Fr. Brian Soliven Sermons

Consider the turning of Paul the Apostle on the road to Damascus, as told in the Acts of the Apostles. Here was a man set firmly against the Church, his course decided, his purpose clear—yet in a moment, the very current of his life was seized and redirected by a higher hand. What seemed fixed proved fluid; what appeared hostile became chosen. If such a transformation can stand at the heart of his...

St. Padre Pio famously said, "Pray, Hope, and Don't Worry!" Remember, Jesus is orchestrating world events.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give He...

Do not let your hearts be troubled.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: https://frbriansoliven.org/give

“What is truth?” This question was posed by Pontius Pilate in Gospel of John 18:38 as he interrogated Our Lord shortly before His brutal execution. It is a question at once poignant in its aim, sharp in its focus, and profound in its depth—and one that is far from new to humanity. From the moment we first gazed upon the stars in the night sky, we have stood in awe of our surroundings, seeking answ...

It was a glorious morning, as over a hundred of St. Mary’s faithful and hearty parishioners ascended the hill at Caligiuri Ranch in the darkness for what has become a popular Easter tradition – the 6AM Sunrise Mass. Crowned on its peak is a huge life-sized wooden cross overlooking the wide expanse of the Central Valley. A soft hazy midst still draping the farmfields in the distance, adding to the...

Be Christian Bold!  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: https://frbriansoliven.org/give

It is a curious thing how easily we grow accustomed to the dull weight of the world, as though sorrow were the final word, as though death were the great period at the end of every sentence. We live, most of us, as if the story is already written in ink that cannot be altered. The tears of Good Friday, we think, is simply how things are. But then… there is Easter. The Resurrection is not merely a...

We all have a price, if we're humbly honest. For Judas today, it was thirty pieces of shiny silver coins.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Her...

We all have the same, understandable reaction to suffering – RUN! We want to flee from it, make it stop, numb it, ignore it, avoid it at all costs. Not our God. Palm Sunday forces us to confront pain in an altogether ridiculous way.  Here is Jesus Christ, riding into Jerusalem, not as one swept along by circumstance, but as one who has already read the final chapter and chooses, nonetheless,...

It's abundantly clear now what the Jewish authorities must do to Jesus.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: https://frbriansoliven.org/give

Can you find your own pain on the cross?  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: https://frbriansoliven.org/give

This homily was recorded at our 2PM Traditional Latin Mass   A few days ago, I was called to the home of a parishioner to administer the Anointing of the Sick and bring Holy Communion—those sacred prayers we often refer to as the “Last Rites,” which prepare the soul to stand before the judgment seat of God. As I left that home, a single thought lingered in my heart: I think I may have just an...

Brothers, what defines a great man? Today's solemnity that we celebrate gives us a perfect example.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: htt...

Bored? Jesus provides an alternative answer to the "quiet desperation" that many of us feel.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: https://fr...

There is a peculiar mercy in the way Our Lord heals. We, in our modern cleverness, are often inclined to imagine that healing ought to be immediate, painless, and, above all, understandable. Yet in the Gospel we encounter something altogether different: a healing that begins in mystery, passes through obedience, and ends in sight. It's the restoration of not merely the eyes, but even more magnific...

It's non-negotiable. If we want God to forgive us, we must forgive those who have hurt us. But how? In today's Gospel, our Lord teaches us the secret so that true healing can begin.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us con...

There is in every human heart an empty chamber which echoes. We attempt to furnish it with wealth, romances, fancy job titles, and little private kingdoms of our own making; yet the echo remains blaring. We are rather like children who, having been promised the sea, are content to paddle in rain-filled ditches. The tragedy is not that our desires are too strong, but that they are too easily satisf...

Jealously can be a fierce emotion, causing us to dastardly, unimaginable things -- just look at the readings in today's Mass. Our precious Lord shows us the antidote.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording...

For the first time Jesus in the Gospel passage predicts his torture and death. The response of his disciples is disappointing.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homil...

When you look at Jesus, what do you see? It is a question that refuses to sit quietly in the corner of the mind. It presses forward. For to look at Jesus is not merely to observe a figure in history, nor to admire a moral teacher whose sayings decorate greeting cards. It is to stand before a Person who demands to be reckoned with. Some see only a carpenter’s son: a man of dusty roads and rough han...

Jesus today in the Gospel talks about one of the most mysterious and misunderstood Christian doctrines -- hell.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Gi...

Jesus tells us simply -- never stop praying!   --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: https://frbriansoliven.org/give

You can sum up all of Salvation History as God's attempt to prove to humanity one simple fact -- that He is good.  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time....

When Our Lord was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, it was not merely to endure hunger or solitude, as though sanctity were a matter of stoic self-denial. No, He went as a gladiator going into the Coliseum. The encounter with the devil was not an unfortunate interruption of His ministry; it was its opening engagement of hand-to-hand combat. Before He preached to crowds or healed the sick, He...

When you look at the eyes of Our Lord, what do you see?  --- Help Spread the Good News --- Father Brian’s homilies are shared freely thanks to generous listeners like you. If his words have blessed you, consider supporting this volunteer effort. Every gift helps us continue recording and sharing the hope of Jesus—one homily at a time. Give Here: https://frbriansoliven.org/give