Homily for Mark 8:27-35

Jesus and his disciples set outfor the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples,“Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply,“John the Baptist, others Elijah,still others one of the prophets.” And he asked them,“But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply,“You are the Christ.” Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach themthat the Son of Man must suffer greatlyand be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,and be killed, and rise after three days. He spoke this openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sakeand that of the gospel will save it.”

Audio courtesy of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Libertyville, Ill.

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Homily for Matthew 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,but before they lived together,she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,yet unwilling to expose her to shame,decided to divorce her quietly.Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,“Joseph, son of David,do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.For it is through the Holy Spiritthat this child has been conceived in her.She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.”All this took place to fulfillwhat the Lord had said through the prophet:

    Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,        and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

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Homily for Mark 7:31-37

Again Jesus left the district of Tyreand went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impedimentand begged him to lay his hand on him.He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s earsand, spitting, touched his tongue;then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —And immediately the man’s ears were opened,his speech impediment was removed,and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to,the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said,“He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Audio courtesy of Faith Hub Chicago at St. Clement Catholic Church in Chicago, Ill.

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Homily for Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalemgathered around Jesus,they observed that some of his disciples ate their mealswith unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. —For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,do not eat without carefully washing their hands,keeping the tradition of the elders.And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the eldersbut instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded,“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:    This people honors me with their lips,        but their hearts are far from me;    in vain do they worship me,        teaching as doctrines human precepts.You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

He summoned the crowd again and said to them,“Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;but the things that come out from within are what defile.

“From within people, from their hearts,come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,adultery, greed, malice, deceit,licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Audio courtesy of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Libertyville, Ill.

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Homily for John 6:60-69

Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said,“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,he said to them, “Does this shock you?What if you were to see the Son of Man ascendingto where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life,while the flesh is of no avail.The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.But there are some of you who do not believe.”Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believeand the one who would betray him. And he said,“For this reason I have told you that no one can come to meunless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this,many of his disciples returned to their former way of lifeand no longer accompanied him.Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believeand are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

 

Audio courtesy of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Libertyville, Ill.

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Homily for Luke 1:39-56

Mary set outand traveled to the hill country in hasteto a town of Judah,where she entered the house of Zechariahand greeted Elizabeth.When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,the infant leaped in her womb,and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,cried out in a loud voice and said,“Blessed are you among women,and blessed is the fruit of your womb.And how does this happen to me,that the mother of my Lord should come to me?For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,the infant in my womb leaped for joy.Blessed are you who believedthat what was spoken to you by the Lordwould be fulfilled.”

And Mary said:

    “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;        my spirit rejoices in God my Savior        for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.    From this day all generations will call me blessed:        the Almighty has done great things for me        and holy is his Name.    He has mercy on those who fear him        in every generation.    He has shown the strength of his arm,        and has scattered the proud in their conceit.    He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,        and has lifted up the lowly.    He has filled the hungry with good things,        and the rich he has sent away empty.    He has come to the help of his servant Israel        for he has remembered his promise of mercy,        the promise he made to our fathers,        to Abraham and his children forever.”

Mary remained with her about three monthsand then returned to her home.

Audio courtesy of Faith Hub Chicago at St. Clement Catholic Church in Chicago, Ill.

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In a recent article for Public Discourse, Father John Kartje stressed the necessity for seminarians to grow in "affective maturity" and explained how that quality is instilled through the training and experiences future parish priests receive at Mundelein Seminary. He explains, "The term 'affective maturity' is used to describe the seminarian’s ability to properly recognize and integrate his emotions into his assessment of, and reaction to, a given situation or encounter." This requires much self-knowledge and honesty.

Read the full article here.

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Homily for John 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,they themselves got into boatsand came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him,“Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said,“Amen, amen, I say to you,you are looking for me not because you saw signsbut because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishesbut for the food that endures for eternal life,which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.” So they said to him,“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them,“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” So they said to him,“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:    He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”So Jesus said to them,“Amen, amen, I say to you,it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heavenand gives life to the world.”

So they said to him,“Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them,“I am the bread of life;whoever comes to me will never hunger,and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Audio courtesy of Faith Hub Chicago at St. Clement Catholic Church in Chicago, Ill.

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With more than 25 percent of Americans suffering from a mental health disorder, parish priests are faced with the task of ministering to parishioners who could be struggling with a wide range of issues. Priests themselves are also not immune to mental health problems, which is why Mundelein Seminary has a variety of programs and qualified staff in place to help seminarians learn about mental health issues and confront their own struggles.

In this episode of our Formation podcast, Father Jacob Rouse ’18 of the Archdiocese of Dubuque talks about his road to the priesthood and details his personal experience with mental health issues. He discusses the programs and processes in place at Mundelein Seminary that helped him take care of his own mental health throughout his formation. He also talks about how transparency with his mental health struggles has enriched his priesthood and allowed him to connect with parishioners and others who face similar difficulties. Click here to watch his longer video on his experiences with mental health issues.

He also discusses his use of social media as an evangelization tool to engage the culture and shares a few of his favorite things. You can subscribe to his YouTube channel or follow him on Instagram to see more of his content.

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Homily for Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by twoand gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journeybut a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandalsbut not a second tunic. He said to them,“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,leave there and shake the dust off your feetin testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons,and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

 

Audio courtesy of Faith Hub Chicago at St. Clement Catholic Church in Chicago, Ill.

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Thank you for subscribing to Formation! Please spread the word to your family, friends and parish community about this podcast. Please rate and review this podcast wherever you listen to your podcasts so that others can discover it more easily. Together with you in Christ, we are Mundelein. We form parish priests.