Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B July 10/11, 2021 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082221.cfm Last April, I got to serve at the Confirmation mass for our 8 th graders at the Cathedral. During the sacrament of Confirmation, I stood next to the archbishop while he led the rite. I had the very special and Covid-specific job of wiping the oil off his thumb between 8 th graders. That position gave me a really privileged view of each of these young people as they came forward to be anointed and blessed. Each one stepped forward, greeted the archbishop with their sponsor’s hand on their shoulder and told him what name they wished to be called—which saint the had selected for their patron. The archbishop called them by their new name, used the oil in the shape of a cross on their forehead, and said, “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.” There were a large number of “Sebastians” (he’s the patron saint of athletes). And...
These posts are the collected homilies of Deacon Ned Berghausen, permanent deacon of the Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, assigned to St. Agnes Catholic Church. The title "Foot Washer" refers to the Last Supper (John 13:1-20) in which Jesus washed the feet of the apostles and challenged them, "“Do you realize what I have done for you? If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow."