Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Lisa Mersereau offers a reflection on remaining in God's love from her perspective as a hospice chaplain:"The stories I hear about how a dying person has maintained a prayer life are as amazing as God is. Many reflect upon how God is with them and how they know God is with them in their final illness. There…

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Sharon M.K. Kugler offers a reflection on what believing in a Good Shepherd God means for us:"If we believe in a Good Shepherd God then we are, each one of us, held as we navigate through the shadows of life, as we encounter illness of body or mind in ourselves or others, as we see despair and try to ease …

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Easter, Mary Erika Bolaños offers a reflection on bringing our doubts and questions to faith: "Like the disciples, we often find ourselves troubled by doubts and questions. We may struggle to reconcile the complexities of life with our beliefs, or we may feel overwhelmed by the challenges we face. In these moments,…

Preaching for the Second Sunday of Easter, Layla A. Karst reflects on our call to be credible witnesses to the Resurrection in today's world: "We are an Easter people, a community of missionary disciples, beloved of God and witnesses to the resurrection. Ours is a church that is called to be radically inclusive. Our Easter joy is abundant enough to…

Preaching for Easter Sunday, Dr. C. Vanessa White offers a reflection on the power of women's voices proclaiming the Good News then and now:"If women doubt their value, this telling and retelling of the resurrection story reaffirms the power of a women’s voice - for it was Mary’s voice that first testified to the Resurrection and whose story contin…

Preaching for Good Friday, Leslye Colvin offers a reflection on resisting systems of power and oppression:"History teaches that those who speak from the margins are targeted to suffer cruelties, and, quite often, to suffer death. Jesus was a man with a target on his back. He was born and lived on the margins of a powerful and oppressive system that…

Preaching for Holy Thursday, Dr. Cynthia Bailey Manns offers a reflection on living God's bold, fierce love for everyone: "In October, I will return to Rome to participate in the final assembly of this Synod. And although I will NOT be washing feet, I will follow the model of Jesus’ bold, fierce love as he cared for those he encountered. He was a h…

Preaching for Palm Sunday, Sheila Leocádia Pires offers a reflection on entering into Holy Week as a Synodal Church: "May this Holy Week be a season of deep reflection on the Church we want, a season of more conversations in the Spirit, a season of prayer and listening, and a season of open dialogue with one another." Sheila Leocádia Pires is a Moz…

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Susan Nchubiri, MM offers a reflection on the new covenant and a 'fresh start':"The new covenant that has been written in our hearts is a law of love and care, not hate and punishment. Looking at the world today, we see immense suffering, death and destruction through war and violence, great polarizations, na…

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Ogechi Akalegbere offers a reflection on living as beacons of hope and justice: "As we reflect on this Gospel passage and the message of Sister Thea Bowman, let us recommit ourselves to the work of building a more just and compassionate society. Let us pray for the courage and the strength to stand up for wh…

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Lent, Vickey McBride offers a reflection on trusting in God's will for us and our world, especially when anger at injustice consumes us: "Anger is a natural, human response. It is healthy and often a helpful compass that directs us to urgent needs. But if you ever feel consumed by anger when things don’t go the way…

Preaching for the Second Sunday of Lent, Salena Ibrahim offers a reflection on responding in freedom to God's invitations:"In this process of letting go of our attachments, knowing the cost of discipleship, and still choosing to be faithful, we can better hear God speak to us of our belovedness, of our common belonging in God. This Lenten season, l…

Preaching for the First Sunday of Lent, Diana Marin invites us to enter into the desert spaces of our lives with trust in God: "This past week we entered into Lent, a season of intentional desert traversing. I like to think of Lent as a skills building time. It’s a desert that is measurable and measured: we know when it begins and when it ends, we …

Preaching for Ash Wednesday, Clarissa V. Aljentera invites us to discern a Lenten journey that incorporates the universal elements of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, but is uniquely ours to walk:"How do you believe God is inviting you into a Lenten journey that is uniquely beautiful and uniquely yours? What is God calling you back to? How will you…

Preaching for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Olivia Catherine Hastie offers a reflection on bringing our "messiness" to God:"Our messes never go away. We all carry anxiety, trauma, discomfort, family issues, identity crises, pain, and sorrow...How will you ask God to bless your mess? How will allow the spirit to move you to love others in the m…

Preaching for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Anne Sladich-Lantz offers a reflection on healing: "Certainly, each one of us could use a dose of healing in our lives. You know where that is inside of yourself. Our whole world needs healing, too. Brokenness and division is everywhere. Can we take the very human interaction between Jesus and S…

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Colleen Gibson, SSJ offers a reflection on living our true calling:"Ultimately, the freedom we aspire to, and which Paul speaks of, comes when we embrace God’s call to be who we truly are, loving God as only we can and letting all other loves flow forth from that...Living our truest vocation draws u…

Preaching for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marissa Papula offers a reflection on discerning God's call in our lives: "I wonder when in our lives we receive invitations that turn everything upside down, and we’re left with little else to do then pick up our nets and leave it all behind for God: the job layoff, the positive pregnancy test, the …

Preaching for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Laura Boysen-Aragón offers a reflection on living into our God-given potential: "God always sees our full potential. But living into our full-God-given potential can be perceived as a threat to some...Society won’t change unless we speak out and act out and live into God’s potential for us - even wh…

Preaching for the Feast of the Epiphany, Dr. Nontando Hadebe offers a reflection on God's disruption of our notions of power:"As we celebrate Epiphany we need to look for the presence and sign of God in those places that will disrupt all our categories. And like the delegation of the East, let us have the courage to respond with faith to the disrup…

Preaching for the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God and the World Day of Prayer for Peace, Michelle Sherman offers a reflection on holding and living a message of peace: "So today, as we remember the message of the shepherds, and consider who the messengers of peace are in our own communities, perhaps we might choose a message of peace for this new y…

Preaching for the Feast of the Holy Family, Lisa Fullam offers a reflection on nurturing our own holy family:"Family is a spiritual thing, a gift of God. As we live into those close relationships in our lives we should find ourselves growing in kindness, bending when people need bending with, forgiving when people need forgiving. We will be imperfe…

Preaching for Christmas, Natalia Imperatori-Lee reflects on God's determination to "make room" and encourages us to do likewise:"In the incarnation, God, too, makes room. God is determined to make room. Room for light in the darkness. Room for joy in our sadness. Room for triumph in our defeats. Room for peace in our broken, war-torn world. God is …

Preaching for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Karen Sue Smith offers a reflection on our role - inspired by Mary - as bearers of God's promise: "We believe that the promise/fulfillment process continues. God lives among us and within us here and now. Like Mary, we are called to be God-bearers, to make God’s compassion and justice real and present in o…

Preaching for the Third Sunday of Advent, Bridget McDermott Flood offers a reflection on being present to one another:"Our faith and the presence of God within us takes our joy to another level, and also requires another level of generosity...This Advent, it is not enough to experience the joy of the Season embodied in Christmas trees and holiday l…

Preaching for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Melissa Cedillo offers a reflection on the transformative power of faith and hope:"On this feast day, and with today's readings, we see time and time again, average people being demanded to do the impossible sometimes with only their faith. But as we look around the world, we see that sometimes, it'…

Preaching for the Second Sunday of Advent, Sarah Hansman offers a reflection on "preparing the way":"Yes, change takes time. The arc is long. We must be patient. But, being patient does not mean slowing down our efforts. Patience does not ask me to stay silent for fear of rocking the boat nor delaying until everyone is ready for change; for they ma…

Preaching for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Madison Chastain offers a reflection on modeling our discernment after Mary: "Our Blessed, Embodied Mother makes the biggest choice of her life from a place of utmost peace: “I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word.” This peace is a direct result of…

Preaching for the First Sunday of Advent, Ma. Marilou S. Ibita offers a reflection on the intertwined themes of return and watchfulness:"The readings assume that the Lord will come again which opens up a great future where our active participation is required both in discerning the visions of God’s reign and in making the visions come true. If we a…

Preaching for the Solemnity of Christ the King, Carol Zinn, SSJ invites us to reflect on the end of the liturgical year and commit to new beginnings:"Perhaps situating this feast in its context of origin can provide a lens to situate ourselves as we end this liturgical year and ready ourselves for beginning again. How have we lived? How have we tre…

Preaching for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Rosemary Johnston offers the witness of Mother Antonia, who served in prison ministry, as an example of how we are called to share our gifts:"Mother Antonia once said, 'there is no one so ugly he does not have beauty within him; no one so weak he does not have great strength and no one so poor he is n…

Preaching for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Paula Rush offers a reflection on knowing and being known:"And in that moment, we realize this parable is all about knowing... And this is exactly what Jesus needs us to realize. He needs us to get in touch with that desire. The desire to know and be known. We want to be wise. We want wisdom."Paula Ru…

Preaching for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Raynah Marise Braganza Passanha offers a reflection on living as inclusive, servant leaders:"Saying yes to a sacred call requires vulnerability, being conscious of and addressing the fears that deter one from living that 'yes' honestly and completely. Let us commit to help one another be effective lea…

Preaching for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Marielena Hincapié offers a reflection on immigration in light of the Gospel:"Let us advocate for just and compassionate immigration policies at the federal, state and local levels that respect the dignity of every human being. Our roles as educators, scholars, advocates, and followers of Christ call …

Preaching for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Chanelle Robinson offers a reflection on the command to "Give to God what belongs to God" through an ecological lens: "But what happens when humanity confuses the things of God and the things of the emperor? If human greed interchanges the dignity of the planet with the pursuit of the coin, do…

Preaching for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Casey Stanton invites us to say "yes" to the invitation to the feast of synodality: "To say yes to walk the synodal way is be part of God’s work, reknitting the fabric of our belonging – to God, to one another, to creation – as Christ’s living body in the world."Casey Stanton is the co-director of Dis…

Preaching for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Carmen Ramos offers a reflection on lifting up the sense of the faithful: "Jesus the Cornerstone says, 'Come, stand on me; let's build something new from what happened to you. Let's build something new out of your experience. You are part of the greater story, my story, called The Resurrection Story.'…

Preaching for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Claire Jenkins offers a reflection on caring for all of God's creation and particularly for the most vulnerable and outcast among us: "Moreover, we have no choice as people of God: we must act collectively and individually to protect our common home, our planet. We must not ignore the messages in toda…

Preaching for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Darlene Jasso offers a reflection on living God's justice and mercy:"Let us all choose...to seek the good of others and to live for others. Whether that’s working with organizations that provide quality support to the marginalized, speaking up for those with no voice, or simply providing a helping han…

Read and Sign our Petition to Proclaim the Full Resurrection Story on Easter Sunday: https://futurechurch.org/petition Preaching for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Caitlin Morneau offers a reflection on reclaiming connectedness:"Forgiveness is fundamentally an individual act, but with social implications. Every harm has repercussions, rippling i…

Preaching for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Carolyn Jacobs, MSW, Ph.D. offers a reflection on community:"The challenges of our church and our world are invitations to continuous discernment of how to dialogue, to forgive, and to be obedient to the urgings of the Spirit. We live in a time when we need to step out and invite others to prayer, dia…

Preaching for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Phyllis Zagano offers a reflection - inspired by Saints Phoebe and Gregory - on our Christian journey:"When called, they went, and when they got where they were going, they knew (somehow) just what they had to do and to say. As days turned into weeks, then months, they understood more deeply …

Preaching for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mary Margaret Schroeder offers a reflection on answering the question "Who do you say I am?": "That joy I feel as my favorite 7-year-old, Blue, runs into my arms at school pick-up—that’s Christ. When I’m on a run, silently admiring the creation that surrounds me, and I feel another set of footsteps gu…

Preaching for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Margaret Susan Thompson offers a reflection on persisting in pursuit of God's promise for all: [This gospel] resonates especially with me because I’m a woman, but it has much to say to all of us who feel like we don’t fit into a box, and who sometimes feel tormented by a demon, like the daughter in ne…

Sr Chioma Ahanihu, SLW preaches for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, offering a reflection on Mary's capacity to bring about peace and unity, if we - like her - say 'yes' to God: "May today’s feast remind us of our own Yes to God’s call as consecrated people of God in our different spheres of life. May we be the voice for the voiceless and …

Sara Fairbanks, OP preaches for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, offering a reflection on God's love conquering all:"Elijah whispers to us across the centuries, what keeps hope alive in the shadow of the cross is God’s ever-present, unsurpassed love, making us 'participants in the divine nature' (2 Pet 1:4) and 'friends of God, and prophets' (Ws 7…

Preaching for the Feast of the Transfiguration, Julie Vieira, IHM offers a reflection on our own "transfiguration" encounters with God: Today on this feast of the Transfiguration, we, the disciples and seekers of today, are likewise called not just to celebrate the revelation of Jesus as Messiah. But we are called to perform our own gut check and t…

Preaching for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Anne Hansen offers a reflection on living the will of God "on earth as it is in heaven":" I hope it is a place where gang members and socialites converse. A place where women preach and are involved in all seven sacraments, a place where the LGBTQ community is part of the fabric and a place whe…

Preaching for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Erin McDonald, CSJ offers a reflection on rooting ourselves in and living out of God's unconditional love:"We do not measure our success on the great things we have accomplished but on how much we loved, how we put that love into action and become sowers of justice, peace, and kindness."Sr Erin i…

Preaching for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, Antoinette Gutzler, MM offers a reflection on peering into our tombs and letting go of old ways that do not bring life: "So we must 'let go' and we must announce. On this great Feast, we follow Mary of Magdala into the Garden as she meets Jesus and has her whole life and way of understanding life in Je…