Fritz Bauerschmidt
@fbauerschmidt.bsky.social
"Respectability tells you
to get a good night’s sleep;
Jesus tells you to stay up late
awaiting his arrival."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/adve...
to get a good night’s sleep;
Jesus tells you to stay up late
awaiting his arrival."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/adve...
Advent 1
Readings: Is 2:1-5; Rom 13:11-14; Mt 24:37-44 St. Paul gives what seems like reasonable advice: if you believe a day of judgment is coming, ...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
November 29, 2025 at 1:29 PM
"Respectability tells you
to get a good night’s sleep;
Jesus tells you to stay up late
awaiting his arrival."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/adve...
to get a good night’s sleep;
Jesus tells you to stay up late
awaiting his arrival."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/adve...
A homily for Christ the King, on bearing the sign of the cross and being a good thief:
"Death seeks to dissolve me
but in you all things hold together.
And if you remember me,
if you hold me in your heart,
then I will live eternally in you."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/chri...
"Death seeks to dissolve me
but in you all things hold together.
And if you remember me,
if you hold me in your heart,
then I will live eternally in you."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/chri...
Christ the King
Readings: 2 Sam 5:1-3; Col 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43 Each of us who is baptized, whether we remember it or not, was marked with the sign of th...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
November 22, 2025 at 6:48 PM
A homily for Christ the King, on bearing the sign of the cross and being a good thief:
"Death seeks to dissolve me
but in you all things hold together.
And if you remember me,
if you hold me in your heart,
then I will live eternally in you."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/chri...
"Death seeks to dissolve me
but in you all things hold together.
And if you remember me,
if you hold me in your heart,
then I will live eternally in you."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/11/chri...
I don't often have occasion to discuss Gospel non-violence, so I'm grateful to the folks at Forging Ploughshares for taking the time to talk with me.
Frederick Bauerschmidt: Preaching Nonviolence in the Age of Trump
Frederick Bauerschmidt describes the practical work of teaching about the peace of Christ in the Catholic Church when violent Christian nationalism is the norm.
If you enjoyed this podcast, please co...
www.podbean.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I don't often have occasion to discuss Gospel non-violence, so I'm grateful to the folks at Forging Ploughshares for taking the time to talk with me.
"Even our efforts are given us by God
so that we might be caught up
in the great work of God,
so that God might labor
in us & through us—
we who on our own
are mere unprofitable servants,
but who through faith
can shine with the fire of the Spirit."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/10/27th...
so that we might be caught up
in the great work of God,
so that God might labor
in us & through us—
we who on our own
are mere unprofitable servants,
but who through faith
can shine with the fire of the Spirit."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/10/27th...
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4; 2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14; Lk 17:5-10 “Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord.”...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
October 4, 2025 at 4:06 PM
"Even our efforts are given us by God
so that we might be caught up
in the great work of God,
so that God might labor
in us & through us—
we who on our own
are mere unprofitable servants,
but who through faith
can shine with the fire of the Spirit."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/10/27th...
so that we might be caught up
in the great work of God,
so that God might labor
in us & through us—
we who on our own
are mere unprofitable servants,
but who through faith
can shine with the fire of the Spirit."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/10/27th...
Lazarus & Dives, w/assist from Murdoch:
"the parable is not a prediction,
but a warning and an invitation—
an invitation to imagine...
what it might be like to be someone else,
to break out of the confines of our ego,
to be saved from our separation."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/09/26th...
"the parable is not a prediction,
but a warning and an invitation—
an invitation to imagine...
what it might be like to be someone else,
to break out of the confines of our ego,
to be saved from our separation."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/09/26th...
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Amos 6:1a, 4-7; 1 Tim 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31 Where did the rich man go wrong? How did he end up in torment? It doesn’t seem to be s...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
September 27, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Lazarus & Dives, w/assist from Murdoch:
"the parable is not a prediction,
but a warning and an invitation—
an invitation to imagine...
what it might be like to be someone else,
to break out of the confines of our ego,
to be saved from our separation."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/09/26th...
"the parable is not a prediction,
but a warning and an invitation—
an invitation to imagine...
what it might be like to be someone else,
to break out of the confines of our ego,
to be saved from our separation."
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com/2025/09/26th...
The unique occasion of preaching at the convalidation of the marriage of close friends on the Feast the the Exaltation of the Cross provides me the opportunity to reflect on what the Cross tells us about marriage and what marriage tells us about the Cross.
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Readings: Num 21:4b-9; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17 I don’t think couples generally get married because they want to suffer. They get married b...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
September 14, 2025 at 10:48 AM
The unique occasion of preaching at the convalidation of the marriage of close friends on the Feast the the Exaltation of the Cross provides me the opportunity to reflect on what the Cross tells us about marriage and what marriage tells us about the Cross.
This weekend's homily (with 10% more math!):
"being Jesus’s disciple... is an invitation to live a life
that hurls us beyond the limited horizon
that the world offers us....
It is an invitation that makes us ask,
'what would happen if we kept going?'”
"being Jesus’s disciple... is an invitation to live a life
that hurls us beyond the limited horizon
that the world offers us....
It is an invitation that makes us ask,
'what would happen if we kept going?'”
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Wisdom 9:13-18b; Philemon 9-10, 12-17; Lk 14:25-33 What should we make of the words of our Lord in today’s Gospel? His examples o...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
September 6, 2025 at 6:39 PM
This weekend's homily (with 10% more math!):
"being Jesus’s disciple... is an invitation to live a life
that hurls us beyond the limited horizon
that the world offers us....
It is an invitation that makes us ask,
'what would happen if we kept going?'”
"being Jesus’s disciple... is an invitation to live a life
that hurls us beyond the limited horizon
that the world offers us....
It is an invitation that makes us ask,
'what would happen if we kept going?'”
At the Cathedral we're celebrating our patronal feast this weekend:
"We who acclaim
the handmaid of Nazareth
as Queen of Heaven
are just strange enough,
just weird enough,
to believe in the peace of Christ
that passes all human understanding."
"We who acclaim
the handmaid of Nazareth
as Queen of Heaven
are just strange enough,
just weird enough,
to believe in the peace of Christ
that passes all human understanding."
The Queenship of Mary
Readings: Is 9:1-6; Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Lk 1:26-38 A couple of years ago a new faculty colleague at Loyola, who came from a backgroun...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
August 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
At the Cathedral we're celebrating our patronal feast this weekend:
"We who acclaim
the handmaid of Nazareth
as Queen of Heaven
are just strange enough,
just weird enough,
to believe in the peace of Christ
that passes all human understanding."
"We who acclaim
the handmaid of Nazareth
as Queen of Heaven
are just strange enough,
just weird enough,
to believe in the peace of Christ
that passes all human understanding."
This weekend's homily, with JH Newman, Clemens Non Papa, and Bedlam:
"He is with us in our chaos and disorder;
he is with us in our yearning
for God’s fire to set ablaze
our hearts and our world.
He is daily born
into the bedlam of our lives
whether we can feel him there or not."
"He is with us in our chaos and disorder;
he is with us in our yearning
for God’s fire to set ablaze
our hearts and our world.
He is daily born
into the bedlam of our lives
whether we can feel him there or not."
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Jer 38:4-6, 8-10; Heb 12:1-4; Lk 12:49-53 At the Basilica on Friday, at the celebration of the patronal solemnity of the Assumpti...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
August 17, 2025 at 11:13 AM
This weekend's homily, with JH Newman, Clemens Non Papa, and Bedlam:
"He is with us in our chaos and disorder;
he is with us in our yearning
for God’s fire to set ablaze
our hearts and our world.
He is daily born
into the bedlam of our lives
whether we can feel him there or not."
"He is with us in our chaos and disorder;
he is with us in our yearning
for God’s fire to set ablaze
our hearts and our world.
He is daily born
into the bedlam of our lives
whether we can feel him there or not."
This Sunday's homily:
"God calls us to radical hospitality,
for in receiving the stranger
we receive the God who receives us."
"God calls us to radical hospitality,
for in receiving the stranger
we receive the God who receives us."
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Gn 18:1-10a; Col 1:24-28; Lk 10:38-42 The story of Abraham and his visitation by the Lord in the form of three mysterious travel...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
July 19, 2025 at 5:35 PM
This Sunday's homily:
"God calls us to radical hospitality,
for in receiving the stranger
we receive the God who receives us."
"God calls us to radical hospitality,
for in receiving the stranger
we receive the God who receives us."
Homily for this evening at Corpus Christi:
"Success is not part of the assignment—
Jesus is coming whether we succeed or fail—
but faithfulness is."
"Success is not part of the assignment—
Jesus is coming whether we succeed or fail—
but faithfulness is."
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Is 66:10-14c; Gal 6:14-18; Lk 10:1-12, 17-20 When I was a college student, a fraternity at my university used to hold an annua...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
July 6, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Homily for this evening at Corpus Christi:
"Success is not part of the assignment—
Jesus is coming whether we succeed or fail—
but faithfulness is."
"Success is not part of the assignment—
Jesus is coming whether we succeed or fail—
but faithfulness is."
This weekend's homily:
"We say we believe that Christ’s body broken
and his blood poured out for the life of the world
are truly here under sacramental signs;
can we not also believe
that his kingdom of justice & peace
is present even now as we partake of his feast?"
"We say we believe that Christ’s body broken
and his blood poured out for the life of the world
are truly here under sacramental signs;
can we not also believe
that his kingdom of justice & peace
is present even now as we partake of his feast?"
Corpus Christi
Readings: Gen 14:18-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Lk 9:11b-17 Let’s talk about Melchizedek. We don’t talk about Melchizedek very often, partly because...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
June 21, 2025 at 6:14 PM
This weekend's homily:
"We say we believe that Christ’s body broken
and his blood poured out for the life of the world
are truly here under sacramental signs;
can we not also believe
that his kingdom of justice & peace
is present even now as we partake of his feast?"
"We say we believe that Christ’s body broken
and his blood poured out for the life of the world
are truly here under sacramental signs;
can we not also believe
that his kingdom of justice & peace
is present even now as we partake of his feast?"
“Remove yourself, remove, I repeat, yourself from yourself; you just get in your own way” (Augustine, Sermon 169.11).
May 30, 2025 at 7:50 PM
“Remove yourself, remove, I repeat, yourself from yourself; you just get in your own way” (Augustine, Sermon 169.11).
A bit by me on how we don't know anything about what kind of Pope Leo will be, and why that's not really a bad thing.
The Papacy and the Hinterlands
Our increased access to papal personality does not give us increased insight into the papal future.
www.commonwealmagazine.org
May 28, 2025 at 1:39 AM
A bit by me on how we don't know anything about what kind of Pope Leo will be, and why that's not really a bad thing.
"Students are badly prepared for the workplace when education in the school is treated as though it itself were an apprenticeship in the workplace." --Alasdair MacIntyre, Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity, 173.
May 27, 2025 at 11:07 AM
"Students are badly prepared for the workplace when education in the school is treated as though it itself were an apprenticeship in the workplace." --Alasdair MacIntyre, Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity, 173.
Sunday's homily at both CMOQ & CC on the Council of Jerusalem and the Spirit as Advocate:
"it seems that the Spirit
not only can be at work within processes
of legalistic bureaucratic compromise,
but this is actually the Spirit’s special skill set."
"it seems that the Spirit
not only can be at work within processes
of legalistic bureaucratic compromise,
but this is actually the Spirit’s special skill set."
Easter 6
Readings: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Rev 21:10-14, 22-23; Jn 14:23-29 In today’s gospel, Jesus tells his disciples to “keep his word” as a sign of...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
May 24, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Sunday's homily at both CMOQ & CC on the Council of Jerusalem and the Spirit as Advocate:
"it seems that the Spirit
not only can be at work within processes
of legalistic bureaucratic compromise,
but this is actually the Spirit’s special skill set."
"it seems that the Spirit
not only can be at work within processes
of legalistic bureaucratic compromise,
but this is actually the Spirit’s special skill set."
“O what wonderful good news! He who for our sake became like us in order to make us his brothers and sisters, now presents to his true Father his own humanity in order to draw all his kindred up after him.” —Gregory of Nyssa, Oratio 1 in resurrectionem
May 19, 2025 at 11:15 AM
“O what wonderful good news! He who for our sake became like us in order to make us his brothers and sisters, now presents to his true Father his own humanity in order to draw all his kindred up after him.” —Gregory of Nyssa, Oratio 1 in resurrectionem
Today's homily, on love and loneliness, featuring Dorothy Day and Pope Leo:
"The Catholic tradition expects the tribe
to gather weekly,
on the day of Christ’s resurrection,
to celebrate the Eucharist...
to bear with our unbearable neighbor
for at least one hour."
"The Catholic tradition expects the tribe
to gather weekly,
on the day of Christ’s resurrection,
to celebrate the Eucharist...
to bear with our unbearable neighbor
for at least one hour."
Easter 5
Readings: Acts 14:21-27; Rev 21:1-5a; Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35 Christianity did not arrive in the world as a philosophy or an ethical code, but ...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
May 18, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Today's homily, on love and loneliness, featuring Dorothy Day and Pope Leo:
"The Catholic tradition expects the tribe
to gather weekly,
on the day of Christ’s resurrection,
to celebrate the Eucharist...
to bear with our unbearable neighbor
for at least one hour."
"The Catholic tradition expects the tribe
to gather weekly,
on the day of Christ’s resurrection,
to celebrate the Eucharist...
to bear with our unbearable neighbor
for at least one hour."
I'm dubious about a lot of the political tea-leaf-reading going on about Pope Leo, but this one strikes me as pretty smart:
MAGA and the American Pope
Seven things to know about Pope Leo XIV.
www.thebulwark.com
May 10, 2025 at 3:20 PM
I'm dubious about a lot of the political tea-leaf-reading going on about Pope Leo, but this one strikes me as pretty smart:
If my parish got a new pastor and this was his homily on his first Sunday, I would be happy and hopeful:
Read Pope Leo XIV's first homily as pope
During his homily, delivered in Italian, Leo XIV said that Christians must serve a world that is often hostile to their beliefs.
www.npr.org
May 9, 2025 at 2:20 PM
If my parish got a new pastor and this was his homily on his first Sunday, I would be happy and hopeful:
Today's homily is on forgiveness in El Paso, couples preparing to marry, and Pope Francis's final words to the world. In other words, it's on resurrection:
Easter 2
Readings: Acts 5:12-16; Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31 Resurrection, if it means anything at all, means Jesus being raised from hi...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
April 27, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Today's homily is on forgiveness in El Paso, couples preparing to marry, and Pope Francis's final words to the world. In other words, it's on resurrection:
I wrote a little thing for the Episcopalians on Pope Francis:
Pope Francis and the Power of the Symbolic - The Living Church
Pope Francis masterfully used symbolism to capture the imagination, and often his lack of clarity conveyed a unfiltered authenticity. But such a leadership style had drawbacks.
livingchurch.org
April 24, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I wrote a little thing for the Episcopalians on Pope Francis:
"I can understand people who do not keep Good Friday at all; they are indeed very ungrateful, but I know what they mean; I understand them. But I do not understand at all, I do not at all see what men mean who do profess to keep it, yet do not sorrow, or at least try to sorrow." -John Henry Newman
April 18, 2025 at 11:57 AM
"I can understand people who do not keep Good Friday at all; they are indeed very ungrateful, but I know what they mean; I understand them. But I do not understand at all, I do not at all see what men mean who do profess to keep it, yet do not sorrow, or at least try to sorrow." -John Henry Newman
For Palm Sunday:
"Alas for us Christians
if we turn our backs on this mystery,
preferring the ruler of this world,
with his blustering power and his empty show,
to the true king who comes in the Lord’s name."
"Alas for us Christians
if we turn our backs on this mystery,
preferring the ruler of this world,
with his blustering power and his empty show,
to the true king who comes in the Lord’s name."
Palm Sunday
Readings: Lk 19:28-40; Is 50:4-7; Ph 2:6-11; Lk 22:14—23:56 We like our leaders strong. We like them strong because we want them to protec...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
April 12, 2025 at 6:53 PM
For Palm Sunday:
"Alas for us Christians
if we turn our backs on this mystery,
preferring the ruler of this world,
with his blustering power and his empty show,
to the true king who comes in the Lord’s name."
"Alas for us Christians
if we turn our backs on this mystery,
preferring the ruler of this world,
with his blustering power and his empty show,
to the true king who comes in the Lord’s name."
Homily for the Third Scrutiny:
"He weeps because he is truly human—
like us in all things but sin—
and the truly human thing
to do in the face of death
is to weep together."
"He weeps because he is truly human—
like us in all things but sin—
and the truly human thing
to do in the face of death
is to weep together."
Lent 5
Readings: Ez 37:12-14; Rm 8:8-11; Jn 11:1-45 “Jesus wept.” Lazarus has died, but it is not the thought of Lazarus in the tomb that wakens...
homileticdiakonia.blogspot.com
April 5, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Homily for the Third Scrutiny:
"He weeps because he is truly human—
like us in all things but sin—
and the truly human thing
to do in the face of death
is to weep together."
"He weeps because he is truly human—
like us in all things but sin—
and the truly human thing
to do in the face of death
is to weep together."