Official Website of the
Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
Bishop Taylor Homily Library
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.
|
Graduation 2017 Published: Friday, May 26, 2017 You graduates are about to embark on the most exciting and most dangerous chapter of your life. Soon you will be out from under the direct control of your parents and you will have to learn how to use this new freedom responsibly. |
|
Diaconate Ordination of Stephen Elser, Joseph DeOrbegozo, Patrick Friend Published: Wednesday, May 24, 2017 (Celibate chastity) means much more than just sexual abstinence. Chastity requires us to be pure not only in our overt actions, but also in our thoughts and in our words, pure in the way we deal with others — no deceit, no mixed messages. Pure and sincere in the desires of our own heart. And of course this requires death to self, which is the foundation of a life lived for others. |
|
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A Published: Sunday, May 21, 2017 But no parish can have nine current seminarians without the strong witness of a pastor who loves his priesthood and wants other young men to share in the joy that he has found in serving God's people as a priest. |
|
Diaconate Ordination of Daniel Ramos Published: Saturday, May 20, 2017 This gift of yourself will be both a sign of pastoral charity and an inspiration to it, as well as a source of spiritual fruitfulness in the world. |
|
Diaconate Ordination of Keith Higginbotham Published: Thursday, May 18, 2017 And of course the word "deacon" itself means "servant" and the service that a deacon offers emerges from prayer and is rooted in love. |
|
Easter Vigil 2017 Published: Saturday, April 15, 2017 You and I are called to be sons and daughters of the light. ... Jesus sends us forth to bring the light we experience today to others. Light is not supposed to be left behind at the church door when we return to what is falsely called "the real world." |
|
Good Friday of the Lord's Passion 2017 Published: Friday, April 14, 2017 Jesus extends his arms to show us how much he loves us and that there is nothing we can do — not even terrible deeds — that would cause us to forfeit his love. |
|
Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper 2017 Published: Thursday, April 13, 2017 You and I are accustomed to calling the first of these three days Holy Thursday, but it also has an older name that some of you may remember from the past: Maundy Thursday. The word, “maundy,” comes from the Latin “mandatum” and means “commandment” or “mandate” — in this case referring to Jesus’ commandment to “love one another.” |
|
Chrism Mass 2017 Published: Monday, April 10, 2017 By means of these anointings we become another "Christ." That is why we are called "Christians" — "Christ" is Greek for "anointed one" and we've been anointed. |
|
Palm Sunday 2017 Published: Sunday, April 9, 2017 As we begin this Holy Week, we lift up palms to remind ourselves of just how fickle we are. We honor the Lord one day and yet are fully capable of betraying him the next. |
|
Diaconate Ordination of Tuyen Do and Jeff Hebert Published: Saturday, April 8, 2017 What I am trying to say is that while celibacy involves sacrifice and death to self, you will discover it to be a gift that enables you to love others more fully and more freely, your life modeled on Jesus who also was celibate — probably for that very same reason — and who will give you the grace you need to live with total dedication the promises you make today. |
|
Deacon Recommitment Mass 2017 Published: Saturday, April 1, 2017 In addition to giving me an opportunity to thank you, this Mass is also for the purpose of giving you the opportunity to renew your commitment as a deacon — sort of like priests do at the Chrism Mass, putting you back in touch with the Lord's call in your life and your generous response to that call. |
|
Fourth Sunday of Lent 2017 Published: Sunday, March 26, 2017 You and I are like the people in this story: There are certain things to which we are blind, regarding which we lack insight. Sometimes this is willful blindness due to fear — we see this in the actions of our government regarding immigration. |
|
Third Sunday of Lent 2017 Published: Sunday, March 19, 2017 First she feels loved by God, and only then is she ready for solid doctrine. Solid doctrine that is not just a matter of theological interest, but which really makes a difference in her sense of self and the meaning of her life going forward. |
|
Second Sunday of Lent 2017 Published: Saturday, March 11, 2017 And it is only then that it will all begin to make sense: Jesus' glorious identity as the Son of God who will save us by means of a very un-glorious death — something they're not quite ready to understand. |
