Official Website of the
Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor celebrates Mass across Arkansas and beyond. This library features the homilies delivered from March 2014 to the present. To listen to earlier homilies, please visit the bishop's Homily Archive.
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Published: Sunday, February 19, 2017 Regardless of what we think about someone else’s behavior, our opinion must not get in the way of our love. Sometimes we must condemn the sin we see around us, cry out against injustice, confront bad deeds, but we are never free to condemn the sinner — never free to make it personal. |
Confirmation: Fear of the Lord 2017 Published: Sunday, February 12, 2017 (God) has a plan for your life which you will discover if you draw on the gifts you receive today and dedicate yourself to making the doing of his will the number one priority in your life. |
Arkansas Catholic Men’s Conference 2017 Published: Saturday, February 4, 2017 One reason eucharistic adoration was so popular among young couples in a parish I served in Oklahoma was that this was just about the only hour of peace and quiet many of these couples got that entire week. It was a time for Jesus to recharge their batteries. It was a time for the Lord to give them insights about how best to parent the little lambs entrusted to their care. |
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Published: Saturday, February 4, 2017 We are to be the salt of the earth: to preserve and protect and build up our world — both materially and spiritually, within the Church and in society. We do this by proclaiming the Gospel of Life and the intrinsic worth of the human person from the first moment of conception to natural death. |
Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal 2017 Published: Thursday, February 2, 2017 Today I invite you to be salt and light, to do your share in the building of the kingdom of God. We do it in union with Jesus and as members of his body the Church, hence our annual Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal (CASA). |
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Published: Sunday, January 29, 2017 Many parents fail to discipline their children out of a misguided fear that humbling them will somehow harm their self-esteem, when in fact the opposite is true. Discipline and clear consistent boundaries make children feel secure and give them a solid foundation on which true self-esteem can be built. |
Mass for Life 2017 Published: Sunday, January 22, 2017 The right to life is a seamless garment encompassing all of life, from the first moment of conception to natural death, and that any violation of human life and human dignity is contrary to our faith and must be actively opposed. |
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Published: Saturday, January 21, 2017 In other words, that you be pure of heart, patient and understanding. This will make all the difference in the world when dealing with difficulties in your family, at work, in your parish and in the larger community. |
Funeral of Father John Michael Payne, OCD Published: Monday, January 16, 2017 He was human and sincere and that is what made him so dear to me ... and to you. It was also a reflection of his closeness to God. And so it is with faith and confidence that we entrust him to the Lord whose love is everlasting and who has given us the gift of eternal life. |
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Published: Sunday, January 15, 2017 John’s role was to prepare for Jesus’ first coming … ours is to prepare for his second coming! Meaning that we too must name and condemn the evils of our day, get people — including ourselves — to reform their lives so as to receive forgiveness from Jesus ... |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Mass Published: Saturday, January 14, 2017 It is one thing to talk about racism in the abstract, but quite another go to the museum at Central High School and see photos of grim faced teenagers enduring taunts as they tried to go to school and photos of terrified adults being attacked by dogs in Selma. |
Epiphany of the Lord 2017 Published: Saturday, January 7, 2017 We also believe in miracles and in apparitions of the saints, and encounter God in our worship and through the sacraments. We are a Church of theologians and mystics. Our beliefs are clearly articulated, but in living our faith we are encouraged to follow our star down whatever path the Spirit of God leads us. |
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God 2017 Published: Sunday, January 1, 2017 So Jan. 1 is many things. A time for resolutions and to watch football. But more than this, it is a day to honor the Blessed Mother, the queen of peace, a day to recall the circumcision of the Prince of Peace, and a day to pray for peace in our world, in our families and in our own hearts. |
Seventh Day of Christmas, Year A Published: Saturday, December 31, 2016 I began to pray more starting in 11th grade, working up eventually to 20 minutes a day, usually in the morning before going to school. This time with the Lord helped me to gradually hear his word more clearly, the word he had planted in my heart, the call he had for my life, my vocation, my role in his plan. I hope that this time together will do the same thing for you: give you courage and lead you to greater insight. |
Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 2016 Published: Friday, December 30, 2016 But notice how appropriate that is for the ordination of two men who belong to a monastic community — indeed, a monastic family — and as such a community called to be a holy family modeled on that of the original Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. |