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Three Aspects of Covenant

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.




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The Lady at the Foot of the Cross

Fr. Pat captures some dimensions of the place of the mother of Jesus in the passion of Christ.




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The Four Directions of the Cross

In four brief meditations given on each of the four Royal Hours on Great and Holy Friday, Fr. Pat reflects upon Ephesians 3:18.




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Hope, Faith, Love, and the Pentecostarion

In this homily given on St. Thomas Sunday, 2011, Fr. Pat considers how the revelation of the Holy Trinity takes place through the entire Pentecostarion, and how Pascha is not really complete until Pentecost.




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The Stewardship of the Soul

Discussion of the care of the human soul is of special necessity in the age and atmosphere in which we live. Fr. Pat turns once again to this very important topic.




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Out of Order

The Samaritan Woman whom Jesus meets at the well has, like many people today, a disordered life. Fr. Pat offers reflections on how this disorder afflicts the soul.




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The Growing Circle of Light

The account of the man born blind serves as a narrative completion of the themes introduced on the night of Pascha. Fr. Pat preaches on the darkness of blindness and the True Light, which gives light to every man coming into the world.




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Goodness, Discipline, and Knowledge

Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher and instructor; He will lead us into all truth. When we pray Psalm 118:66 we ask the Holy Spirit to teach us goodness, discipline, and knowledge. Fr. Pat looks a these three things.




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The Testimony of God Written in Our Hearts

On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Fr. Pat looks at two questions posed to St. Peter; each question has to do with the identity of the same Person, but the two questions are posed very differently.




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The Catholic, Apostolic Church

What sorts of things do we mean when we profess that the Church is catholic and apostolic? Why are these words so important that they are explicitly mentioned in the creed? Fr. Pat explores these questions.




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Wisdom and Folly

Fr. Pat preaches on the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders and the miracle of the cleansing of the leper (Matthew 7:24-8:4).




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The Torah and the Acropolis

Fr. Pat preaches on Jesus’ teaching from Matthew 5 that we are to be salt and light to the world.




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Time and the Knowledge of God

The English word “time” has various meanings. Fr. Pat looks at three of these in regard to our experience and knowledge of God.




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The Fragrance Filled the House

Fr. Pat looks at the story of the paralytic in Matthew 9 from three literary perspectives.




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The Cross and the Moral Life

The Apostle Paul instructs us in Romans 15 that we are not to please ourselves, but to please our neighbor for his good, to edify him. Fr. Pat encourages us in this matter.




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Two Views of History

It seems that our society is trying to walk on water without the power of God, and is consequently in the process of drowning in its many confusions. Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon reflects on our adhering to God’s revealed will vs. trying to make history.




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The Apostolic Model

In 1 Corinthians 4:16, Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to be imitators of him. In what ways should they, and we, do this?




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The Crown of the Year

Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon discusses the meaning of the Ecclesiastical New Year for Christians, its connection with the Feast of Joshua, and the significance of the Biblical texts chosen for this date.




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The King and His Mother

On the Sunday which is both the birthday of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the Sunday before the Feast of the Holy Cross, Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon looks at how these two are connected.




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Justification: Ongoing, Internal, and Shared

Preaching from Galatians 2:16-20, Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon reflects upon justification through faith.




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The Anointing of the Believer

In 2 Corinthians 1:23 Paul says, "He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God.” Father Patrick Henry Reardon provides three ways to describe this anointing.




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The Texture of the Heart

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus teaches us about hearing the Word of God and and holding it fast in our hearts. Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon offers reflections on this topic.




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The Meaning of the City

Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon reflects on the story of the Gadarene demoniac, who, according to Luke, originally was from the city, and having been healed, returned to the city to proclaim how much Jesus had done for him.




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The Institutions of Witness

Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon discusses three types of witness, with special focus on the witness we call “the faith once delivered to the saints.”




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Galatians and the Gospel

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is directly concerned with the meaning and the integrity of the Gospel. Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon offers three points on Paul's words spoken against the loss or distortion of the very essence of the Gospel.




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The Place, the Process, and the Prayer

Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon preaches from Luke 18:35-43, the story of the blind beggar who receives his sight.




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The Gnostic Impulse

The metaphysics of Gnosticism represents a major threat to the Gospel, and is an enemy of the doctrine of the Incarnation. Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon offers reflections on this.




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The Children of God

In this homily given on the Feast of the Holy Innocents, Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon reflects upon what makes us children of God.




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Jesus' Baptism and Ours

On the feast of Theophany, Fr. Pat looks at the juxtaposition of two texts from Matthew: the baptism of Jesus in Chapter 3, and Jesus’ sending the apostles out to baptize others in Chapter 28.




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Man's Capacity For Light

On the Sunday after the Theophany, Fr. Pat preaches from Matthew 4:12-17.




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Christ and the Forms of Worship

Fr. Pat's reflections on Luke 17:12-19, the cleansing of the ten lepers.




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The Moral Structure of Reality

Fr. Pat discusses the meaning of moral realism, the radical mercy of God, and Christ and His Cross.




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Reflections on Sacrifice

Fr. Pat's homily on the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord and Savior in the Temple.




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The Seams of History

Fr. Pat preaches from 2 Timothy 3:10-15.




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Incidental Features in the Story of the Prodigal Son

Rather than discussing the main themes from the story of the Prodigal Son, Fr. Pat examines features of the story not related to its central core, but nonetheless significant.




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Stargazers: The Cultivation of a Devout Mind

In this reflection, Fr. Pat considers what we have to learn from those in the Nativity story who look into the sky and ponder the moon and the stars.




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Three Verbs at the Pool

In a sermon given on the Sunday of the Paralytic, Fr. Pat preaches on this healing told in John 5:1-15.




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Three Wolves

St. Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 that fierce wolves would come to draw men away from the flock. Fr. Pat considers three of these wolves, that challenge us today just as they challenged the early Church.




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Three Aspects of Philosophy

The story of Jesus healing the man born blind in John 9 provides the context for Fr. Pat's reflections on epistemology, anthropology, and history.




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Three Scenes in Church History

On the Sunday of the Commemoration of the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council, Fr. Pat preaches from John 17 and Acts 20.




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The Holy Spirit and the Gift of Speech

On the Feast of Pentecost, Fr. Pat compares events in the book of Genesis with the events in Acts 2.




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Three Qualities of Holiness

In the Bible, the designation “saint” is not restricted to those who are already in Glory. Rather, it designates all those who are in Christ, no matter how much their lives may need improvement. On the Feast of All Saints, Fr. Pat delves into this topic for our edification.




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Conscience and the Word of God

The very fact that God designed the Bible for the purpose of penetrating the human conscience indicates an intentional affinity between the two. Preaching from Romans 2:10-16 and Matthew 4:18-23, Fr. Pat instructs us on man's conscience.




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The Danger is Not an Armed Guard

Mark’s account of the Lord’s questions about baptism and the cup (Mark 10:32-45) are especially poignant for the Christians at Rome, who are thereby instructed about an important dimension of their own participation in the sacraments.




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Three Features of the Life in Christ

Throughout the book of Ephesians (and elsewhere) the Apostle Paul uses the phrase “in Christ.” Based on Ephesians 5:8-19, Fr. Pat looks at some practical ways to live a life in Christ.




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Judgment and a Fallen People

Matthew 25:31-46, the Gospel passage for the Sunday of the Last Judgment, is about the judgment of history, meaning the judgment to which history itself will be subjected. Fr. Pat delivered this homily on February 23, 2020.




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A Meditation About Scheduling

We all have schedules and agendas, and we’re mindful of our own and of those with whom we interact. Using stories from the Gospels and Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, Fr. Pat considers with us God's schedules and hidden agenda.




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At the Gate of the City

A look at the journey of the human race as such, the meaning of the incarnation, and the fulfillment of the great promise of Israel’s prophets.




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The Visible Revelation of the Father

The bishops at the Seventh Ecumenical Council reasoned that the legitimacy, indeed, the necessity of icons in the church was an organic inference from the thesis that God became visible in the Man Jesus of Nazareth. Fr. Pat gave this homily on The Sunday of Orthodoxy, 2020.




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For Unto Us a Child is Born

Isaiah's prophetic vision of a Child, a son of David who was to come and Who would be God with us, Immanuel.