Father Dave Preaches

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Father Dave reminds us that with death comes resurrection; both in the case of our Lord and with our own personal tragedies. (Preached on Sunday, September 14th, 2009, St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Littleton, CO)

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Father Dave sheds some light on the potentially perplexing reading where Jesus says to Peter "get behind me, Satan." I'll give you a hint: maybe we shouldn't always take the easy way. (Preached on Sunday, September 13th, 2009, 5:15pm, St. Frances Cabrini Parish, Littleton, CO)

Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time. On this day, as we observe the anniversary of the tragic event that occurred 8 years ago, we are also called to look inside ourselves to find the love of Christ to spread and heal the sometimes dark world around us. (Preached on Thursday, September 10th, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time. Father Dave admits that today's readings are certainly daunting, especially in terms of the challenges that the readings ask you to do. But we are reminded to take things one step at a time. (Preached on Thursday, September 10th, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. James calls us to "show no partiality," to treat the garbage collector as we would treat the mayor. But who among us would that task be easy for? So James and Father Dave reminds us to strive to treat everyone equally, regardless of our biases and conceptions. (Preached on Sunday, September 6th, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time. The readings today tell us that indeed Christ is preeminent, present in all things for all time. How is this represented today? We should strive to keep Jesus present in us at all times. (Preached on Thursday, September 4th, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church. We can a learn a lesson from the fishermen who were hesitant to try Jesus' suggestion to lower the nets one more time after hours of trying, but did it anyway. They noticed that indeed, even though we may doubt it at times, Jesus knows best. (Preached on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.) (Please forgive us for the small technical issues on this one. I think you still get the point.)

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Although we might sometimes bristle against all the rules, Father Dave reminds us why we have rules and laws in the church. Indeed, Jesus was the rule personified, and thus we should strive to follow them. (Preached on Sunday, August 30th, 2009, 6:00pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Memorial of Saint Augustine, bishop and doctor of the Church. Some of the characters in the parable in today's readings were unfortunately only prepared for a short period of time, not for the long haul. We can use this analogy to remind ourselves that we should strive to commit to our eternal relationship with God. (Preached on Friday, August 28th, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B). In our modern culture, we are used to having it all. We get accustomed to not having to make an actual choice of one thing over the other. But as we see in the readings today, in terms of our faith lives, we do indeed need to choose. (Preached on Sunday, August 23th, 2009, 6:00pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. You may know someone who tends to complain a lot. Indeed, you may find yourself complaining from time to time, even about the church or your faith life. You may even catch yourself echoing the prophet Elijah's sentiment of: "I quit." Father Dave sympathizes with this occasional feeling, but also reminds us to strive to keep our faith life alive and continue to join each other around the table of the Lord. (Preached on Sunday, August 9th, 2009, 6:00pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Have you ever made a scrapbook or photo album to remember the good times with friends and family? Father Dave reminds us that we should similarly look back at the times in our past that God has provided for us and done good deeds in our lives, in order to look forward to these same good deeds that will take place in the future. (Preached on Friday, August 7th, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Although it may seem tedious or repetitive sometimes, Father Dave reminds us that if you really think about it, how could we really praise God too much? (Preached on Thursday, July 23, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, bishop and doctor of the Church. Father Dave reminds us that we do not need to have magic powers to help someone, all we need to do is be there for somebody. Your presence alone can sometimes help someone more than anything else. (Preached on Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Father Dave uses the story of Abraham and Sarah receiving Isaac as a child as a gift from God, as an analogy for us to realize to indeed use our gifts that have been thankfully given to us to give back to God. (Preached on Thursday, July 2, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time. Father Dave reminds us that even though the reaction by some people might be that they are completely overwhelmed by Jesus, we should still be spreading the word, and telling the people of the Good News. (Preached on Wednesday, July 1, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time. Father Dave explains that as in our daily lives, the words and our actions of our faith lives should reflect and even bolster one another. (Preached on Thursday, June 25, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It seems like in today's readings that during the storm, the others are asking Jesus "Come on, Jesus! Why aren't you helping us? Don't you care about us?" Doesn't it seem like we ask Jesus the same things during our personal storms? Jesus reassures them and us to remember to have faith and trust in his healing power. (Preached on Sunday, June 21, 2009, 6:00pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Father Dave reminds us today, the start of the Year for the Priests, that we pray for the priests that have helped us along the way, and pray that more like that come along. (Preached on Friday, June 19, 2009, 12:15pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Although the saying perhaps became famous in the late 20th century, St. Augustine taught us that indeed when you take the body of Christ, you are what you eat. (Preached on Sunday, June 14, 2009, 6:00pm, St. Malachy’s Church, Broadway and 49th, Times Square, New York City.)