Sunday Sermons: Christ's Miracles on the Sabbath Day
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 28, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
James Tissot, 1886–1896.
"There was a very special motive in our Blessed Lord's acting contrary to the Jewish law, in working cures on the Sabbath day. It was a rebuke to that spirit of keeping the letter of the law in such a hard and uncharitable way. Moreover, it was to show for all time the love and mercy that mankind could hope to receive on Sabbath days in the Church that He was to establish.
There are no less than seven occasions recorded in the gospel on which our Savior worked miracles on the Sabbath. The first occurred in the synagogue at Capharnaum. "There was a man, who had an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone, what have we to do with Thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee, Who Thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace and go out of him; and he went out of him and hurt him not at all" (Luke iv. 33). And immediately Jesus went from the synagogue to Simon's house. "And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever, and they besought Him for her. And standing over her, He commanded the fever and it left her. And immediately rising, she ministered to them" (ibid. 38). And at sunset-that is, when the Sabbath was over-all that had any sick brought them to Him and He healed them.
The third event is thus recorded. "And there was a man, whose right hand was withered. And the Scribes and Pharisees watched Him if He would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts; and said to the man who had the withered hand: Arise, and stand forth in the midst. And rising he stood forth. And Jesus said to them: I ask you, if it be lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy? And looking round about on them all, He said to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth, and his hand was restored. And they were filled with madness, and they talked one to another, what they might do to Jesus" (Luke vi. 6). This miracle is also recorded by St. Matthew (xii. 10) and St. Mark (iii. 1).
The fourth cure is thus related by St. Luke. "And He was teaching in their synagogue on the Sabbath. And behold there was a woman, who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years; and she was bowed together, neither could she look upwards at all. Whom, when Jesus saw, He called her unto Him, and said to her: Woman, thou art delivered from thy infirmity. And He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue being angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, answering said to the multitude, Six days there are wherein you ought to work; on them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath.
And the Lord answering him said: Ye hypocrites, doth not every one of you, on the Sabbath day, loose his ox or his ass from the manger and lead them to water? And ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? And when He had said these things all His adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the things that were gloriously done by Him" (Luke xiii. 11-18).
The very next chapter of St. Luke's is chosen for this day's gospel. You remember we are told that Jesus went into the house of a certain Pharisee; and they watched Him. What an invitation, full of guile and deceit ! And behold there was a certain man before Him, who had the dropsy." Jesus asked them in the words of the text, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? But they held their peace. But He, taking him, healed him and sent him away" (Luke xiv. 1). And then our Lord rebuked them.
The six and seventh miracles are recorded by St. John. The scene is at the pool of Bethsaida, "where lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered, waiting for the moving of the water. And an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond, and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond, after the motion of the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. And there was a certain man there, who had been eight and thirty years under his infirmity. Him when Jesus had seen lying, and knew that he had been there a long time, He saith to him, Wilt thou be made whole ? The infirm man answered, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pond, and whilst I am coming, another goeth down before me. And Jesus said to him: Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. And it was the Sabbath that day. Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus (John v. 2).
The seventh and last miracle took place immediately after the Jews had taken up stones to cast at Jesus. "But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the Temple." And passing by He saw a man blind from his birth. Persecuted, His life sought after, yet the Sacred Heart was heedful of the miseries of others. You remember our Lord said to him, "Go wash in the pool of Siloe." He went, he washed, he came back seeing! Now it was the Sabbath when Jesus opened his eyes. The Pharisees cross-questioned the man; rebuked him and cast him out of the synagogue because he spoke in defense of Jesus. Our Lord meeting him afterwards, revealed Himself to him as the Son of God," and falling down he adored Him " (John ix. 1).
In all this manifold revelation of the tender love of Christ is there no lesson for ourselves? Yes, indeed: Sunday after Sunday are we not here present before Him? His merciful eyes are looking down upon our souls; ah! if we saw the state of our souls as He sees them, should we not recognize ourselves amongst those sad cases whom He cured on the Sabbath day? What He mercifully did then, He is willing and longing to do now during Holy Mass. Let us humbly own our infirmities, and beg of Him to make us whole, strong to re-enter His service, strong to persevere."
Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year by Dom Francis Paulinus Hickey, O.S.B. 1922 16th Sunday after Pentecost.
Sunday Sermons: EVIL INFLUENCES
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 21, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
The Resurrection of the Widow's Son at Nain (La résurrection du fils de la veuve de Naïm) - James Tissot
"Behold a dead man was carried out."— Saint Luke vii. 12.
1. Description of the miracle.
2. Same mercy shown to us; can we expect it again and again?
3. The influences that keep us in sin:
Attachment to sin ;
Cowardice ;
Foolish hope of a long life ;
Presumption.
4. “‘He gave him to his mother”—the Church.
"The prophet of old said : “‘ These things I shall think over in my heart, therefore will I hope. The mercies of the Lord that we are not consumed: because His commiserations have not failed.” (Lam. iii. 21, 22.) This thought comes back to our mind when we read the Gospel today. The young man was dead ; they were carrying him to the grave, his poor widowed mother following him in her grief and desolation, and a great multitude of the city accompanying her. And the mercy of God met and stopped that mournful procession, raised the youth to life, and gave him to his mother.
God in His goodness, not once, but many a time, has worked this miracle upon our souls! Let us recall to mind days gone by when our souls, alas! were borne along by evil influences, dead to God’s grace, the Church, our Mother, and the angels mourning the lost one. And God’s mercy has stopped that procession of death, forgiveness has raised our soul to life, and we have been restored to the Church.
The danger is that we are not sure that this may happen again. Sure of it? No, we have no right to expect it or to claim it. For when we sin mortally, in that same moment we deserve to be abandoned by God, to be handed over to the devil, and be eternally lost. It is therefore the ineffable mercy of God that the sinner, who has offended Him so grievously, is not only not condemned, but even meets with mercy and forgiveness.
Let us see, then, what are the evil influences that prevent a sinner repenting at once, and that carry us on in our sins without reflection, without fear of our destruction. What more helpless than the dead carried to the grave! And such are we, when in sin, borne on by these bearers, these evil influences.
And what are they? First, the love of sin. The attachment to vanity and pleasure, the feeling that we could not live without them. How many have turned away from repentance because they could not give up that wicked and impure love; because they could not attempt to master that craving for drink; because they could not bring themselves to restore that ill-gotten gain which their avarice clings to; because they could not forgive their neighbours !
And another bearer to destruction is the fear of spiritual labour—the work of penance and piety. We think God’s service is hard; it is repugnant to us to fight against temptation and to do penance. We look at the labour and are appalled ; we have not the courage nor the strength. Oh, we have forgotten to raise our eyes and look at Him, who bids us “Come to Me, all ye that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you.” (Matt. xi. 28.)
The third bearer is the false hope of a longer life. We comfort ourselves with vain and empty words. Oh, there is time yet for repentance ; we need not abandon our pleasant, easy, sinful ways as yet. And this in spite of what our Blessed Lord has said: “Watch, for ye know not the day nor the hour.” (Matt. xxv. 13.) And if we are assured of a long life, of many years to come, when should we be stronger to break with sin and begin a new life ? For the longer we remain in sin, the heavier our burden and the weaker we become ; the more under the power of the devil, the more estranged from our insulted Saviour.
And the last bearer is presumption of God’s mercy. Our Heavenly Father delays His Divine justice, and we take advantage of that, and presumptuously reckon on His forgiveness as assured. "Add not sin upon sin; and say not the mercy of God is great, and He will have mercy on the multitude of our sins. For mercy and wrath quickly come from Him, and His wrath looketh upon sinners. Delay not to be converted to the Lord, and defer it not from day to day. For His wrath shall come on a sudden, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy thee.” (Ecclus. v. 5, 9.)
Whilst, then, the mercy of God is still with us, let us earnestly beg of Him grace to fear these evil influences which seek to carry our souls to perdition. Beware of them — attachment to sin; the fear of making an endeavour, the foolish hope of a long life, the presuming on God’s goodness, Let us drive them from our hearts, and implore our Blessed Lord to restore us to the life of grace and to the care of the Church. “And He gave him to his mother.” (Luke vii. 15.) There is our safeguard and our hope —to be taught by the Church, advised by the Church, guided by the Church, strengthened by the Church. Strengthened ! Yes, strengthened by prayer, by the Holy Mass, by the Sacrament of Penance, by frequent Communion. Greater strength than this God Himself cannot give us. “If any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever.” (John vi. 52.)
And with the Church there is "the great multitude of the city" -the angels and Saints of God, and the prayers of good friends, whose wish and endeavour is to counteract the evil influences bearing us to destruction. Within the Church we are in communion with these, are strengthened and encouraged by them to be manful and earnest as they were; we are helped by their prayers, filled with hope by their example. Alas! on the other hand, if we wander away from the Church, we shall fall under the evil influences of sin once again, and, borne along to death, we shall trust to a mere chance whether the mercy of God will meet us once again, raise us to life, and restore us to our Mother." Short sermons,by Rev. Fr. F. P Hickey 1913, 15th Sunday after Pentecost
OUR AIM IN LIFE
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 14, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
'Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God."—MATT. vi. 33.
1. It is natural to seek and desire.
2. But how few, the Kingdom of God!
3. What is meant by the Kingdom of God"? -Christ teaches us.
"It is natural to man to seek after something. There is always a want in the heart, and man seeks after that which he imagines will fill the void. Test this. Usually it is something that will ensure a better income, a position, influence; or maybe just the pleasure and joy of life, variety, excitement, the vogue of the present. Or it may be a loving heart seeks for love; it is ready to give, and yet it yearns for a return of affection. Whatever it may be, a man, worthy of the name of man, is seeking something, is keen after something.
But looking around us in the world, the last thing that would strike us would be that the chief thing that mankind was seeking was "the Kingdom of God." And yet that is the injunction of our Blessed Lord: "Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God." Seek it, yea, seek it first! Seek it above everything else! It is of no avail to own that the world at large utterly neglects this solemn word of Christ. The practical point is to ask ourselves our own soul-are we seeking first this Kingdom of God? Is there not something else in our heart striving to be master there? Is there not something else that dominates our interest, our time, our thoughts? About which we are more keen and anxious, more strenuous and determined, than gaining the Kingdom of God.
But you may object: What is this Kingdom of God? How have we to seek it? Can it be that we have to discard and reject the pursuits and pleasures of the world that lure us on, and are not satisfied without they are supreme in our heart, to banish them utterly and listen to what faith tells us of the Kingdom of God? The message of faith strikes us cold and numbs our heart; for we are told in the book that we dare not doubt nor disobey about the Kingdom of God. The gospel says: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven." Blessed are the meek: those that mourn: those that hunger and thirst after justice: the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers: yea, "Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven ” (Matt. v. 3, 10)."
Such is the teaching of the God of Truth, God made man for our sakes. These words are in His first sermon, and did not His own life bear them out? He did not teach one thing, and do another. He was born in a stable-poor in spirit. He said, "Learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart" (Matt. xi. 29). He was the Man of sorrows. He was merciful; and the peacemaker, for He came in His mercy to reconcile poor rebel sinners to His Father. He suffered persecution, even to the death of the Cross, and thus He won the Kingdom of heaven. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into His glory?" (Luke xxiv. 26).
And the sacred book teaches us again, what would all the pleasures and glory of the world be to us (and how little shall we ever gain of them !)?—for "the world passeth away" (1 John ii. 17). All that has enthralled the hearts of men with vain hopes is nothing more but merely the short lived glory of a summer's day. Whereas we have immortal souls to satisfy; how can transient joys suffice for them? What a void there would be; and alas, how soon in our deluded souls! Peace and plenty, joy and comfort, friends and love around us only make the thought of death the more to be dreaded, and the leaving them all, the final separation, the more appalling.
Look through the dark and fearful vista of the future, the sacred book comes to our assistance once again. "Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world" (1 John ii. 15). Seek not this world and its joys and its vain happiness, but seek first the Kingdom of God, and then when life is over, what a revelation of glory there will be, a Kingdom of glorious eternity. The cross becomes the crown: the poor take possession of the Kingdom; the meek shall possess the land; those that have mourned and suffered shall rejoice; the merciful shall find mercy; the clean of heart shall see God; the peacemakers and those that have forgiven shall find forgiveness and a welcome to their Father's home; and those that have suffered for Christ's sake, theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Poor, unknown, despised on this earth, we may have been: obedient, humble, and contrite of heart, we have daily done our best to seek first the Kingdom of God, and death will reveal it to us that we have succeeded, and the blessed success will last for ever! No more anxiety and fear of falling into sin; no more crosses and afflictions. We shall be transformed into the children of light and glory, companions of the saints, surrounded by the angels. Children of Mary, we shall then learn what it is to have the Queen of heaven for our Mother. We shall be welcomed by our Lord and Savior, because we have obeyed His words in the holy book. And for ever we shall dwell with our Father in heaven, because we kept that word, "Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God."Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey OSB (14th Sunday after Pentecost)
SELFISHNESS
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 07, 2025 at 12:00AM in Sunday Sermons
"Where are the nine ?"-LUKE Xvii. 17.
1. Our petitions very different from our thanks: selfishness the cause.
2. The miracle proves that nine out of ten were selfish and ungrateful.
3. How our Blessed Lord suffered from ingratitude.
4. Let us learn unselfishness from our Savior, and unite our thanks with His in the Holy Eucharist.
"ALL prayer is not simply a prayer of petition, of asking, however much we may need mercy and grace and forgiveness. Praise and thanksgiving are due to the almighty and loving God. The angels and blessed in heaven sing without ceasing the glory and praise of God, and their grateful thanks will last throughout eternity. But on earth how different are nine out of every ten of mankind! We are earnest when we want anything; in fear and misery and pain we make our petitions to God repeatedly and earnestly. The favor granted; the fear removed; the pain alleviated; oh, how poor our gratitude! The old saying is true, "Eaten bread is soon forgotten."
We cannot help but think thus with the example of the lepers fresh in our minds to-day. Anxious, earnest, imploring were those lepers in their misery. The voice of the Savior filled them with hope, they obeyed; they were cleansed, to their utter joy and amazement; but only one returned, giving thanks to his divine benefactor. Selfish in their prayer, to get rid of their loathsome disease; selfish even when miraculously cured, they went on their way selfishly rejoicing!
“Where are the nine ?" It is a humiliating avowal to own that we too have been selfish; that we find ourselves amongst the nine. Our conscience can recall anxiety, fear, tears in the past, when we humbly begged of God for forgiveness of some grave sin; in dread of a calamity or the expectation of death. Yes, and conscience is ashamed to own the brief, halfhearted, or perhaps forgotten gratitude with which we repaid our loving Lord. Selfishness led us to beseech and pray; selfishness led us to forget the grateful thanks that were due.
How, then, can we overcome this love of self, which is the cause of our want of thankfulness? Gratitude is due to God, and He loves us to be grateful. gratitude hurt the Sacred Heart of our divine Lord, not now indeed, but in His lifetime. Continually, all through those thirty-three years of His days on earth, our Lord had present in His mind the ingratitude of men, and it grieved Him. He knew all that He would do and suffer for sinners, and infinite love could do no more and He knew all the neglect, the forgetfulness, the ingratitude of those whom He had loved so much. We are told that the sufferings of His soul were greater far than the sufferings of His sacred Body in His Passion. The scourging, the crown of thorns, the nails through His hands and feet were less agonizing than the stabs of ingratitude through His tender, loving Heart. The bodily sufferings of the Passion, from His Betrayal to His Death, were over on Good Friday, but in His Heart He had suffered all His life. It was not merely the ingratitude with which He was treated whilst on earth, but all the ingratitude that would be shown Him, the Prisoner of love in the Holy Eucharist. He foreknew how He would be treated, even by those who believe in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar-all their neglect, forgetfulness, disdaining to visit Him, to receive Him. They know that Mass and Holy Communion are the supreme acts of love and thanksgiving to Almighty God. Alas! "where are the nine?" Some few are faithful and loving, but where are the nine? By most men, He is often and carelessly forgotten.
What a model of unselfishness is our dear Lord! Though He knew all this and suffered it, yet did He give Himself not only to the Cross; but to continue His Redemption, He renews it in each Holy Mass, and dwells continually with us in the tabernacle: “I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world" (Matt. xxviii. 20). If we would only study His unselfishness and make the memory of it live within our hearts, it would shame us; it would make us annihilate the self-love within us. Let us, then, learn unselfishness from our Lord in the tabernacle. He is there longing for us to visit Him, to pray to Him, to love Him and receive Him. Look back at our own lives. For days, weeks, months perhaps, we have forgotten Him. How cold and distracted we are even in His sacred Presence! During how many a Mass of obligation it has been merely by our bodily presence that we have been before Him, and our hearts far from Him. Selfishness again! Distractions born of worldly desires, of uncharitableness, because self had been slighted or hurt, of memories of self-gratification, of memories of our sinful past perhaps, have occupied our minds. And all the time, He, our Divine Benefactor, Whom we were pretending to worship, was waiting for a loving word of thanks.
Our poor thanks - are they worth offering? Are they worthy of His acceptance? Yes, indeed; for in His mercy He has made Himself our own thank offering! Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, is the thank offering. At Holy Mass, at Holy Communion, we are united to Him; and our poor thanks are borne up to heaven with His, and accepted before the throne of God." Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Fr. Francis Paulinus Hickey OSB (13th Sunday after Pentecost)
