Sunday Homilies

Father Kevin Laughery

About

A priest of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois offers his thoughts on the Word of God as proclaimed throughout the world, Sunday after Sunday.

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934 episodes

Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 19, 2023

The ninth chapter of John's Gospel causes us to ask: Who is really blind?

7m
Apr 06
Fifth Sunday of Lent, March 26, 2023

The raising of Lazarus was a sign of the coming resurrection -- and also a provocation.

5m
Apr 06
Third Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2023

On the Second Sunday of Lent, the deacon preached.  -- We must be aware of our various thirsts.

7m
Apr 06
First Sunday of Lent, February 26, 2023

Considering distraction as a major element of temptation leading to sin.

8m
Mar 01
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 19, 2023

This homily ran a lot longer than usual, mainly because of late word of the homicide by firearm of an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles.  The focus is mainly on our misunderstanding of what Jesus means when he says we are to be "perfect."

15m
Mar 01
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 12, 2023

A discussion of the reality of free will.

8m
Mar 01
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 5, 2023

Jesus says, "Let your light shine"; but he also says "Don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."  Does he contradict himself?

10m
Mar 01
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 29, 2023

Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes: promises that we will be happy even if it seems we are out of step with what most of the world is doing.

8m
Feb 01
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 22, 2023

This is the Sunday of the Word of God, and we begin our year-long reading from the Gospel of Matthew with Jesus' choosing of his first four disciples.

8m
Feb 01
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 15, 2023

We are getting started with the long expanse of Ordinary Time and particularly with a continuous reading from Paul's first letter to the Christians of Corinth, Greece.

8m
Feb 01
Mary, Mother of God, January 1, 2023

The Bishop of Rome Emeritus, Pope Benedict XVI, died yesterday.  His resignation in 2013 provided an example to all of us that we all must acknowledge our limits.  Mary's identity as "Mother of God" means that she is pointing to her Son and encouraging us to greater amazement at his identity as truly God and truly human.

10m
Feb 01
Christmas Mass during the Day, December 25, 2022

In our age of information, the Scriptures for Christmas Day are all about the Word who says everything to us.

10m
Feb 01
Second Sunday of Advent, December 4, 2022

Advent points us to completion and fulfillment.  What do we think such fulfillment will look like?

8m
Feb 01
First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2022

Entering the privileged time of Advent, we are invited into timelessness and the possibility of doing something productive with our swords.

12m
Feb 01
Christ the King, November 20, 2022

Please note: A number of Sundays are missing.  I know that I left the device at home on the Third Sunday of Advent, when I pointed out a crescendo in what the prophets and the Gospels were saying about "the one who is to come."  Other Sundays, the deacon preached. Kingship and kinship: Christ is King of humanity because he has identified with our lowest ebb.

11m
Jan 31
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 6, 2022

The Sadducees did not believe in eternal life; therefore, they were sad, you see.

7m
Nov 16, 2022
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 30, 2022

Last weekend, the deacon preached.  -- If we think about sin, we must also think about mercy, forgiveness, and healing.

10m
Nov 16, 2022
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 16, 2022

Prayer is not for the sake of controlling God.  We must immerse ourselves in prayer so that we may discover how to be united with our God.

8m
Nov 16, 2022
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 9, 2022

The story of Naaman inspires us to consider failures of imagination and the concept of local gods.

11m
Nov 16, 2022
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 2, 2022

Again, the homilist must have forgotten to record September 18.  Too bad; it built on an earlier Sunday's pronouncement that life is not a game.  On September 25, the deacon preached.  -- We need to become more comfortable with the statement "We are unprofitable servants" so that we will wait actively for "the vision."

8m
Oct 02, 2022
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 11, 2022

The weekend of September 4, the homilist was in Paris and North Arm while their priest made a Mission Co-op appeal in the homilist's parishes on behalf of his diocese in Rwanda.  -- The stories of Luke 15 can be revisited countless times, and they do not get old.  God's mercy does not make sense -- but we know we need it.

9m
Oct 02, 2022
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 28, 2022

Jesus is not giving an etiquette lesson.  He is asking us why we are so concerned about status when people who cannot gain any such status need to be responded to.

10m
Oct 02, 2022
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 21, 2022

The homilist must have failed to record August 14, shortly after his mother's funeral.  -- Anyway, LIFE IS NOT A GAME and is, in fact, BETTER than a game.

9m
Oct 02, 2022
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 7, 2022

The homilist preached on the of the Gospel, seeing no need to talk about beatings.

10m
Oct 02, 2022
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 31, 2022

After three weeks away, because of a visit to Guatemala and the souvenir he brought back (Covid), the homilist returns and considers the vanity-content of our lives.

9m
Oct 02, 2022
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 3, 2022

Do you think that perhaps Jesus was seeking new recruits because he was having second thoughts about James and John?

8m
Jul 09, 2022
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 26, 2022

The return to Ordinary Time and a consideration of vocation was somewhat overshadowed by a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision and its implications.

14m
Jul 09, 2022
The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 19, 2022

This separate celebration of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist can never be separated from Holy Thursday and the Passion of Jesus.

9m
Jul 09, 2022
The Most Holy Trinity, June 12, 2022

Two persons of the Trinity are called "Father" and "Son."  Therefore I decided to stick with family relationships.

6m
Jul 09, 2022
Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 22, 2022

We, the Christian community, can work through our problems together.

8m
Jun 07, 2022