tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-116588252012-01-17T20:58:01.322-05:00Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.comBlogger4661100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-42830395567547703172012-01-17T20:58:00.001-05:002012-01-17T20:58:01.335-05:00

Last week was National Vocation Awareness Week so this weekend we pray that vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life will be multiplied and renewed. We pray especially for three of our Louisville seminarians who are from this parish: Sean McKinley, Tony Cecil, and Deacon Stuart Priddy who will be ordained a priest in May. It is Providential that our readings this weekend describe the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-71338049929258632612012-01-17T20:50:00.001-05:002012-01-17T20:50:28.740-05:00

Have you ever heard a Catholic term that is familiar but one you have to really think about before you can remember what it means? Sometimes I still have to do that with the Epiphany, the Solemnity we celebrate today. I think it’s similar to the Immaculate Conception. Without thinking, you could say that the Immaculate Conception is about Jesus being conceived in the womb of our Blessed Mother.

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-70003536096036923252012-01-01T14:18:00.001-05:002012-01-01T14:18:49.116-05:00

Below is my typing out, on the fly, of the main ideas I preached about using an outline of notes – I was too distracted by the UK – U of L game and New Years Eve to write out a full-blown text beforehand! Happy New Year – my blessing to you for the new year is the text of the First Reading: “The Lord bless you and keep you!  The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!  The Lord

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-4395106266155740032011-12-25T10:47:00.001-05:002011-12-25T10:47:55.798-05:00

To those with us this evening who are new to St. James, friends and relatives of parishioners, on behalf of Fr. Chuck Walker our pastor and Fr. Stan Osborne our senior associate, and on behalf of Deacon Bill, Deacon Karl, and Deacon Joe, and all of our staff, I welcome you to St. James and wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas. My name is Fr. Matthew Hardesty, the Associate Pastor since June,

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-59329417391540078062011-12-25T10:40:00.001-05:002011-12-25T10:40:13.206-05:00

To those with us this evening who are new to St. James, friends and relatives of parishioners, on behalf of Fr. Chuck Walker our pastor and Fr. Stan Osborne our senior associate, and on behalf of Deacon Bill, Deacon Karl, and Deacon Joe, and all of our staff, I welcome you to St. James and wish you a blessed and Merry Christmas. My name is Fr. Matthew Hardesty, the Associate Pastor since June,

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-81834637906012139932011-12-19T15:21:00.001-05:002011-12-19T15:21:30.491-05:00

Today we have finally reached the Fourth and last Sunday of Advent. During the tail-end of this season, from Dec 17 to 23, the Church observes the ancient custom of praying, during Evening Prayer each day, one of the seven “O” Antiphons. The “O” Antiphons are Old Testament titles for the Messiah, each beginning with the invocation “O”. They are “O Wisdom,” “O Lord,” “O Root of Jesse,” “O Key of

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-41740452148035263782011-12-19T15:03:00.001-05:002011-12-19T15:03:09.526-05:00

At Mass today, we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent, also known by it’s Latin name Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice!” which is the first word of our Entrance Antiphon: Gaudete in Domino semper! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! Indeed, the Lord is near.” This is an excellent encouragement we are given as we enter our Mass. In all of our readings today we see

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-4511505715537706132011-12-19T13:20:00.001-05:002011-12-19T13:20:34.867-05:00

Today, the Second Sunday of Advent, the Church puts before us the figure of St. John the Baptist. Now, sometimes when I think of him, I imagine that camel hair shirt and his eating of locusts! Those always grab my attention when I’m reading the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. It’s easy for me, and maybe you too as the long year winds down, to lose focus on his example beyond those things. Thankfully

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-60356893366736690362011-11-22T17:45:00.001-05:002011-11-22T17:45:33.330-05:00

Msgr. Ronald Knox, a famous early-twentieth century English convert to Catholicism and a brilliant homilist, characterized Advent as a traveler in the night who with bleary eyes squints at the faint light of his destination ahead. Because the darkness clouds his depth perception he plods forward hoping that the light is only a few hundred yards ahead rather than a few miles. The Hebrew prophets

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-77588033619599795202011-11-22T17:25:00.001-05:002011-11-22T17:25:01.501-05:00

After high school, I didn’t enter seminary right away like some of the guys I went to seminary with did. I loved computers and wanted to some day work in a high-tech field like web development. I went to Lindsey Wilson College, a small school in south central KY and was a computer science major. I remember when I was a freshman I was looking through the manual for my major and shuddered at the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-5621191559389269782011-11-14T15:10:00.001-05:002011-11-14T15:10:25.975-05:00

Like my other recent homilies, this is a revision of a homily I wrote a few years ago but never delivered to a congregation. As we approach the end of Ordinary Time, our readings have been preparing us for the theme of the coming season of Advent: being prepared and ready for the coming of the Lord; not only at Christmas, but also at our own death, and at the end of time. Today’s readings show us

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-19229727905602360502011-10-23T12:57:00.001-04:002011-10-23T12:57:25.182-04:00

In last weekend’s readings, when our Lord taught the Pharisees and the Herodians that the People of God should be able to fulfill their civic duties and their duties to God at the same time, they marveled at his teaching and went away. Before our Gospel reading today, the Sadducees who denied the Resurrection, tried to stump Jesus, but they too “were astonished at his teaching.” Now the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-184192336536253732011-10-15T16:13:00.001-04:002011-10-15T16:13:03.480-04:00

Over the last few Sundays, our Gospel readings have been from St. Matthew’s Gospel and, parable after parable, Jesus has been putting the Pharisees squarely in their place. And with each parable they have been increasing in anger toward Jesus. He has stumped them and caught them trapped in their wickedness and so now the Pharisees decide to try to return the favor. They “went off and plotted how

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-90606182443483231062011-10-15T16:04:00.001-04:002011-10-15T16:04:09.450-04:00

It is a great honor for me to be able to give the Marian Talk this, the 60th Living Rosary Presentation. I believe some clever friends from St. Athanasius had a hand in my being chosen, I’ll talk to them later! Seriously though, as this is the first “living rosary” that I have been able to attend, I hope I am able to continue the tradition established by the good speakers who have given this talk

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-12371897806805220502011-10-15T15:51:00.001-04:002011-10-15T15:53:02.375-04:00

I am sure we have all, at one time or another, experienced the disappointment of working and planning diligently for a major event only to have very few people show up. Especially when it is a parish event, you can feel so defeated and discouraged when you know that a presentation or a speaker could have been so helpful to so many people and you want so badly for the gifts of the Church to have

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-45946032741530264172011-10-13T20:25:00.001-04:002011-10-13T20:25:26.060-04:00

This time four years ago was one of the most memorable events of my seminary career up at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, MD. October 1st, 2007 was a very exciting day as people packed into the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, just around the block from St. Mary’s. I was sitting in a pew with many other seminarians and I remember thinking how neat it was to see so many different religious orders,

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-6611965956108131162011-09-30T16:26:00.002-04:002011-10-13T20:16:56.548-04:00

Since I was only ordained about 4 months ago, I still remember it very well. There were several parts to the Ordination ritual and because I was the only one to be ordained I made a point to memorize the order of the different parts so I would know exactly what to do. There wasn’t a guy next to me that I could just glance over too if I was unsure. I was it! After being called forward and

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-8814691609136018612011-09-30T16:01:00.001-04:002011-09-30T16:03:22.895-04:00

This weekend, we celebrate Catechetical Sunday, a time we take every year to thank those who have dedicated themselves so generously to the immensely important role in the Church of catechesis, of facilitating a deep relationship with Christ, and of handing on faithfully Catholic teaching and practice. In 1979, Pope Blessed John Paul II published a document on catechesis titled Catechesi

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-24906773436764051782011-07-29T10:47:00.001-04:002011-07-29T10:47:32.798-04:00

For the last few Sundays, we have heard Jesus use several parables in order to describe the Kingdom of God and how the message of His Kingdom should be received. Today we have heard the final ones that Jesus will use, at least for now. This message is arguably Jesus’ most important message, the message he was sent by the Father to proclaim. In the whole New Testament, the phrase “Kingdom of God”

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-29887270265382646332011-07-18T12:04:00.001-04:002011-07-18T12:04:56.662-04:00

Since I’ve been ordained, and especially now as we approach a new school year, I’ve been reflecting on my years of seminary from an outside perspective. It is clearer to me now how the gravity of our mission there, to be formed into priests of Jesus Christ, sometimes caused us to over-emphasize certain things, or to make too much of things. For example, I could have been on time for Morning

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-56606860661709299632011-07-13T22:12:00.001-04:002011-07-13T22:12:04.786-04:00

I’m very glad to be with you all today to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving for my Ordination to the Priesthood and to thank you all for your prayers and support and for helping to form me into the man I am today. I feel like I should briefly explain why I am a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville rather than the Diocese of Owensboro! I grew up in this parish and my mother Jan was one of my

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-63086508656646090602011-07-13T21:55:00.001-04:002011-07-13T21:55:10.752-04:00

My Canon Law professor at the seminary, Msgr. Fulton, had a way of teaching Church law that made us actually enjoy learning it; he made it a joy to know the law and to help others to know it too. He had a great sense of humor in how he applied the law to particular situations. By having a sense of humor with the law, the point he made to us, without explicitly saying it, is that the law of the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-63882272925952225182011-07-13T21:40:00.001-04:002011-07-13T21:40:09.012-04:00

  I am so happy to be with all of you today as I celebrate the first Sunday Mass of my first priestly assignment as the Associate Pastor of St. James, St. Ambrose, and St. Ignatius. They say I was sent here to loosen up Fr. Chuck! But, I think it will be the other way around! Seriously, though, ever since I was ordained on May 28 and learned of my assignment here, everyone I have talked too has

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-15330956827894307272011-06-12T17:32:00.003-04:002011-06-12T17:35:40.319-04:00

Following is my homily for Pentecost Sunday which has a different set of readings than the Pentecost Vigil. I used some material from the homily for the Vigil Mass.  This particular Mass was a Mass of Thanksgiving for my Priesthood Ordination that I celebrated at St. Athanasius parish in Louisville, KY – I had been assigned there for my Pastoral Year as a seminarian and celebrated my

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-29250975001151584902011-06-11T20:31:00.004-04:002011-06-11T23:46:08.819-04:00

Following is my homily for the Pentecost Vigil Mass, which has a different set of readings than the Mass on the day of Pentecost. This particular Mass was a Mass of Thanksgiving for my Priesthood Ordination that I celebrated at Bl. Teresa of Calcutta parish in Fairdale, KY – I had been assigned there for two summers as a seminarian and celebrated my Diaconate Ordination there last year.     I

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-54506997498120629012011-06-05T10:18:00.003-04:002011-06-05T10:26:47.057-04:00

    I am so happy to be with here with all of you today. I was ordained a priest just last weekend and I still can't believe it; it hasn't fully sunk in yet. Last summer I was assigned here to St. Gabriel as a deacon and I cannot say enough how grateful I am to Fr. John, Fr. Jim, and all of you for that experience. Even as a deacon Fr. John and Fr. Jim treated me as a brother in ministry

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-55124132631154007842011-05-21T11:36:00.001-04:002011-05-21T11:36:33.992-04:00

    It is a great honor of mine to have been asked to give the sermon for this Solemn High Mass, a Mass of Thanksgiving marking the tenth anniversary of the Ordination to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood of my good and dear friend Fr. Paul Beach, our celebrant. Assisting him as Subdeacon is Bro. Edward Olsen of the Oratorians and myself, Deacon Matthew Hardesty. I acknowledge also his

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-67059517390982562912011-05-07T23:58:00.001-04:002011-05-08T00:04:21.870-04:00

            Following Easter Sunday, Jesus’ disciples did not have the same joy that we have felt.  After a full season of Lent, intensifying our prayer, offering up things as sacrifices to God, giving more generously of ourselves for others, purifying certain aspects of our lives, we naturally are relieved when Easter finally comes.  All of the grace we need to do those things throughout the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-24816084873143956682011-04-10T16:11:00.001-04:002011-04-10T16:11:34.829-04:00

    In the summer of 2008, I had one of the most difficult experiences of my entire formation to be a priest. In order to gain more pastoral experience, I participated in a program at the University of Louisville hospital in my home state of KY called C.P.E. – Clinical Pastoral Education. This is an ecumenical program in which I worked as a hospital chaplain while learning how to be a more

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-63188468979966063042011-02-13T08:58:00.001-05:002011-02-13T08:58:33.948-05:00

    My Canon Law professor at the seminary, Msgr. Fulton, had a way of teaching Church law that made us actually enjoy learning it; he made it a joy to know the law and to help others to know it too. We even nicknamed our textbook "The Big Green Monster" because it is a huge, unwieldy book containing the Code of Canon Law and the commentary on each canon. It's almost 2000 pages long and is

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-26708453581064309062011-01-17T00:03:00.003-05:002011-01-17T00:17:30.745-05:00

Last Sunday, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord was the official beginning of the Season that we are now in: Ordinary Time. It had a special focus on Jesus' Baptism and its meaning for our lives. This Sunday continues that theme but there is no special Feast Day; it is just a quote/unquote "normal Sunday." But, what is special about this Sunday and the other Sundays of Ordinary Time, is that

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-48857373593040373992010-12-12T16:56:00.003-05:002010-12-12T17:05:23.234-05:00

    About three weeks ago, while I was in my hometown of Owensboro, KY spending time with my family during Thanksgiving break, I had the great pleasure of being able to baptize my twin brother's first born child. His name is Dominic Joseph Hardesty. That moment was very meaningful to me because I have always been very close to my twin brother, Nicholas, and I was able to baptize his son, at the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-29366761281310730832010-12-04T21:10:00.000-05:002010-12-04T21:10:15.218-05:00

It seems that every year, a Christmas song that I have heard a hundred times or have not noticed, all the sudden surprises me with how beautiful it really is once I pay attention to the words.  First, it was Little Dummer Boy, then Good King Winceslas, and this year it is What Sweeter Music.  The latter has been on a compliation CD of sared hymns that I've listened too over and over tons of times

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-22101206411082857612010-11-20T16:15:00.000-05:002010-11-21T04:15:47.155-05:00

Since I am in my fourth year of Theology, my last year at St. Mary’s Seminary here in Baltimore, every day that passes is one more day closer to… Comprehensive Exams. These are a series of oral and written exams that is meant to test how well we have integrated all four years of theological studies. The Comprehensives are in February and I’m beginning to get a little nervous. They remind me of a

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-35344363435124131782010-11-16T10:35:00.000-05:002010-11-16T10:35:56.218-05:00

Today, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York was elected the new President of the USCCB and Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of the Archdiocese of Louisville, was elected the new Vice-President!  Congratulations your Excellency! http://whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2010/11/in-bishops-shocker-tim-wins.html

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-49511287983484043712010-11-13T15:47:00.000-05:002010-11-14T03:50:15.751-05:00

In Jesus’ discourse that we heard this evening, his “Little Apocalypse,” he refers to many who will come forward, claiming to be the Messiah, before his Second Coming at the end of the world. At the same time there will be many wars, natural disasters and persecutions. All this he tells them in the shadow of the great Temple in Jerusalem, as it faces east to the Mount of Olives. The apostles

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-70064143317089878862010-10-26T13:27:00.000-04:002010-10-26T13:27:28.905-04:00

There is an old English Catholic writer who lived in the early 1900’s that you guys should definitely look up in your English lit classes. This guy walked extensively all over Britain and Europe. He even went so far as to walk from central France, across the Alps, and all the way down to Rome and as he walked, he wrote descriptions about the people and places he met along the way, along with

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-76036523053633794102010-10-03T00:04:00.001-04:002010-10-03T00:04:52.326-04:00

    Only two short days ago, Fri Oct. 1, was a very important day here in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It marked the three year anniversary of a very important event. I remember vividly where I was on October 1st, 2007. I was sitting right where you are. It was a very exciting day as people packed into the Cathedral. I was sitting in a pew with many other seminarians and I remember thinking

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-69864313711323343812010-08-15T08:41:00.001-04:002010-08-15T08:41:33.232-04:00

    Some of you may be wondering who I am today. I have attended in choir at this Mass a few times but this is the first time I have Assisted at the altar. My name is Deacon Matthew Hardesty and I am a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Louisville. I was just ordained a Deacon in April. It is a great honor for me to Assist as the Subdeacon alongside my good friends Fr. Paul Beach, the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-35007690236483127182010-08-01T22:18:00.001-04:002010-08-01T22:18:38.172-04:00

    At the seminary, the accumulation of books is the last acceptable materialism. Seminarians do not make any money. The Archdiocese, using money from various initiatives like the Building a Future of Hope Campaign and other funds, pays for our tuition, room, and board. But for anything outside of that, we rely on donations and a monthly stipend. We often cry, "Woe is me, I'm a poor

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-48367049570813416462010-07-25T14:05:00.001-04:002010-07-25T14:05:05.354-04:00

    Why is it that… of all the things that are the most life-giving in our faith, prayer can be the most confounding? The questions that we have when we first learn to pray continue to pop-up when we are most advanced in prayer: When should I pray? How should I pray? What should I say? And the question that troubles us the most: Why should I even try? The good news is we are not left on our

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-71989769300891936562010-07-17T23:06:00.001-04:002010-07-17T23:06:01.821-04:00

    Do you remember last week's Gospel? A scholar of the law asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus asked him for his own take on the answer. The scholar replied, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, …being, …strength, …and mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Then Jesus vividly illustrated the second half of his answer by telling him the parable of

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-22531987857986326572010-07-11T02:02:00.002-04:002010-08-02T22:04:04.127-04:00

    This parable today, of the Good Samaritan, is like the Parable of the Prodigal Son or the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats – they are so memorable they have almost become part of Catholic "pop culture." We could easily think, "Oh, I've heard that one before, I know what it means" and tune it out. Last summer I had an experience of this. I was at Creighton University in Omaha, NE for a

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-66714711223401051262010-07-09T00:11:00.000-04:002010-07-09T00:11:49.072-04:00

I read this on Fr. Z's blog and thought it was absolutely hilarious.  This was submitted by a seminarian reader to him.  I did not write this but I wish I did! The Seminarian’s Song To the Tune of the Major-General’s Song from The Pirates of Penzance I am the very model of Catholic seminarian I’ve information pastoral, canonical, and Marian, I know the Popes of Avignon and Councils Ecumenical

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-33333303991537400882010-07-04T07:38:00.002-04:002010-07-16T13:34:02.037-04:00

    As Catholics, we believe that the Church is not only made up of Catholics in this world, but also those who are being purified in purgatory and those who have inherited eternal life in heaven. The Church in heaven, the communion of saints, is called the "Church Triumphant." The Church in purgatory is called the "Church Suffering". And the Church here on earth, which is composed of all of

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-62454952843292670512010-06-20T14:07:00.002-04:002010-07-16T13:22:50.080-04:00

Even though Father's Day is a secular holiday – in the Church, today is the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time – it can give our fathers the opportunity to step back and take a fresh look at their fatherhood, to see how things are going, to see how inline they are with the Fatherhood of God. This includes, of course, natural fathers and grandfathers, but also spiritual fathers, those aspiring to

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-35310270951910656502010-06-13T17:36:00.002-04:002010-06-25T09:05:47.008-04:00

    As we continue with the Season of Ordinary Time we continue our focus on the day-to-day duties and responsibilities of a faithful Catholic. These include remembering that every Sunday is a Holy Day of Obligation, returning to normal routines of prayer, renewing those small acts of penance that make up the penitential lifestyle of the Catholic, and examining our conscience regularly to see

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-75155595597304220322010-06-01T07:58:00.002-04:002010-06-25T09:03:42.825-04:00

    I've been involved in many youth and young adult groups over the years. One of the most effective ways I have seen for causing the group to be quiet was for the leader to make the Sign of the Cross. You could have 20 or 30 talking, joking, clowning teenagers but when the leader said, "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," the whole group, with its Catholic

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-52809559769822020562010-05-23T21:43:00.001-04:002010-05-23T21:43:27.168-04:00

    First of all, I'm very grateful to Fr. Bob for giving me the opportunity to come to Bl. Teresa today and celebrate my Diaconate Ordination with you. Add to that the fact that today is Pentecost Sunday! Aside from Easter, if you were to ask someone what the second most important Feast Day of the year is, he would probably say "Christmas" or "Halloween"… maybe even "St. Patrick's Day"! But

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-86653861522250230302010-04-26T10:14:00.001-04:002010-04-26T10:14:16.459-04:00

This Sunday is the fourth Sunday of the Easter Season, but we also call it "Good Shepherd" Sunday after the image of the Good Shepherd presented in our readings today. Typically we devote this particular Sunday to fervent prayers for Priestly and Religious Vocations and we should certainly do that today. But we also celebrate this year the fifth anniversary of the inauguration of our Holy

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-29790763323363702642010-03-20T16:23:00.002-04:002010-03-20T16:51:18.214-04:00

This is sort of Catholic inside baseball, but Dr. Ed Peters, an excellent and faithful Canon Lawyer at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit has an interesting article on the rubric for the footwashing (or the Mandatum) of Holy Thursday from a Canonical perspective. I just read it again because there is always disagreement when Holy Thursday rolls around. The rubric says that only viri selecti,

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-34202191732618510962010-03-10T19:16:00.001-05:002010-03-10T19:16:44.561-05:00

Our reading this evening, in another translation, contains the famous "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling" passage. The Season of Lent can often engender "fear and trembling" so how should we best understand this? Certainly the third theology class was in "fear and trembling" last week as we waited for our faculty vote! But let's go a little deeper…This year I've been assigned to

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-33190645906232875242010-02-25T09:20:00.026-05:002010-02-25T15:08:47.075-05:00

I was very glad to go to the Diaconate Ordinations of two of my classmates and friends, Brian Capuano and Eric Ayers from the Diocese of Richmond, VA. Here are some great pics of each, from fellow seminarian and master photographer Chris Hess. Eric and Brian are awesome, awesome guys - great role models and will be excellent priests.Eric's Ordination: Brian's Ordination and First

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-35792987290371249352010-02-02T08:57:00.002-05:002010-02-02T09:00:32.336-05:00

T.S. Eliot in his poem titled "The Journey of the Magi" paints a picture of the struggle these wise men from the East must have endured in order to find the Christ-child. Listen closely to how vivid and down-to-earth his portrait is: A cold coming we had of it,Just the worst time of the yearFor a journey, and such a long journey:The ways deep and the weather sharp,The very dead of

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-92203164686407411092010-02-02T08:43:00.002-05:002010-02-02T08:47:17.432-05:00

Fr. Bromwich, a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville, with former training in nursing, has gone over to Haiti to help with the spiritual and medical needs. I am very proud of him and our Archdiocese for this. Read the story here:http://www.archlou.org/article225102c3073979.htmFr. Bromwich sends an update from Haiti:http://www.archlou.org/article226138c3082355.htm

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-75117655214209278192009-12-12T23:21:00.004-05:002009-12-12T23:55:35.033-05:00

I've always enjoyed the National Catholic Register newspaper and was browsing their website after not having read the paper for quite some time. They have a regular Travel column where they feature beautiful Catholic sites throughout the country. I was happy to see that St. Martin of Tours of the Archdiocese of Louisville was featured back in their Nov 8-14, 2009 issue! There is a very nice

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-6805263748166891672009-12-12T15:03:00.007-05:002009-12-12T15:34:01.927-05:00

This year again, I finally paid attention to the words of a Christmas carol I'd heard a thousand times and was struck by their beauty. Last year it was "Little Drummer Boy", this year, "Good King Wenceslas".A "league" in English usage is about 3 miles. The "feast of Stephen" is Dec 26. The "saint" in the final stanza is the good king himself, St. Wenceslas, also known as Wenceslas I, Duke of

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-35092577548351545792009-12-05T15:37:00.003-05:002009-12-05T16:08:07.375-05:00

Yesterday was a downright wonderful day. After my Canon Law class from 3-4:15pm I went to visit He Who Is Canon Law Itself, Fr. Paul Beach, at CUA in D.C. We talked shop for a bit then went out to eat. I must say BW3's (do they still call it that?) Medium flavor wings are perfect when you tell them to leave 'em in a little bit to make them crispier. I would dare say they even rival the wings at

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-69904924006631632632009-11-18T11:56:00.001-05:002009-11-18T11:56:16.385-05:00

I have many cherished memories of my childhood. One of those is of dad, with the constant support of mom, teaching my brothers and me how to pray. He would get home late at night from work and he would round us all up on one bed and make us take three deep breaths. We were always wound up and never went to bed when mom wanted us to. Then he would take a prayer card out of his shirt pocket and

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-44171851564745296352009-11-04T22:03:00.001-05:002009-11-04T22:03:00.638-05:00

[Background: A Wedding homily for the marriage between my twin brother Nicholas Hardesty and his wife Amy who, providentially, were recently married on Oct 24, 2009. The presider and homilist was Bishop Malone at the Cathedral of the Diocese of Portland, ME where Amy is a parishioner and where the Bishop is a friend of her family. This homily is directed to my family who is half Presbyterian

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-67730897593384937172009-10-29T20:11:00.003-04:002009-10-29T20:15:26.143-04:00

In this week's issue of The Record (10-29-09) I have an article about my Pastoral Year and the Year of the Priest.Seminarian reflects on his pastoral year and the Year for PriestsMatthew HardestyMatthew Hardesty is a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Louisville.Around this time last year, I was a little disappointed. I had finished one year of philosophy and two years of theology at St. Mary’s

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-81990525316802763772009-04-18T16:41:00.004-04:002009-04-18T17:05:30.404-04:00

I was reading Archbishop Timothy Dolan's homily today from his Installation Mass as the new archbishop of New York and was really struck by something he said. I thought it was absolutely beautiful and had to post it. After thanking all in attendance in the necessary order he said:But, I hope you understand, as grateful as I am to all of you, there is another claim on my gratitude that towers

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-8816981291125438682009-04-15T20:51:00.001-04:002009-04-15T20:51:33.989-04:00

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-51878813468821895612009-04-02T17:40:00.007-04:002009-04-02T18:52:46.939-04:00

Following is my homily for this Sunday on both the readings for the Procession with Palms and on the readings for the account of the Passion in the Mass. This may be a bit long, especially after everyone will have stood for a good while listening to the reading of the Passion ;) But, how in the heck does one preach briefly on Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his Passion and Death? A

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-50783911401974726072009-03-16T14:21:00.002-04:002009-03-16T14:31:24.588-04:00

HOLY FATHER ANNOUNCES A SPECIAL YEAR FOR PRIESTS VATICAN CITY, 16 MAR 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican the Holy Father received members of the Congregation for the Clergy, who are currently celebrating their plenary assembly on the theme: "The missionary identity of priests in the Church as an intrinsic dimension of the exercise of the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-48397167641823863352009-03-06T15:50:00.003-05:002009-03-06T16:24:18.408-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted because my last few homilies have been from notes I prepared rather than a full text. That's gone better than I thought. But I decided to type one up for this Sunday's readings anyway: The 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B. Let me know what you think or how I can improve. If I were to deliver this one, I think I would still try to do it from some notes on the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-21201814757572226472009-02-18T00:06:00.004-05:002009-02-18T00:20:36.713-05:00

I was listening to EWTN on Sirius satellite radio a couple days ago and caught the tail end of one of Fr. Leo Clifford's shows. This one was on the Mercy of God and he read a poem by an unknown Christian about Jesus addressing Judas from the cross. (Remember that from his despair at betraying our Lord, Judas hung himself) I was really struck by it but forgot Fr. Leo's name and couldn't find

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-12563909543792276092009-02-08T10:37:00.002-05:002009-02-08T10:46:43.209-05:00

Below is my homily on the readings for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B. It's a bit of a short one this week.Our world is so full of suffering that all of us, to one degree or another, can identify with Job’s cries today. “Is not man’s life on earth a drudgery? Are not his days those of hirelings?” he asks with despair. We strive to grow in holiness only to fall to sin time and time again.

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-79819244927362707442009-02-03T00:36:00.008-05:002009-02-03T02:07:10.924-05:00

I've always considered Fox's hit TV show House to be a guilty pleasure of mine. I'm actually a huge fan and have seen every episode of all 5 seasons so far - either through Blockbuster Total Access or iTunes. I say "guilty pleasure" because the docs on the show aren't exactly paragons of virtue and Dr. House is a complete mess. I like it for its straight-talk, its non-PC, and the return to

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-86528948436252154682009-01-31T11:58:00.002-05:002009-01-31T12:26:51.604-05:00

Below is my homily on the readings for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year BOne of the things I find most fascinating about the Liturgy of the Word, the readings at Mass, is the unity of these readings. If you listen closely to the first reading, the responsorial psalm, the second reading, and the Gospel you can detect a thread running through them that weaves one unified message that the Holy

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-16546003286089713572009-01-20T16:51:00.002-05:002009-01-20T16:57:39.681-05:00

I just got this in an email. Did you know President Bush did this? Is this recurring yearly? Will President Obama strike it down? Here's the text:National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2009A Proclamation by the President of the United States of AmericaAll human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-79343447915868327182009-01-20T09:06:00.005-05:002009-01-20T11:47:54.875-05:00

Below is my homily on the readings for the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B.Last week was National Vocation Awareness Week when we prayed that vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life would be multiplied and renewed. It is Providential then that, following National Vocation Awareness Week, the Church has provided us with readings today that describe the beautiful calls of Samuel in the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-64693170847436304362009-01-19T14:20:00.001-05:002009-01-19T14:20:52.268-05:00

Love him or hate him, thank God he wasn't aborted.

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-26190599235609130832009-01-04T23:10:00.005-05:002009-01-04T23:57:10.543-05:00

Below is my homily for today's readings ([text][audio][video]) of The Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord. But what does that mean? Well, the words itself means “manifestation” but this is one of those feasts of the Church whose meaning can be unclear by its name alone. It is like the feast of the Immaculate Conception which many think is about Jesus

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-35893179784693418632008-12-23T22:33:00.003-05:002008-12-23T22:40:39.437-05:00

I know I'm jumping the gun a bit here, it's not even Christmas yet! But, I'm currently only writing homilies for Sunday readings. Below is my homily for next Sunday's readings on the Feast of the Holy Family.For the past few weeks, we have been so intensely focused on the coming of Jesus Christ, that today the Church invites us to take a step back and look at a larger picture: The Holy Family.

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-60553264840055073402008-12-20T00:23:00.007-05:002008-12-20T00:45:54.049-05:00

Below is my homily on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent:Today we have finally reached the Fourth Sunday of Advent. During the tail-end of this season, from Dec 17 to 23, the Church observes the ancient custom of praying on each day one of the seven “O” Antiphons. They are called “O” Antiphons because each one addresses the Son of God with a different Old Testament title, beginning with

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-82968480362941511932008-12-15T16:42:00.011-05:002008-12-15T17:37:19.917-05:00

Here's some more photos of my visit to St. Mary's about a week and a half ago.First, the Christmas Tree is ready for the party: After a Closing Mass, we had a nice formal dinner then the Christmas...er... Season-after-Advent party around the tree. We alternated between singing hymns together and watching various skits prepared by the guys, grouped by class or diocese. It was a lot of fun. The

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-14483142630903572962008-12-15T13:23:00.001-05:002008-12-15T13:23:07.360-05:00

When I heard about the dork journalist who thew his shoes at President Bush I immediately thought of this Austin Powers reference. Perfect!

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-61835859662360815342008-12-15T13:02:00.006-05:002008-12-15T13:15:59.218-05:00

Yunno the Christmas Carol, Little Drummer Boy? Well, I've always just kinda ignored this one every time I heard it on the radio because of the "pa rum pum pum pum"s. I didn't even realize it was a Christian song! Until recently, at a funeral, my current pastor sang it for the deceased. It was her favorite song. He did a great job and it was actually pretty moving. Check out the lyrics, first with

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-19801040290224014802008-12-14T10:50:00.005-05:002008-12-14T11:08:14.547-05:00

Below is my homily for today's readings, the Third Sunday of Advent: Gaudete SundayAt Mass today, we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent, also known by it’s Latin name Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is Latin for “Rejoice!” which is the fist word of our Entrance Antiphon: Gaudete in Domino semper! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near.” This is taken from St. Paul’s letter

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-27293535217554235102008-12-11T01:12:00.004-05:002008-12-11T01:30:00.163-05:00

Oops, I've been forgetting to link to the readings for these homilies. Below is my homily for last Sunday's readings, the Second Sunday of Advent. Today, the Second Sunday of Advent, the Church puts before us the figure of St. John the Baptist. Now, when we think of him, I bet the first things that come to mind are that camel hair shirt and his eating of locusts! Those always grab my attention

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-9185883339078008152008-12-09T23:30:00.008-05:002008-12-09T23:53:54.879-05:00

I had a great time visiting the guys at my seminary, St. Mary's in Baltimore, for their end-of-year, Christmas, er, season-after-Advent events. It was good to take a little break from the parish, catch up with good friends, and meet the new guys.On Friday the guys were hunkered down with the last day of classes. So I went fly-fishing in the Gunpowder River south of Baltimore! This was my first

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-7897663453877213532008-12-04T02:57:00.005-05:002008-12-11T01:16:51.168-05:00

Msgr. Ronald Knox, a famous early-twentieth century English convert to Catholicism and a brilliant homilist, characterized Advent as a traveler in the night who with bleary eyes squints at the faint light of his destination ahead. Because the darkness clouds his depth perception he plods forward hoping that the light is only a few hundred yards ahead rather than a few miles. The Hebrew prophets

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-34737716545227060192008-12-02T20:46:00.003-05:002008-12-02T20:51:18.451-05:00

After high school, I didn’t enter seminary right away like some of my fellow seminarians. I loved computers and wanted to some day work in a high-tech field like web development. I went to Lindsey Wilson College, a small school in south central KY and was a computer science major. I remember when I was a freshman I was looking through the manual for my major and shuddered at the description of

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-59339533647139293212008-12-02T00:45:00.002-05:002008-12-02T00:58:01.541-05:00

Please pray for the soul of William Kelly Bradshaw, the father of my Pastoral Year pastor, Fr. Terry Bradshaw. His family celebrated Thanksgiving the weekend beforehand and Mr. Bradshaw had all of his family around him at the meal when, after offering a blessing, he had a sudden heart attack. This was followed by a cranial hemorrhage which was inoperable. He died early Monday morning (11-24-08

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-38067656327694850582008-12-02T00:32:00.004-05:002008-12-02T00:43:12.794-05:00

On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving I participated in an ecumenical Thanksgiving Prayer Service for the area Catholic Churches and Protestant communities in Okalona/High View. I must say it was a very nice service. Area pastors and I met once a week for about a month planning it. There were scripture readings, traditional hymns, prayers, a collection for the poor, and a couple homilies.

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-15878504608799472682008-11-22T22:02:00.005-05:002008-12-02T00:44:40.299-05:00

Now I'm back on the regular schedule for these homilies. Here is my homily on last weekend's readings on the Talents. Christ the King next.Our readings today are about… STEWARDSHIP. Now, I know, I’m with you: the word “stewardship” or the phrase “time, talent, and treasure” often falls on deaf ears, they seem so cliché don’t they, and we hear them all the time. Thankfully, here at St. Athanasius,

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-67351833202342597302008-11-18T22:15:00.003-05:002008-11-18T22:23:21.922-05:00

Originally posted at Vox Nova with many signers:An Open Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama November 14, 2008President-elect Barack ObamaAs American Catholics, we, the undersigned, would like to reiterate the congratulations given to you by Pope Benedict XVI. We will be praying for you as you undertake the office of President of the United States. Wishing you much good will, we hope we will be

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-24473503105161794872008-11-08T10:29:00.003-05:002008-11-08T10:47:02.553-05:00

Continuing my practice of the 3-year cycle (how to give a homily on the same readings three times in a row), here is my third homily on the "Caesar readings" from Sun Oct 19 (here are the first and second). This also serves as a post-election homily. Let me know what you think. (works consulted: Render Unto Caesar by Archbishop Charles Chaput and Randy Alcorn's blog)In our Gospel today, the plan

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-7296630970223715862008-11-05T20:38:00.002-05:002008-11-05T20:46:45.025-05:00

It's funny how we (I) can intellectually know how we should so something or what we should do, but then not actually do it. Only four short days ago I posted my second "Caesar homily" with advice that should have kept me from feeling all defeated and bitter today. But giving it another think-thru and meditating on today's readings is pulling me up.Here's what I said:In the period of silence

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-72848856205800134012008-11-05T20:24:00.003-05:002008-11-05T20:34:59.612-05:00

God's Word to us, on the day after the election, from today's first reading at Mass:Do everything without grumbling or questioning,that you may be blameless and innocent,children of God without blemishin the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,among whom you shine like lights in the world,as you hold on to the word of life--from Phil 2:12-18And I was struck by a couple lines in the Gospel:

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-10079505991245673312008-11-01T14:30:00.002-04:002008-11-01T15:15:01.287-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I posted my homily for the 29th Sunday, Ordinary Time, Year A. The readings included the popular dictum, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." Rather than post a homily for this weekend's readings for All Soul's Day, which I was looking forward to, Fr. Terry asked me to prepare for the 3 year cycle phenomenon. Each year - A, B, or C - has a

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-66451872711029874002008-11-01T14:06:00.002-04:002008-11-01T14:29:38.179-04:00

I was pleasantly surprised when I went to the USCCB's website today and saw a press release for a YouTube video my Archbishop has made defending the traditional definition of marriage. Archbishop Kurtz is the chairman of the USCCB's Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh_81zsW6U8

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-56678682631215393492008-10-24T18:40:00.004-04:002008-10-24T19:05:11.886-04:00

Here is the homily I gave to the pastor during our meeting today on the readings for this Sunday. His reply: "But what impact do the readings have on you?"...well...uh...yeah...but...Works consulted: A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, Navarre Bible Commentary, and In Conversation with God.Last weekend, after our Lord showed the Pharisees and the Herodians the

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-66097686452002035492008-10-18T16:29:00.017-04:002008-10-19T18:52:39.862-04:00

Last Sat, Oct 11, it was my pleasure to serve the wedding of a good friend, Julia Bauereis, now Julia Walsh at the gorgeous All Saints Catholic Church in Walton, KY. I served with another seminarian, from St. Meinrad, who is a good man and will make a good priest.The five-year-old new Church is one of the most beautiful new constructions I've ever seen. It was designed by Duncan Stroik, head of

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-38686530082432805942008-10-17T21:15:00.004-04:002008-10-17T21:20:34.017-04:00

Here is my homily for this Sunday's readings. I can see me losing the congregation during the first half... it's a little heady. This one would probably be best delivered from bullet-points taken from the text. But... the second half would grab their attention. Too controversial? Over the last few Sundays, our Gospel readings have been from St. Matthew’s Gospel and parable after

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-38691986562308718922008-10-10T15:27:00.002-04:002008-10-10T15:31:53.400-04:00

Below is my homily for this Sunday's readings. My critique: I wanted to use my reflection on Psalm 23 so bad that I sort of artificially plugged it in to the middle of the homily :) And there's a rather lengthy quote of Lumen Gentium... it's all in the delivery! Do you remember in our Gospel reading last weekend, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants? In that parable a landowner built a

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-71187721765983371862008-10-05T14:42:00.003-04:002008-10-05T15:25:16.777-04:00

Like I said, I've been preparing homilies during my pastoral year at St. Athanasius in Louisville, KY. Every Friday I have a supervision meeting with the pastor and during that I present a homily for the following Sunday's readings. Below is the homily I prepared for today. Here's the readings. Works consulted: A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, A Commentary on the New Testament,

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-17358460382757490052008-10-05T14:37:00.003-04:002008-10-05T14:41:25.627-04:00

Yunno, in the last seven months since my last post, by far the biggest thing (and one of the best days of my life) that happened was being picked to serve the Holy Father's Mass at Yankee Stadium on April 20. Here is an article from The Record on the day.(I'm on the far right in this pic)Archdiocesan priests, seminarians assist at Mass Marnie McAllisterRecord Staff Writer

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11658825.post-87500315207736313072008-10-04T16:47:00.002-04:002008-10-04T16:55:17.117-04:00

Wow, it's been 7 months since I've posted here... anyone still out there? (cue crickets) My brother just made his comeback from a 2 month absence with a beautiful paper on...beauty, so I'm motivated to do the same. Plus, this guy has kinda inspired me...I'll mention briefly the major things that have happened in the last 7 months (like serving the Holy Father at Yankee Stadium!) and may post

Fr. Matthew Hardestyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06540270550611379278noreply@blogger.com2