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.
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Religious Jubilarian Mass 2018 Published: Saturday, September 29, 2018 We celebrate this feast of the archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael in part to remind us that like St. Michael, we too must struggle against evil; like St. Gabriel, we too must proclaim the Good News of salvation, and like St. Raphael, we too must protect the weak and vulnerable. |
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Message about Clergy Disclosure List Published: Sunday, September 16, 2018 In my own name and in the name of the Church, I would like to apologize to all victims for the abuse you have suffered in the past and for the way that Church leadership has sometimes failed you. I am committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that this never happens again. |
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23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Published: Saturday, September 8, 2018 During the baptism of infants there is a part of the rite called the "Ephphatha," where I touch the baby's ears and mouth, saying: "The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father." |
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Candidacy Mass for Men in Permanent Diaconate Formation Published: Saturday, September 8, 2018 You candidates for the permanent diaconate are on a path to becoming ordained ministers of the Church. As such, you will encounter human brokenness in many ways and will need to deal compassionately with everyone you meet, including those people who are hard to love. |
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Friday, 22nd Week of Ordinary Time, Cycle II Published: Friday, September 7, 2018 In every age there are people who advocate changes in the Church, which is beneficial to the degree that they serve to prune the Church: eliminating abuses so that we can produce better fruit for the Lord, making us more faithful to Jesus' teaching. |
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Memorial Mass for Father Louis Franz, CM Published: Wednesday, September 5, 2018 I regret that I never met him — he served here in Arkansas from 1985 to 1993, so I missed him by about 15 years, but his influence can still be felt even today. |
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St. Teresa of Kolkata Mass 2018 Published: Wednesday, September 5, 2018 You parents know that anything good or bad that anyone does to your child, they’ve done to you and you react accordingly. Moreover, if you have a child that is especially vulnerable or otherwise dealing with problems, you become more protective and your concern expands in proportion to the need. |
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Reflections on the Sexual Abuse Crisis Published: Friday, August 31, 2018 My heart goes out to all who carry deep wounds of this sort. One such person whose abuser was not a priest brought this to my attention. He describes how it took 30 years for him to come to terms with his abuse and finally admit that he needed help. It takes much courage and strength to make this admission and it takes trust. |
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Mass with Seminarians and Parents 2018 Published: Saturday, August 11, 2018 I want you to know that I appreciate the fears that some of you parents may feel because your sons are doing something very countercultural. They are walking by faith. I hope you find them inspiring. |
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Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord Published: Monday, August 6, 2018 If you are not willing to bear a cross, you’re not yet following Jesus. If you go to the seminary seeking your own glory, to win the esteem of others and the power that comes with the sacrament of orders, you are on the wrong path because this is not the path of Jesus. You will not be able to be faithful to your promise of celibacy without embracing a cross. |
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18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Published: Saturday, August 4, 2018 Jesus is asking them not just to believe him, but to believe in him: to put faith in him personally, to entrust themselves to him, to believe in him like they believe in God. You believe a prophet, his message — but you believe in God, in his very self. |
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Sister Helen Herbstritt, OSB, Transfer of Vows Published: Wednesday, August 1, 2018 This pearl is truly "of great price" — chastity is costly, obedience is costly, conversion of life is costly, death to self is costly, which is why it is also so valuable. Thieves steal what is valuable and so Satan tries to steal our vocation, tries to talk us out of giving ourselves fully to the Lord. |
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Seminarian Signing Day in Jonesboro Published: Wednesday, August 1, 2018 We priests have the honor of serving the people Jesus entrusts to our care, which is why the Church asks us to die to ourselves as a condition for ordination. |
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Memorial of Blessed Stanley Rother 2018 Published: Saturday, July 28, 2018 You will recall that in the days and months before his death, Blessed Stanley knew that his “hour” was coming. The forces of evil were closing in on him ... (He) was resolved to make sure that they didn’t take him alive so that he might not say things under torture that might put someone else’s life at risk. |
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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B Published: Sunday, July 22, 2018 The crozier I carry as a bishop is a shepherd’s staff to remind me that I am the chief shepherd of the portion of God’s flock that is the Diocese of Little Rock. But actually, Jesus is your true shepherd. He’s the one leading the flock where we need to go. I’m just his German Shepherd. |
