Homily #130913b ( 07min) Play – Fr. Joachim on the life of St. John Chrysostom and how his eloquent preaching gained him great fame, becoming the patron saint of preachers. He was not always appreciated, though, because he often preached against the vices of his day and demanded that men should follow marital fidelity as much as women. For these efforts he was persecuted and died in exile.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. John Chrysostom – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Friday 23rd Week of Ordinary Time
1st: 1ti 1:1-2, 12-14
Resp: psa 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 11
Gsp: luk 6:39-42

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #130913 ( 09min) Play – Considered the greatest of all the preachers in the Church, St. John Chrysostom was known for his eloquence and boldness of his denunciation of abuse. Father encourages us to follow the saint’s examples by examing our interior “eye” to see how we have transgressed against our neighbor.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. John Chrysostom – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Friday 23rd Week of Ordinary Time
1st: 1ti 1:1-2, 12-14
Resp: psa 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 11
Gsp: luk 6:39-42

Audio (MP3)

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Homily #140913n ( 07min) Play – Father comments on the foundation of a spiritual life: faith, much prayer, and profound suffering. In order to be saints, we must be in an intimate relationship with God and self-sacrifice, giving all to God and for God. With this foundation, we are constructed into a spiritual temple, the New Jerusalem.
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. John Chrysostom – Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Saturday in the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
1st: 1co 10:14-22
Resp: psa 116:12-13, 17-18
Gsp: luk 6:43-49

Audio (MP3)

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Fr. Alan on the life of St. John Chrysostom and the reading of the parable of the sower of the seed. St. John in his great preaching was a sower of the seed over a vast field. Let us be the good soil that receives the seed and produce a great yield.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. John Chrysostom

Audio (MP3)

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Fr Ignatius gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on May 23, 2020 on how to ask for favors from God in Christ’s name. He explains five conditions to have our prayers answered: 1. Humility & reverence, 2,.Contrition fro sin to wish to be a friend of God and obey his law Isaiah 1:15.  3. Faith, Hope, and confidence. 4. Persistence, perseverance. Luke 11:7-8. 5. Praying for others, maybe our fault due to conditions 1-4 or the fault of those others.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Saturday 6th Week of Easter – Wkdy
Readings: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/052320.cfm
1st: act 18:23-28
Resp: psa 47:2-3, 8-9, 10 0
Gsp: joh 16:23-28

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1813

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Fr Ignatius gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Sep 13, 2021, on St. John Chrysostom preached on the duties of the bishops that are first and foremost to pray with and for his people that they come to true faith and should focus these prayers on those in authority both in the Church and in the secular world. This is more important than preaching, which is an amazing statement coming from St. John Chrysostom whose name means golden tongue for his eloquent preaching.

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. John Chrysostom – Mem
Readings: Monday 24th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/091321.cfm
1st: 1ti 2:1-8
Resp: psa 28:2, 7, 8-9
Gsp: luk 7:1-10

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1152&r=1499

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Fr Matthias gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Aug 10, 2023, on the life of St Lawrence the deacon who gave his life even cheerfully in his martyrdom.

St. Lawrence, the deacon, faced martyrdom on August 10th, 258, with courage and cheerfulness, choosing to profess his faith in Christ rather than deny it. This act of sacrifice was not without pain, but his will was strong. St. Paul’s words resonate with this: “God loves a cheerful giver” [2 Corinthians 9:7 – Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2corinthians/9?7].

St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Gregory the Great provide insights into this truth. St. Augustine warns against giving grudgingly, as it results in a twofold loss. In contrast, St. John Chrysostom speaks of the twofold reward for giving cheerfully. St. Gregory emphasizes that alms should be given with a joyful heart, mirroring God’s own cheerful giving.

God’s generosity is evident in the vastness of the universe. He doesn’t take but bestows, and when He asks for sacrifice, it’s in exchange for something greater. Our sacrifices and mortifications should be made joyfully, aiming to draw closer to God, the source of all joy.

Our Lady exemplified this cheerful giving during the Annunciation, consenting to God’s plan and receiving a double reward as both Virgin and Mother. St. Lawrence, too, gave cheerfully, embodying the essence of a cheerful giver.

00:00 – Introduction
00:18 – St. Lawrence’s Martyrdom
01:04 – Accepted Death Generously
01:26 – God Loves a Cheerful Giver
02:36 – Giving Alms Cheerfully
03:20 – God Gives Abundantly
04:13 – Performing Sacrifices Joyfully
04:40 – Our Lady’s Example at the Annunciation
05:24 – St. Lawrence as an Example

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. Lawrence – Feast – http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=366
Readings:  – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/081023.cfm
1st: 2co 9:6-10
Resp: psa 112:1-2, 5-9
Gsp: joh 12:24-26

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1130

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Fr Matthias gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Sep 13, 2023, on how St. John Chrysostom, a renowned Father and Doctor of the Church, and bishop of Constantinople, set an example of how to become a saint by giving thanks to God in all things, even in suffering and adversity.

St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch in 349 AD and converted to Christianity at age 18. He became a monk, then a renowned preacher, and eventually Bishop of Constantinople.
His last years as bishop were difficult due to political intrigues. He was exiled and died while being forced to walk to the Black Sea region.
Despite mistreatment, his dying words were “Glory to God for all things” – he thanked God even for his sufferings.
This attitude of thanking God for everything, good or bad, is key for holiness. It sounds difficult, but is within our power. If we persevere in blessing and thanking God for all things like St. John Chrysostom did, we, too, can become saints.

00:00 – Introduction to St. John Chrysostom
01:03 – John Chrysostom’s difficult last years
02:18 – His dying words of thanks
03:41 – Blessing God in all things required for holiness
04:50 – If we persevere in this, we’ll become saints

Ave Maria!

Mass: St. John Chrysostom – Mem – http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=64
Readings: Wednesday 23rd Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/091323.cfm
1st: col 3:1-11
Resp: psa 145:2-3, 10-13
Gsp: luk 6:20-26

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=1152&r=1495

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The Son of God chose not for His Mother a woman of wealth or property, but that blessed Maiden whose soul was adorned with all the virtues. It was because the Blessed Mary had preserved her purity more perfectly than any other of our human kind that she conceived Christ, our Lord, within her womb. Let us, then, have speedy recourse to this most holy Virgin, the Mother of God, that we may obtain the help of her patronage. Come, then, all you maidens, whosoever you may be, take refuge with the Mother of our Lord; for, under her protection, she will keep for you inviolate the fairest and most precious of all your possessions.

The blessed and ever-virgin Mary, my dearly beloved Brethren, was indeed most wonderful. For, what has ever been, or can at any time be, discovered greater or more illustrious than she? She, in her sole self, is greater than the heavens and the earth. And what is holier than she? Neither Prophets, nor Apostles, nor Martyrs, nor Patriarchs, nor Angels, nor Thrones, nor Dominations, nor Seraphim, nor Cherubim, nor, finally, any other creature whatsoever, whether visible or invisible, can be found greater or more excellent than she. She is both the handmaid and the Mother of God, and at one and the same time both maiden and mother.

She is the Mother of Him who was begotten of the Father before all ages, and who is acknowledged as the Lord of all by Angels and by men. Would you know how much more eminent is this Maiden than the heavenly Powers? ‘They stand by, in fear and trembling, veiling their faces, while she presents the human race to Him whom she brought forth. Through her also we obtain the remission of our sins. Hail, then, O Mother!..Pray for us assiduously to Jesus, thy Son and our Lord, that through thee we may find mercy in the day of judgment, and may attain to the good things which are reserved for them who love God, by the grace and bounty of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be glory and honor and empire, now and forever and ever. Amen.

Saint John Chrysostom

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If we are sheep, we overcome; if wolves, we are overcome:    As long as we are sheep, we overcome and, though surrounded by countless wolves, we emerge victorious; but if we turn into wolves, we are overcome, for we lose the Shepherd’s help. He, after all, feeds the sheep, not wolves, and will abandon you if you do not let him show His power in you.

What He says is this: Do not be upset that, as I send you out among the wolves, I bid you be as sheep and doves. I could have managed things quite differently and sent you, not to suffer evil nor to yield like sheep to the wolves, but to be fiercer than lions. But the way I have chosen is right. It will bring you greater praise and at the same time manifest my power. That is what He told Paul: My grace is enough for you, for in weakness My power is made perfect…For, when He says, I am sending you out like sheep, He implies: But do not therefore lose heart, for I know and am certain that no one will be able to overcome you…

What cleverness is the Lord requiring here? The cleverness of a snake. A snake will surrender everything and will put up no great resistance even if its body is being cut in pieces, provided it can save its head. So you, the Lord is saying, must surrender everything but your faith: money, body, even life itself. For faith is the head and the root; keep that, and though you lose all else, you will get it back in abundance. The Lord therefore counseled the disciples to be not simply clever or innocent; rather He joined the two qualities so that they become a genuine virtue. He insisted on the cleverness of the snake so that deadly wounds might be avoided, and He insisted on the innocence of the dove so that revenge might not be taken on those who injure or lay traps for you. Cleverness is useless without innocence.

Do not believe that this precept is beyond your power. More than anyone else, the Lord knows the true natures of created things; He knows that moderation, not a fierce defense, beats back a fierce attack.

From a homily by St John Chrysostom

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