world news Presence of Mind By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-04T04:15:38+00:00 Fr. Pat talks to us about an important theme from the Epistle to the Hebrews, namely “today”, beginning with the question: “what does it mean for a human being to “be present”? Full Article
world news What Did John NOT Say? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:30:59+00:00 In the prologue to his Gospel, the Apostle John says “And the Word became flesh.” Fr. Pat considers three things, regarding the Word, that John did NOT say. Full Article
world news What Does the Cross Mean to the Believer? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:33:03+00:00 In this homily from Palm Sunday Fr. Pat asks what the Cross means for each believer—what it does mean and what it should mean. Full Article
world news The Fertile Fringe By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:34:26+00:00 People come in to the Church through various ports of entry. But when they come in, they come in through the Cross. In this meditation given over the course of the four Royal Hours on Great and Holy Friday, Fr. Pat considers with us four people, one from each Gospel, who cross over the border into the sphere of faith through the event of the Cross. Full Article
world news Thomas and the Crossword Puzzle By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:38:01+00:00 In this homily from St. Thomas Sunday, Fr. Pat considers a person with a Stoic personality facing the great puzzle presented in the books of Job and Ecclesiastes. Full Article
world news The Three-Stranded Cord By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:42:45+00:00 The tensile integrity of a three-stranded cord is far greater than the sum of each of the strands within it. In rhetoric and in literature, there’s something about three-ness that suggests strength, stability, and finality. Fr. Pat looks at a very famous tripodic construction from the Bible. Full Article
world news Revelation and Obedience By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:43:36+00:00 In this homily given on the Sunday of the Paralytic, Fr. Pat explores three aspects of our obedience to God in response to God’s self-revelation to us. Full Article
world news The Meeting at the Well By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:45:21+00:00 The Gospel is the Word of Truth directed to the conscience of man in the presence of God. Fr. Pat explores this topic in the context of the conversation Jesus has with the Woman at the Well. Full Article
world news What's the Solution to Blindness? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:46:25+00:00 It is imperative always to follow the light—never the darkness. The light is given to us in Christ our Lord and conveyed through the teaching of the Church. Full Article
world news The Church's First Retreat By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:48:17+00:00 Fr. Pat examines the ten days between Christ's ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples were gathered in the Upper Room. Full Article
world news Vignettes from Luke By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:51:22+00:00 Using stories found only in Luke, Fr. Pat looks at features quite prominent to this Gospel. (From October 18, 2015, the Feast of St. Luke) Full Article
world news What is it Like to Be a Human Being? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:52:10+00:00 Paul's explanation of what it means to be a human being as expounded in the Book of Romans should be the key to everything we do. Full Article
world news The Gift and Task of Hope By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:52:51+00:00 In the opening verses of Romans 5, Paul says we "rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Fr. Pat examines the characteristics of Christian hope. Full Article
world news It's Time Already To Wake From Sleep By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:54:12+00:00 Preaching from Romans 13, Fr. Pat looks at what Paul has to say about the political, social, and economic life of the Christian in the world. Full Article
world news Members to Each Other By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:55:15+00:00 In Romans 12, Paul reminds us that we are all members of one body. Fr. Pat offers reflections on how we are to live with respect to one another. Full Article
world news Practical Rules for How to Live the Life in Christ By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:56:29+00:00 Fr. Pat expounds upon Paul’s exhortations in Romans 12:6-14. Full Article
world news Too Smart for their Britches By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:57:29+00:00 Preaching from 1 Corinthians 3:18 through 4:8, Fr. Pat discusses wisdom and knowledge, intellectual self-deception and the wisdom of God. Full Article
world news Traction By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T03:58:24+00:00 Preaching from the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, Fr. Pat discusses what is attractive in the Church, what distracts us from Christ, and the importance of resistance if one is to make progress. Full Article
world news Act Sensibly By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:00:55+00:00 None of us has been given everything, but each of us has been given something, and been given an allotted amount of time in which to do it. In this homily based on the three parables in Matthew 24:36-25:30, Fr. Pat encourages us to be sensible rather than foolish. Full Article
world news The Syntax and the Grammar of the Gospel By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:02:01+00:00 Does the world have coherent structure? Does reality make sense? If it does, what is that structure? Father Pat looks at three answers to these questions. Full Article
world news Reality and Faith By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:03:23+00:00 Fr. Patrick Reardon contemplates the setting, action, and drama of faith. Full Article
world news The Vigilant Care of the Soul By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:04:51+00:00 A certain mindset of vigilance is an essential part of the transmission of the Gospel. We do not simply hand on the Gospel, but we hand on that sense of vigilance and care that is essential to its reception. Fr. Pat Reardon compares Biblical vigilance with that of other traditions. Full Article
world news Three Temptations that are Opposed to the Holy Spirit By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:06:58+00:00 The Christian must guard against anything antithetical to the Holy Spirit, whom, in 2 Corinthians 1, Paul calls the downpayment and guarantee of salvation. Fr. Pat considers three such things which should be of special concern given the world in which we live. Full Article
world news Bearing the Cross a Good Long Time By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:08:15+00:00 In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul teaches us that Jesus Christ crucified is the power of God and the wisdom of God. But one cannot say this without having experienced and known the cross. Fr. Pat reflects upon three ways in which we experience the cross in our lives. Full Article
world news The Spirit of Deceit By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:09:21+00:00 Deception is a major phenomenon of our own times. There have always been deceivers. But deception has become a far more integral part of modern life. Fr. Pat discusses the psychology and theology of deception, as well as the solution to the problem. Full Article
world news The Concealed Presence of a New Reality By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:10:23+00:00 In the Hebrew Scriptures, the angelic announcement of a conception is a special sign of some new resolve of God; a resolve of God to alter the course of history. Fr. Pat's reflections given on the Feast of the Conception of the Forerunner and Baptist John. Full Article
world news Loving One's Enemies and Forgiving Offenses By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:11:19+00:00 The Christian love of one’s enemies is not ultimately rooted in the quest for inner peace. It is rooted in the life we have in Christ. Fr. Pat preaches from Luke 6:31-36. Full Article
world news The Final Outcome is Not in Doubt By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:12:29+00:00 In the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, a liturgical parallel to the raising of Lazarus, Luke declares Jesus as Lord and Victor not only over death, but over everything. Full Article
world news A Pure and Upright Heart By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:13:30+00:00 Our contemporary culture is accustomed to thinking of the heart as a symbol of spontaneous feelings. That’s about the last thing it means in the Bible. Fr. Pat Reardon reflects on the Parable of the Sower from Luke 8. Full Article
world news Seated at the Feet of Jesus, Clothed and in Our Right Mind By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:15:53+00:00 The story of the Gadarene Demoniac in Luke 8 provokes three questions which are important for us to ask today. Full Article
world news He Touches Our Flesh By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:18:06+00:00 The sacraments are not just the sign that something is happening, they are the means by which it is happening; they are not just signs of an inner grace, but the effective means by which the grace of justification is imparted. Fr. Pat meditates with us on the thesis that holiness is something physical. Full Article
world news Divine Grace By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:18:38+00:00 Preaching from Ephesians 2:4-10 and Luke 16:19-31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus), Fr. Pat Reardon looks at God’s grace in the world and in the life of the believer. Full Article
world news An Experiment in Ceramics By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:20:11+00:00 Fr. Pat reflects upon the treasure of which Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7; what that treasure is, what is needed to take possession of it, and that in which it is contained. Full Article
world news One God, One Hope, One Ark By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:21:17+00:00 Preaching on the first seven verses of Ephesians 4, Fr. Pat considers one God, the one hope of our calling, and the Christian lifestyle. Full Article
world news The Hinge of Moral History By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:22:31+00:00 Were the new Gentile converts obliged to observe all the mandates of the Torah? As the Apostle Paul contemplated this, he came to the understanding that history not only matures, but had a pivotal point. Fr. Pat preaches from Galatians 3:23-4:5. Full Article
world news Christian Moral Responsibility By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:23:38+00:00 The Christian life is one of effort. Faith in Christ is not something that simply can be attached to a secular lifestyle. In this homily preached in 2008, Fr. Pat reflects upon Ephesians 4:1-6. Full Article
world news Three Sanctified Ones of the Old Testament By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:27:56+00:00 Using 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 as his text, Fr. Pat looks at three qualities of the Thessalonian Church, and finds these qualities exemplified in the lives of three Old Testament saints. Full Article
world news The Harp, the Book, and the Bed By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T04:29:32+00:00 On the Sunday before the Nativity, Fr. Pat looks for the Biblical David in two works of Western art: Michelangelo’s David and Rembrandt’s sketch of David in prayer. The works can be seen here: Michelangelo's "David" and here: Rembrandt's "David in Prayer" Full Article
world news The Flood, the Exodus, and the Cross By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T20:57:27+00:00 On the Feast of the Theophany, Fr. Pat looks at three figures of baptism. Full Article
world news In the Service of God By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T20:58:32+00:00 In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul talks about Christian service. But what does it mean that we serve God? Fr. Pat examines the life of the Prophet Samuel and considers three lessons for us today. Full Article
world news The Moral Education of Josiah By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T20:59:46+00:00 Fr. Pat looks at three stages and three sources of Josiah's moral instruction. Full Article
world news Hosea and the Fabric of Prophecy By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:01:03+00:00 Fr. Pat offers reflections on the life of Hosea and what his example teaches us about the character of God. Full Article
world news The God of the Prophets By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:03:02+00:00 Can God be hurt? Can he be offended? Is God sensitive? Can he be disappointed? Fr. Pat offers reflections on the Parable of Talents and the nature of God. Full Article
world news Soldier, Athlete, Tiller of Soil By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:05:29+00:00 In 2 Timothy 2:1-10, Paul holds out three models for Timothy’s life which are three metaphors for the life in Christ. Timothy is not free to choose which one he wants; he must follow all three. Full Article
world news The Education of Timothy By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:06:46+00:00 Timothy’s mother and grandmother not only raised him in the faith, but they instructed him in the study of sacred grammar. Fr. Pat suggests three blessings that came to young Timothy through this study, which pertain to all of us, not just those raising children. Full Article
world news Where is the King of the Jews? By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:10:34+00:00 On the Sunday of the Last Judgment, Fr. Pat reflects upon the most important question ever posed to the mind of man. Full Article
world news The Works of Lent By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:11:46+00:00 Fr. Pat considers three aspects of the works that are traditionally associated with the Great Fast: prayer, fasting, and deeds of mercy. Full Article
world news Sin and the Sin Offering By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:19:45+00:00 On the second Sunday of Lent Fr. Pat looks at our Lord’s passion, the power of His blood, and the authority of the Church. Full Article
world news The Testing of Faith By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:22:01+00:00 There are times in our lives when we make our own the petition of the father in Mark 9: “Help my unbelief.” But faith is increased only by being tested. Fr. Pat offers reflections on this. Full Article
world news Three Aspects of Covenant By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-06T21:23:49+00:00 Among Biblical concepts, one of the central is the covenant. Indeed, covenant is at the absolute center and root of the identity of the people of God. In today’s homily, Fr. Pat considers three aspects of covenant. Full Article