6th Sunday in Easter Cycle C https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052525.cfm Two weeks ago, 133 Cardinals filed into the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican to select a new pope. As they took their places in a space similar in size to St. Agnes, they chanted Veni Creator Spiritus, Come, Holy Spirit. These men were from all over the world, with a diversity of languages, perspectives, and theological views. Yet they were tasked with getting a two thirds majority to select someone to lead them. Can you imagine getting 133 people to come to an agreement on a leader? It seems impossible, yet they within two days and four rounds of voting, we saw white smoke and heard the announcement: habemus papum! We have a pope. For decades, people have said, “it is impossible to elect an American pope. It will never happen.” Yet here we are. The Holy Spirit—which the cardinals invoked before they began—is the doer of impossible deeds. As we approach the feast of Pentecost, which we will celebrate in tw...
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."