Sermons

I. Make the place you are in a paradise. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity with a mission. They were to live in the midst of poverty, and there, to make a little paradise. They accomplished this with one bowl of soup at a time, one kind word, or just one simple smile. Whatever their small hands had to offer, the sisters offered, and they built a sanctuary in a desert. What do we bring to parish community? Do we come to church to fulfil a Sunday obligation? Do

I. Death is hideous and unnatural. A British editor named Diana Athill wrote an article called, “It’s Silly to Be Frightened of Being Dead.” She explains how she came to accept death as natural. Its just part of life, she says. “Everything begins…then fades away…Mountains wear down from jagged peaks to flatness. Even planets decay. That natural process is death.” As sentimental as this sounds, it is fundamentally wrong. There was once a seven-year-old boy whose cousin had die

I. Humility is strength. Tall, muscular, dappled-grey with a black mane, bold and striking, the American Saddlebred named Traveller was one of the greatest warhorses in history. When General Robert E. Lee purchased him in 1861, a bond was forged that lasted through the war and unto the grave. Left to his own, the horse was anything but docile. He could be over-spirited and unmanageable. But the touch or voice of General Lee honed in all the horse’s strength. Bullets flew past

I. “How would Christ solve modern problems if He were on earth today? For those of my faith there is only one answer. Christ is on earth today; alive on a thousand altars” ~ Gilbert Keith Chesterton, 1932 We live in an era of confusion. In malls, offices, schools, universities, television, churches, and the dining room we’re bombarded by a hundred conflicting voices. Religion, politics, money, girls and Coca-Cola all claim to be the answer. The priests of Christianity, Atheis

I. “All your problems are in your head.” That’s what he told me. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I had been in a sour mood all week. Nothing made me happy and everybody was irritating. I was working in the candle room when I stepped out to mope, and there was Fr. Xerubim passing by. He was one of the largest and strongest men I’d ever known. He’d grown up a farmer, served in the army, and now worked with the livestock at our monastery. Tall and massive, with a