; she didn't discover that she enjoyed running until she was seventy-eight!..." (June 8, 2014 - Pentecost Sunday)

Journey to Hope Week 7 "After a few minutes, he excused himself telling the officer, with a wink, 'my girl friend is waiting for me.' Technically speaking, he wasn't lying...." (June 1, 2014 - Ascension of the Lord, Year A)

Journey to Hope Week 6 "Sometimes before I preach, I pray, 'Lord, don't let me make a fool of myself.' But then I think about St. Philip Neri..." (May 25, 2014 - Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A)

Journey to Hope Week 5 "It seems strange that she, of all people, would face deep sadness and depression. She had founded a new religious community that was growing geometrically and doing amazing work with the poorest of the poor. In spite of that success..." (May 18, 2014 - Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A)

Journey to Hope Week 4 "Our families on earth are wonderful gifts from God, but they are temporary and fragile, often broken by divorce, distance, growing old and inevitably, death..." (May 11, 2014 - Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A)

Journey to Hope Week 3 "While your relationship to Christ is personal, God never intends it to be private. In God's family you are connected to every other believer, and we belong to each other for eternity. The Bible says..." (May 4, 2014 - Third Sunday of Easter, Year A)

Journey to Hope Week 2 "To help you take that first step, I would like to tell you about a remarkable journey of hope. The story involves a Jewish child who was separated from her parents when the Nazis took over Poland... (April 27, 2014 - Divine Mercy Sunday)

Journey to Hope Week 1 "The crisis of faith is essentially a crisis of hope. Of course, we all have certain hopes: we want financial security, health, a 'soul mate', a better world for our children. Those are good dreams, but what is our ultimate hope?" (April 20, 2014 - Easter Sunday)

Conformed to the Cross "Do you see my hands? All my wounds are closing and the crust is turning black. It's a sign of death, as you well know..." (April 18, 2014 - Good Friday)

Discern the Body "Paul tells the Corinthians they must 'discern the body,' recognize the Body of Christ. We do that when we pray in front of the tabernacle and a worship Jesus in the Eucharist...." (April 17, 2014 - Holy Thursday)

Prayer and Spiritual Combat Week 6 "I promised that on Palm Sunday I would state the purpose of prayer. Why pray? What's the ultimate goal of prayer? I can answer by recounting a conversation..." (April 13, 2014 - Palm Sunday)

Prayer and Spiritual Combat Week 5 "In the Bible we read that Joshua held a javelin as he lead the Conquest. (8:18) Early Christians practiced javelin prayers - short pleas sent up during the day. We can see some striking examples in today's Gospel..." (April 6, 2014 - Fifth Sunday of Lent)

Prayer and Spiritual Combat Week 4 "The two anointings - by Samuel and by Jesus - point to an important aspect of prayer: the use of material elements....." (March 30, 2014 - Fourth Sunday of Lent)

Prayer and Spiritual Combat Week 3 "You cannot package joy. No one can achieve constant happiness - although we try to create our own happiness. 'You've had five husbands,' Jesus tells the woman...." (March 23, 2014 - Third Sunday of Lent)

Prayer and Spiritual Combat Week 2 "Apply your imagination. At first this might seem strange, but think about it..." (March 16, 2014 - Second Sunday of Lent)

Prayer and Spiritual Combat Week 1 "Once I visited a man whose face conveyed anger and confusion. My first thought was, let's get this over with quick..." (March 9, 2014 - First Sunday of Lent)

Go to Your Inner Room "Today's obsession with immediate results makes it hard for pastoral workers to tolerate anything that smacks of disagreement, possible failure, criticism, the cross..." (March 5, 2014 - Ash Wednesday)

Toward a Synthesis - Part 4 "One of the Carmelite Sisters heard Edith say,'Komm, wir gehen f�r unser Volk!' Come, Rosa, we are going for our people...'" (March 2, 2014 - Eighth Ordinary Sunday, Year A)

Toward a Synthesis - Part 3 "How can I be perfect like God? I am constantly plagued by anger, laziness and lust. Over and over I fall....'" (February 23, 2014 - Seventh Ordinary Sunday, Year A)

Toward a Synthesis - Part 2 "Someone asked Mother Teresa, 'What will we be judged on?' She responded, 'I believe that when we die and the time comes for us to be judged, God will not ask...'" (February 16, 2014 - Sixth Ordinary Sunday, Year A)

Where Your Synthesis Is "In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) Pope Francis devotes a section to the homily. What's the difference, he asks, between a dull homily and one that sets hearts on fire? It comes down to this..." (February 9, 2014 - Fifth Ordinary Sunday, Year A)

God, Family and the Seahawks "A new T-shirt that says, 'God, Family and the Seahawks...in that order.' Today's Feast can help us get things in their right place..." (February 2, 2014 - Feast of the Presentation)

The Big Story: Gathering the People "When he got home, a letter awaited him. It was from a Christian girl and it contained a single sentence: "Your name is 'Andrew' which means 'man.'..." (January 26, 2014 - Third Ordinary Sunday, Year A)

The Big Story: A Hint About the Final Chapter "In any good story the author gives a hint at the beginning - a hint about how the story will resolve itself. For example, at the beginning of The Hobbit..." (January 19, 2014 - Second Ordinary Sunday, Year A)

Entering The Big Story "I would like to address a couple of common objections to our story. Some people say it is too complicated - all those prophets, wars, nations and dates. But then comes the second objection..." (January 12, 2014 - Baptism of the Lord, Year A)

The Big Story "The cosmic story has two versions. The first says that the stars control us, that we are simply products of a cosmic process..." (January 5, 2014 - Epiphany Sunday)

Silence Your Heart "I was in foul mood. People had let me down. Filled with anger, justified anger, I imagined they had done it on purpose..." (January 1, 2014 - Mary, The Mother of God)

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