Sermons in Times of Crisis: Twelve Homilies to Stir Your Soul

by Paul D. Scalia

The Catholic Church today finds itself in the midst of a crisis. The flock is scattering, and while some shepherds bravely set off in search of those lost and wandering sheep, others drive them, and many more, further from the fold. But the Church has seen and weathered numerous crises in its two millennia, and always one or more of its priests and bishops stood up and rallied the whether to rebuke an Emperor or oppose a policy, encourage the faithful or defend the faith, bishops and priests ascended the pulpit and delivered sermons that met the pressing needs of their own times, sermons which should be read and remembered by Catholics of all times. You will find comfort within these pages as you read the words of these heroic pastors of souls St Ambrose of Milan, St Augustine, St John Chrysostom, St Edmund Campion, Pope St John Paul II , . . . and seven others. Enter into the minds and thoughts of some of the bravest, most eloquent, homilists the Church has produced. More than one was killed for the words they uttered which you will find in these pages. But they counted not the cost. Guided by Rev. Paul D. Scalia’s introduction and commentaries, you will come to see that the Church has faced crises and survived, even thrived, before. In fact, it is one of the marks of her authenticity, as it has often been said, that no mere human institution could have survived the persecutions and scandals that the Catholic Church has withstood over 2000 years. If you are a priest or bishop, just maybe reading these words of men not unlike yourself, will inspire you to stand and be counted and preach God’s word from the pulpit without counting the cost.

136 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 15, 2019

Reviews

[George Matysek]

Here's a story on this book I wrote for the Catholic Review, based on my "Catholic Baltimore" radio interview with Father Scalia:

As the Nazi regime systematically killed those it deemed mentally ill or “unproductive,” a fearless bishop of the Diocese of Münster took to the pulpit in 1941 to denounce and challenge.

If the right has been given to kill “poor defenseless mentally ill,” Blessed Clemens Von Galen said in his homily, then it has been given to murder all who are classified as unproductive — the incurably ill, “cripples unable to work,” those incapacitated because of work or war, the infirm elderly and others.

“It is unthinkable what degeneration of morals, what universal mistrust will find its way even into the family,” Blessed Von Galen said, “if this frightening doctrine is tolerated, taken up, and followed.”

Woe to humanity and woe to the German people, he thundered, if the holy commandment of God, “Thou shalt not kill,” is not only broken, but tolerated and taken up as a regular practice without punishment.

Blessed Von Galen’s homily, copies of which spread throughout the Third Reich and around the world, is one of 12 inspiring sermons published in a new book by Father Paul D. Scalia, “Sermons in Times of Crisis: Twelve Homilies to Stir Your Soul.”

Spanning a time frame from the fourth century to the present, the carefully-selected works show how some of the Church’s greatest clergymen applied the word of God and the teachings of the Church to moments of crisis.

If there’s one thread that runs throughout the selected homilies, it’s courage.

The courage needed to speak out against euthanasia in Nazi Germany is obvious. Similar courage was shown by St. John Paul II in a 1979 homily in Poland when the pope encouraged Poles to embrace God in the face of Communist persecution. Likewise, the soon-to-be martyred Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko asked his Polish countrymen in a 1983 homily to claim their right to God, to love, to freedom of conscience, to their culture and their national heritage.

Yet Father Scalia, vicar for clergy in the Diocese of Arlington, Va., also brings to light preaching requiring a more subtle kind of courage.

Read the rest here:

https://www.archbalt.org/new-book-hig...