Father Matthew Wiering Podcast

11/25/18: Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: Allowing Christ to Reign in our Lives

The Solemnity of Christ the King reminds us of the heroic martyr Bl. Miguel Pro, who continued to provide pastoral ministry and Sacraments to the people of his native Mexico even amidst fierce anti-Catholic persecution by the Mexican government. The feast was established to remind all of the Church's members throughout the world that the true foundation of reality is Christ's reigning as King. No worldly regime or ruler, no matter how hostile, can compare to the power of Christ the King, who is truly the One in control, the Lord of the Universe.

11/18/18: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: How Do I Become Right with God?

Today's Gospel reading from the apocalyptic section of Mark's Gospel gets us thinking about some of the most important things: the end of the world, the end of my life, and the state of my soul. Are we right with God? What does it mean to be right with God, and is it even possible in this life?

11/11/18: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Law of the Gift

Today's readings feature two of Sacred Scriptures' most famous widows. Each gives generously out of her poverty, and she is praised and provided for by God. The spiritual principle at work here, found everywhere in the Bible, is the law of the gift. Our being increases in the measure we give it away. How are we practicing this in our own life?

11/4/18: 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time: What the Priesthood is All About

The past few weeks we have had 2nd readings from the New Testament's Letter to the Hebrews, and the theme of the readings has been the same: Christ's priesthood. To understand Christ's priesthood, we have to understand the priesthood of the Old Testament, which has everything to do with sacrifice. This logic of sacrifice continues with the priests of the New Covenant, who share in Christ's priesthood. In this homily we learn why St. John Vianney would say, "The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus."

All Souls 2018: Do Catholics Still Believe in Purgatory?

Why do Catholics pray for the dead? We explore this question and the Church's belief in purgatory in this short homily.

10/21/18: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Aspiring for True Greatness

Today James and John approach Jesus and ask to sit at the right and left of Jesus in his glory. What they are really asking, because they misunderstand what it means for Jesus to be Messiah, is, "Can we have a place of prominence in your new government?" This launches Jesus into a discussion with the disciples regarding what true greatness is.

10/14/18: 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time: God Has a Way of Detaching Us

Why is the young man in today's Gospel the only person in the Gospels to walk away from an encounter with Jesus "sad"? The Gospel writer gives us an indication: He had "many possessions". Jesus had asked him to give up his possessions, but he was too attached to do what Jesus was asking. This is God's project for our life -- to detach us from worldly goods and possessions. And if we really think about our lives, he really does do this, espeically as we get older. The question is whether we will willingly give to the Lord what He is asking of us, or will we resist him, giving in to resentment and bitterness and, yes, sadness.

10/7/18: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Contraception and Natural Family Planning

In today's Gospel we have Jesus's challenging words on the indissolubility of marriage, but in the second which seems to flow out of this teaching on marriage, we hear Jesus say to his disciples, "Let the children come to me. Do not prevent them." It seems that Jesus is giving a nod to the two essential aspects of marriage: the unitive dimension, by which a bond of love is formed and strengthened between the couple, and the procreative dimension. Uncoincidentally, these are also the two essential aspects of sexual intercourse (the one-flesh union spoken of in our first reading from Genesis and by Jesus himself in the Gospel). The Church has always taught that if we intentionally disrupt either of these two essential aspects of sex-- the unitive, or loving, dimension, or the procreative dimension, we turn sex into something that is not true to itself. The blessing of Natural Family Planning (NFP) is that it helps couples to follow the signs present in the woman's own body to avoid pregnancy if they have a good reason not to seek a child at that time.

9/30/18: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time: The Bible and Violence (with a brief excursus on Hell)

In today's Gospel, Jesus uses some graphically violent images to illustrate a point: Sin is real, and we should be ruthlessly intolerant of it in our lives.

9/23/18: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Jesus Reverses the Values of the World (Ours)

Today we hear Jesus saying this: "If you wish to be first, you must become the last and the servant of all." Our temptation is to try to be the "first": To be important. Influential. Wealthy. Having it "all together". Jesus makes it clear that he is not interested in the most important in society, the movers and shakers, but rather in the most insignificant, like a child. The least is whom he chooses to identify with. Will we align our values to his or continue to hang on to the values of the world?