top of page
Search
13th Sunday OT C ~ "Home" ~ Susan McGurgan
Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head. For many people, home is a place of...
susan mcgurgan
Jun 20, 20223 min read
13th Sunday OT C ~ "I Got Your Back!" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
I grew up on a farm. Early on, I learned that, when you’re plowing a field, the more you look back over your shoulder, the more crooked...
susan mcgurgan
Jun 20, 20222 min read
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ " Heart to Heart" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
“We are in a deserted place,” said the apostles to the Lord. I recognize the setting. It feels like home. A deserted place, an arid...
susan mcgurgan
Jun 13, 20221 min read
"Homilies that Spark" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
Can I Get an Amen?: A Survey of Homiletic Strategies that Engage the Listener This is the second in a series of five brief essays that...
susan mcgurgan
Jun 13, 20222 min read
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity C ~ "Tango of the Sea" ~ Susan McGurgan
When my three sons were in grade school, we travelled from Cincinnati to San Francisco to visit my brother. Along the way, we stayed in...
susan mcgurgan
Jun 6, 20224 min read
Pentecost C ~ "Pentecost Derecho!' ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger
About fifteen years ago in the Midwest, the remnants of a Gulf hurricane wandered up into the Ohio River region. Its low pressure core...
susan mcgurgan
May 31, 20225 min read
Feast of the Ascension of the Lord C ~ "Don't Miss a Thing! ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
The month of May is a busy time: Proms. Graduations. Mothers Day. First Communions. Family gatherings on Memorial Day. May is a busy...
susan mcgurgan
May 23, 20222 min read
Easter 6 C ~ "Who?" ~ Susan McGurgan
Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” Who is saved? When I was a kid growing up in a town...
susan mcgurgan
May 16, 20223 min read
The Eye of the Homily ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
Can I Get an Amen?: A Survey of Homiletic Strategies that Engage the Listener “Did you see that?” “Did you notice the look on his face?”...
susan mcgurgan
May 12, 20222 min read
Easter 5 C ~ "Empty Chairs" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
Empty chairs. No one likes an empty chair. Family meals. Family reunions. Family of faith. No one likes an empty chair. Today’s gospel...
susan mcgurgan
May 9, 20222 min read
Easter 4 C ~ "Hear My Voice" ~ Susan McGurgan
My sheep hear my voice. God’s voice shattered the silence of the void with a Word. God speaks and Hope becomes incarnate, pitching a...
susan mcgurgan
May 3, 20222 min read
Easter 3 C ~ "Come, Have Breakfast" ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger
In the first two resurrection appearances of Jesus, the stories began with absence and then the risen Lord was revealed. Here, however,...
susan mcgurgan
Apr 25, 20226 min read
Easter 2 C ~ "Branded" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
Back when I was a young boy, there was a TV show I couldn’t wait to watch every week. Come Tuesday nights, I made sure I had my homework...
susan mcgurgan
Apr 19, 20223 min read
Easter 2 C ~ "We Have a God who Just Keeps on Appearing" ~ Susan McGurgan
Poor Thomas… It doesn’t seem to matter that every other disciple doubted at one time or another. It doesn’t seem to matter that the other...
susan mcgurgan
Apr 19, 20223 min read
Easter Sunday The Resurrection of the Lord ~ John 20:1-9 ~ "Hand-me-Downs" Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
Have you heard of The Laundry Guy? It’s a new TV show staring Patrick Richardson, a self-proclaimed “laundry evangelist.” Richardson...
susan mcgurgan
Apr 11, 20223 min read
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion C ~ "Mass in Time of War" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
A friend of mine wrote the following description of attending Mass on an aircraft carrier: It was 1962, the height of the Cold War. I was...
susan mcgurgan
Apr 4, 20222 min read
Lent 5 A ~ Homiletical Exegesis for the RCIA Scrutiny John 11:1-45, ~ Rev. Richard Eslinger
The raising of Lazarus in John 11 stands as hinge between Jesus’ public ministry and his private ministry to his disciples. It represents...
susan mcgurgan
Mar 29, 202213 min read
Lent 5 C ~ "Say Her Name" ~ Susan McGurgan
Say Her Name is a movement that emerged from the stories of women affected by institutional violence, particularly women from...
susan mcgurgan
Mar 29, 20224 min read
Lent 4 C ~ "Rehab, County Jails and Lost Parents" ~ Rev. Jim Schmitmeyer
Young children will occasionally wander off, casting their parents into a temporary state of anxiety and frantic searching until the...
susan mcgurgan
Mar 21, 20222 min read
Taking Risks: First Person Preaching ~ Susan McGurgan
First person preaching is an approach that takes one of the characters from the Bible, from Church History, from the communion of Saints...
susan mcgurgan
Mar 17, 20229 min read
bottom of page