Sunday Sermon

In His preaching, the Lord Jesus would often use that word “must.” in John 3:7, John 3:14. There is one here in John 9:4: “I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”. “Must,” of course, is a word of necessity. It is an urgency of God. So Fr. Hoffman speaks then of the necessity and the Urgency of time. “We must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”

In the scriptures we have a clear promise on the part of the God of infinite truth, who must necessarily keep His promise: "Ask, and you shall receive." And yet there is nothing more common than to hear men complaining that their prayers seem to be of no avail. What is the cause of that? I am firmly convinced that if ever our hearts and desires are in contradiction with the words we utter, they are so very often when we pray to God.

"EVERY good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights" (St. James 1:17) In this one verse St. James writes a powerful reminder to every single human being to remember where our priorities belong.

The world is of the mind that it can commit no evil that would merit God’s righteous judgment. The world deems itself independent of God’s judicious authority.  The reason for this self-assurance is that the world is devoid of the sense of its own sinfulness. It is sunk in its own self-righteousness. In the face of evil – this pandemic – many people, probably most, will not repent of their sin, for they are blind to their own guilt.

In today’s reading, our Lord was on one of His long journeys and obviously walking. He came to a place in Samaria and stopped at a well. It was the sixth hour of the day – noon. As he rested, hot, tired and dusty, a Samaritan woman approached the well to draw some water. Jesus spoke to her and said, “Give me a drink”.....

Few couples like to admit it, but conflict is common to all marriages.  Since every marriage has its tensions, it isn’t a question of avoiding them but of how you deal with them. You and your spouse must choose how you will act when conflict occurs.

For Christians, Christ is the reason for our hope. He is the reason for our joy. Our Blessed Savior is the reason for our motivation in life. We must always remember to acknowledge that God is the Lord and Master of our life. We must always remember to put God first in everything.

Pride is an illusion, a lie and a thief. And since it is a truth of faith that we are nothing, he who esteems himself and thinks that he is someone is a seducer who deceives himself. — Saint John Eudes (1601-1689)

After enduring a lengthy introduction, Winston Churchill rises from his seat, walks to the podium and stares fixedly at his audience of new graduates. "Never give up!" he asserts solemnly. He turns, walks back to his chair and sits down. As the stunned students sit in silence, Churchill, with perfect timing, again rises from his chair, returns to the podium and repeats, "Never give up!" Concerned they may respond improperly the audience never utters a squeak as the speaker again returns to his seat. Sure enough, Churchill returns to the podium again, and again and yet again—five times—delivering his single-minded message, "Never give up!" At last, feeling he’s exhausted his audience and made his point, Churchill himself gives up and returns to the podium no more. The message?.....Never Give Up!

The suffering of the saints and the prosperity of the wicked is an issue which is frequently addressed in the Word of God. We find the Book of Job dealing explicitly with this matter. We come face-to-face with it again in Psalm 73. In each passage of Scripture the issue is considered from a slightly different perspective.

God's call and our response is not only a single moment in a vocation. It is the vocation. To follow Christ is to consent to being called at each moment—to be called away from something, to something, or into something. It is to respond generously at each moment with our heart’s full consent.To be so faithful and prompt when God calls, especially if it goes against our moods and interests—or even when more serious things such as our safety or reputation are at stake.

The greatest works of God are often made manifest to us, not when we seek signs or wonders, but when we do our daily duty in charity, and when we put our faith and our closeness to the Lord into practice.

Two men died and were waiting in line for admission to heaven. “We've got room for only one more,” Saint Peter said. “Which one of you is more humble?”....Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also the interests of others.

The wolves that catch and scatter the sheep of Jesus Christ are the authors of scandal, who, not content with their own destruction, labour to destroy others. Woe to him who gives scandal, and causes others to lose the grace of God. If there be any among you who has given scandal, I will endeavour to convince him of the evil he has done, that he may bewail it and guard against it for the future.

In John 20:19-31 we see the disciples set themselves apart from fear of danger. The same is true for us. We’re fearful of the things that might harm us. We’re wary of the Coronavirus. And if we would get sick, we fear we might be one of the unfortunate ones who end up dying from it. We’re afraid of what this pandemic means for us economically. Business owners fret over the fate of their companies. Workers fear they may lose their jobs. And people who already are unemployed wonder how they’ll make ends meet.

There is a special episode preserved by the Gospel of John that stands out from among the post-resurrection scenes. This is the incident of the appearance of the risen Lord to Thomas, brilliantly narrated by John. The specialty and the importance of this event lie in the fact that it presents the relation between seeing and believing in a splendid, superbly formulated manner. More specifically, it shows the significance of believing after, or because of, having seen the risen Christ, and believing without having seen him.

After His resurrection, Jesus Christ entered, though the doors were closed, into the house in which the eleven faithful apostles were assembled, and stood in the midst of them. The mystic meaning of this miracle is, that the Lord does not enter into our souls unless we keep the door of the senses shut." If, then, we wish Jesus Christ to dwell within us, we must keep the doors of our senses closed against dangerous occasions, otherwise the Devil will make us his slaves. I will show today the great danger of perdition to which they who do not avoid the occasions of sin expose themselves.

Jesus spoke more often and more graphically about hell than anyone else in the Bible. The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, reveals a God who will bring judgment on sinners, but who shows mercy to those who repent of their sins and trust in Him.

Near the cross! O Lamb of God, Bring its scenes before me; Help me walk from day to day, With its shadow o'er me. Near the cross I'll watch and wait, Hoping, trusting ever, Till I see my Savior's face, Leave His presence never.

One of the many attributes that characterizes Christ is His compassion. Of course He was God, but He was also a man with a desire to serve others because of His love for them. Jesus Christ is our example.