Shawn The Baptist - Sunday Scriptures

Even Catholics who go to Mass regularly sometimes have a problem with confession. Today's homily offers some helpful tips. The post Top Tips for Confession appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

When we think of Christmas, we normally think of the Christmas Tree. Today's readings give us two other trees to think about this Advent. The post Two Trees appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

As Advent begins, this homily considers how the ancient gesture of the priest and people facing "East" for Mass reminds us where we're going. The post Where Are You Going? appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

We’ve spent a lot of time lately focusing on political power and who should be allowed to exercise power. In some ways, the same… The post Homily 332 – Who Has the Power? – Christ the King appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

The readings this weekend remind us of the reality of heaven. There really is life after death. The brothers in our first reading are… The post Homily 331 – Be a Hero – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

Today we give thanks for the priesthood, instituted by Jesus Christ, and continuing to bring his power to the world 2000 years later. When… The post Homily 330 – Priesthood Sunday – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

For the past six weeks, we have been reading from the letters of St. Paul to Timothy. Today we come to the end of… The post Homily 329 – Socially Unacceptable Dynamite – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

In today’s second reading, St. Paul reminds St. Timothy about the importance of Sacred Scripture. As Catholics, we can fall into the tendency of… The post Homily 328 – Where We Got the Bible and What To Do With It – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

Both the first reading and the gospel today involve lepers as the star characters. Today’s homily highlights three lessons that we might learn from… The post Homily 327 – Lessons from Lepers – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

The first Sunday in October has been designated in the United States as “Respect Life Sunday.” While much progress has been made in this… The post Homily 326 – Do Something for Life – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

In today’s second reading, St. Paul writes to St. Timothy, who he has appointed Bishop of Ephesus, to give him some advice on how… The post Homily 325 – The Noble Confession – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

One of the great story lines of all time can be summed up by the phrase “The Journey Home.” The protagonist has somehow wound… The post Homily 324 – There’s No Place Like Home – 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

Imagine someone you know is interested in learning what Christianity is really all about. What would you tell them? What’s the core message? Probably… The post Homily 323 – The Desire to See Jesus – 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

The scene described in today’s Gospel reminds me a lot of the political atmosphere in Washington, DC: people jockeying for positions of influence, throwing… The post Homily 322 – The Secret of Giving – 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

In today’s First Reading from the prophet Isaiah, we hear God’s desire to “gather the nations” and to send people out “to the nations.”… The post Homily 321 – Missionary Motivation – 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

I, like many people, have spent a lot of time this last week watching the Olympics and marveling at the great ability of the… The post Homily 320 – Spiritual Olympians – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

In the Old Testament story of the Exodus from Egypt referred to in our First Reading today, God’s chosen people are safe from the… The post Homily 319 – You Have Been Warned – 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

“Teach us to pray!” This is the request Jesus gets in today’s Gospel. When we think of learning to pray, we might call to… The post Homily 318 – Learning to Pray the Mass – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

The famous motto of the Boy Scouts is “Be Prepared.” This admonition is deliberately vague, meaning that a scout should be prepared appropriately for… The post Homily 317 – Be Prepared – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

Normally, when a “Scholar of the Law” is mentioned in the Scripture, he’s not held in a very favorable light, at least not by… The post Homily 316 – Lessons from a Scholar of the Law – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

Last week at the beginning of camp at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Osceola, Missouri, I talked about the importance of loyalty,… The post Homily 315 – A Scout Is Brave – 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

Many people today are afraid of making commitments. There seems to be a fear that if I commit to something then I’ll be missing… The post Homily 314 – A Scout Is Loyal – 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

One day as I was visiting the Library of Congress in Washington, I noticed an exhibit on “Thomas Jefferson’s Bible.” I was very intrigued… The post Homily 313 – The Importance of Miracles – 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

It's the end of the world. And we can find some wisdom from an unexpected place, the recently deceased pop singer, Prince. The post Purple Rain appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .

Do we minimize sin saying, "it's not really that bad?" Not only are we lying to ourselves, but we can't really experience the mercy of Jesus. The post Past to the Future appeared first on Shawn The Baptist .