Father Seán Loomis

By Father Seán Loomis

Homilies by Father Seán Loomis, priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Current pastor at St. Madeline's in Ridley Park, PA and former pastor of Annunciation BVM parish in Havertown, PA.... more

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FAQs about Father Seán Loomis:

How many episodes does Father Seán Loomis have?

The podcast currently has 291 episodes available.

Father Seán Loomis episodes:

March 30, 2024 March 29, 2024: Why the Cross? (Good Friday)
Today, we read the Passion of Christ in the Gospel of John.
Father Loomis ask us this question, the same question posed to him by Dr. Kelly Anderson while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land last year: "Why?"
"Why does the death of of this man on the cross bring Salvation? Why is this tragedy so necessary?"
What is the sacrifice on the cross "doing"? The answer lies in our proper understanding of the word "sacrifice", a word deriving from two Latin words: sacra (something set aside for a sacred purpose) and facere (to make). Or "to make holy"
Everything being done on Calvary has sanctification as it's end. How does our sin play a part in this? And how does the blood of the animal on Yom Kippur point to the cross? How is Christ trying to make us holy?

Good Friday:
First Reading: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 31:2,6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25
Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Verse Before the Gospel: Philippians 2: 8-9
Gospel: John 18: 1 – 19:42
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8min
March 24, 2024 March 24, 2024: The Father IS Trustworthy…(Palm Sunday)
Today, we read the Passion of Christ in the Gospel.
Father Loomis tells us that “every major character in the Passion reading is engaging in some form of suspicion and self reliance… and yet it is Christ’s relentless confidence in the Father that compels Him up the hill and onto the wood.”
We are reminded of these words from our Savior…“Abba, Father. Not what I will, but what you will.”
What makes the Father trustworthy, is the resurrection. “When the Father raises Jesus from the tomb, it is not so much a vindication of Jesus or even His innocense… it is really a vindication of His trust in the Father’s goodness.”
“The Father IS trustworthy…… and those who trust Him, even until death- for them, life awaits.”
Palm Sunday:
Procession: Mark 11: 1-10 or John 12: 12-16
First Reading: Isaiah 50: 4-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 22: 8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Second Reading: Philippians 2: 6-11
Verse Before the Gospel: Philippians 2: 8-9
Gospel: Mark 14: 1 – 15: 47
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6min
March 17, 2024 March 17, 2024: Readiness- A Soul Ready For Covenantal Love
We’re in the final stages- new life is ALMOST HERE.
Jeremiah says. “The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land of Egypt; for they broke my covenant, and I had to show myself their master, says the LORD.”
We know that the covenant he is referring to will come on Holy Thursday. But how do we get ready for it?
Readiness is the topic that Father Loomis focuses on during this homily.
As a priestly people, Father says that readiness is reached when we have a clean heart, when we are washed in the waters of the Holy Spirit… through the “second Baptism”… confession.
Be ready… confession is an “indispensable preparation for the Paschal feasts”, and an “indispensable habit for the Christian life”. Enjoy the graces of a heart made clean, washed by the waters of the Holy Spirit.
Make a plan to go to confession before Triduum!
To help you, here is a guide for confession and an examination of conscience: https://bulldogcatholic.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/a-detailed-catholic-examination-of-conscience-2nd-ed.pdf
Fifth Sunday of Lent:
First Reading: Jeremiah 31: 31-34
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 51: 3-4, 12-13, 14-15
Second Reading: Hebrews 5: 7-9
Verse Before the Gospel: John 12: 26
Gospel: John 12: 20-33
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7min
March 17, 2024 March 10, 2024: The Habit of Faith Properly Lived
“What does a ‘habit of faith’ actually mean?”
Father tells us that the Gospel of John lays this out perfectly for us- but it’s in the Greek.
“So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
Father directs us to the word that John uses for “believes”… the Greek word is “Pisteuó” which doesn’t mean just an act of faith in a moment, but rather a continuous habit… an action that is “customary and habitual” for the individual.
Father then directs us to another part of the verse, “in Him” which in the Greek means “ in what He says”.
“So what’s understood here is that those who have the habit of receiving the Gospel that Jesus proclaims, with the readiness to allow that Word to inform and transform one’s life… that person will have eternal life.”
We learn that in the next sentence, the phrase “believes in Him” translates to “believes INTO Him”. Meaning that it’s not just enough to be receptive of His word but to believe INTO Him to where we are “connected to His very personhood, so we become one with Him. Where we think what He thinks, we value what He values, and ultimately we love as He loves.”
Fourth Sunday of Lent:
First Reading: Second Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 137: 1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
Second Reading: Ephesians 2: 4-10
Verse Before the Gospel: John 3: 16
Gospel: John 3: 14-21
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9min
March 06, 2024 March 3, 2024: Obedience Built on Trust
“I the lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the place of slavery.”
Father Loomis begins this homily, centered around the spiritual discipline of obedience- by quoting this passage from the first reading in Exodus. He explains how he used to see this verse as a type of manipulation… God saying that he had freed the Hebrews from slavery under Pharaoh only to make them slaves to himself. Father shares how he was wrong in this thought and offers a new perspective- with a comparison of a dog with their collar and leash.
“Her collar and her leash keep her close to me who is her caretaker in a dangerous world. That is what God’s law does for us. It’s an extension of Himself in the present moment to keep us on the safe, straight, and narrow.”
Third Sunday of Lent:
First Reading: Exodus 20: 1-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 19: 8, 9, 10, 11
Second Reading: First Corinthians 1: 22-25
Verse Before the Gospel: John 3: 16
Gospel: John 2: 13-25
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11min
March 02, 2024 February 25, 2024: The Radical Call of Detatchment
In this homily, Father Loomis shares the story of the Ulma family in Poland during WWII… a Catholics that hid a Jewish family in their home from the Nazis. They were eventually found and all killed- including all of their 6 children and the unborn child in Mrs. Ulma’s womb.
Father compares the trust the Ulma family had for God in this story to the reading of Abraham where God promises to make Abraham’s descendants more numerous than the stars in the sky… and then asks him to sacrifice his only son.
We might ask- “If I give God all- what is He going to ask of me? Will He really protect me? Can I trust him?”
Abraham reasoned, “that God was so powerful, He could even raise from the dead. So He decided to trust God, to trust that he was good.”
For Abraham it was enough, for Christ is was enough, and “the aim of our spiritual disciplines [this Lent] is to arrive at that same comprehensive level of trust.”
The Ulma family trusted God and hid their Jewish friends, even knowing the risks. They also knew the power of God and that He had the power- if need be- to raise them even from the dead.
Everyone from both families were murdered on March 24, 1944. As of last year Pope Francis declared them definitely in heaven when he beatified all of them last year
“Their habit of detachment made it possible for them what for many of us would be impossible because of how big of an ask it is. But because of that they now enjoy the eternal reward of their faith.”
Is your heart ready to do the same?
Second Sunday of Lent:
First Reading: Genesis 22: 1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 116: 10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
Second Reading: Romans 8: 31b-34
Verse Before the Gospel: Matthew 17: 5
Gospel: Mark 9: 2-10
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10min
March 02, 2024 February 18, 2024: Why Are You Here?
“Why do you come here?” This is the question that Father Loomis asks (between bicep curls) of the people that go to the gym only to stand around the front desk. The possibilities that facility has for them is untapped.
It is also a question that can be asked of the Christian life. Why do you come to Mass every Sunday, baptize your children, and participate in the feats and fasts? Why does this space even exist at all.
Father attempts to answer this question using the readings given for today’s Mass.
Both Genesis and First Peter share the story of Noah- where we see Noah as the “new Adam” whom God saves by the water. This is a familiar theme in scripture as the Hebrews are saved with the Red Sea. Christ brings this full circle with the gift of baptism.
“Just as for Noah there was life after the ark, and for the Hebrews there was life after the Red Sea. For Christians, there is life after baptism. That is why this place exists. Here, Jesus makes us new in that font…”
Father Loomis goes on to say, “Yes there is life after baptism, but much of it is determined by the exercise of our free will in obedience or disobedience to this work of God in our life.”
Is that why you’re here, to be about that work? Are you here to engage the efforts of salvation in your life? To participate in discipleship, to conquer the world, the flesh, and the devil in your life?… or are you standing by the door?
First Sunday of Lent:
First Reading: Genesis 9: 8-15
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Second Reading: First Peter 3: 18-22
Verse Before the Gospel: Matthew 4: 4b
Gospel: Mark 1: 12-15
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10min
February 14, 2024 February 11, 2024: Get Pumped For Lent
“I say, this Lent we should really flip in around. Get pumped for it. Don’t be afraid to see your leprocy and ask Christ to make you clean. Reject the lie that holiness is too hard, too miserable to pursue. Because the joy of heaven is forever. And it exceeds what we could imagine for ourselves. And if we’re honest, when we sin, it doesn’t really end up leaving us happy anyway.”- Father Loomis
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time-
First Reading: Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 32: 1-2, 5, 11
Second Reading: First Corinthians 10: 31 – 11: 1
Alleluia: Luke 7: 16
Gospel: Mark 1: 40-45
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7min
February 09, 2024 February 4, 2024: He Is With Us In Our Pain
“He is with us in our pain, even if He doesn’t spare us from it. That our suffering is achieving a glory within us. That He will compensate our agony with glory in heaven. That those who treat us unjustly WILL be punished in the end. And that by carrying the cross with Him, we WILL share in His resurrection.” - Father Loomis
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time:
First Reading: Job 7: 1-4, 6-7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 147: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Second Reading: First Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23
Alleluia: Matthew 8: 17
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13min
January 31, 2024 January 29, 2024: Which Wall is Weak?
As we prepare for Lent, Father Loomis encourages us to examine which of our “castle walls” are weak. When the enemy (Satan) tries to attack- that is the wall he will go for. Once we are able to identify that, we can determine what spiritual exercises we need to draw us closer to Christ.
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9min

FAQs about Father Seán Loomis:

How many episodes does Father Seán Loomis have?

The podcast currently has 291 episodes available.