Archbishop Lori’s Homilies

September 18, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital 50th Anniversary

I am delighted to be here today at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital to celebrate Mass with you as you celebrate your 50th anniversary. I warmly greet Bradley Chambers, your President, the Board of Directors, Bishop Madden, Auxiliary Bishop and a member of the Board, and my brother priests who are here in good number. My warm greetings...

September 16, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The goal of this investigation is to arrive at the truth and justice for the good of individuals involved and for the common good of the Church we love. Please pray for an abundance of God’s wisdom that this process may proceed in a manner that is just, thorough, efficient, and above all, a source...

September 16, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: St. James 150th Anniversary, Boonsboro, MD

We cannot let a day such as this pass without mentioning the names of Dr. Otho Smith and his son Dr. Josiah Smith, who were instrumental in building the first brick chapel here on the western side of South Mountain. Nor can we omit the name of Fr. John Jones who served as the first spiritual...

September 16, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Faith Fest, Harford County

I know that Faith-Fest has been in the planning for quite some time and I was happy to serve on one of the committees – the “weather committee”!

September 15, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, St. Joseph Cathedral, Wheeling, WV

We have all been jarred by the news regarding Bishop Bransfield, in particular, the allegations of sexual harassment of adults leveled against him, allegations which must now be carefully and fairly investigated.

September 8, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: The Birth of Mary; Anniversary of the Lourdes Grotto

As Archbishop of Baltimore and as an alumnus of Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary, it is a particular joy and honor to celebrate this Holy Mass marking the 60th anniversary of Mt. St. Mary’s National Shrine Grotto.

September 7, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart; Archdiocesan Day of Reparation

It is a day when we come before the Lord with humble and contrite hearts, seeking God’s forgiveness first for our own sins and failings but also seeking God’s forgiveness and healing for the appalling sin of sexual abuse perpetrated over and over again by clerics and other representatives of the Church.

September 1, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Going forward, it is not merely a matter of adopting best practices or working harder. What is most needed is deep repentance, beginning with us, your bishops. What is needed is a purification of the whole Church.

August 30, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Catholic Schools Convocation 2018

There are many things that make our Catholic schools special but one of the main factors in their excellence is yourselves. Your faithfulness, your care and concern for your students and their families, your dedication above and beyond, your competence in the classroom and beyond – all of this makes our schools wonderful places of...

August 29, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Memorial of the Beheading of John the Baptist

Stay close to Mary, ask her to intercede for you and for your classmates and do count on my prayers even as I ask you to pray for me now and again.

August 25, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

It would be wonderful if we could always arrive for Mass with only joy and hope. Yet most of us, myself included, celebrate this Mass with a sense of grief and anguish. It is a grief and an anguish brought about by the sexual abuse crisis that continues to trouble deeply even the most faithful...

August 25, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s remarks at the Pre-World Youth Day Pilgrimage

Our happiness, our fulfillment, lies in giving everything back to God, not just what we have but our very lives. And we give our lives back to the Lord when we worship him, when we strive to lead good and virtuous lives, embrace whatever vocation we are called to, and when we serve the poor and vulnerable.

August 25, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

As a bishop, I am deeply humbled by such abject failure as I stand before you tonight, and not only humbled but haunted by the enormity and evil of this crisis. As best I can, I shall strive to listen to and walk with the laity in searching for and implementing meaningful and further reforms.

August 19, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time/Patronal Feast of Cathedral of Mary Our Queen

The only way forward in this difficult hour is to center our lives on Christ and through Christ to give the Spirit access to our hearts. In that way, instead of clergy and laity growing apart from one another, we will strive in God’s grace to repair broken relationships, to heal those who have been...

August 16, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Mount St. Mary’s Seminary Opening Mass

This is not a mere public relations crisis. It represents a tsunami of moral failures – grave acts of commission and omission – that have justifiably bewildered and angered God’s people and undercut the Church’s evangelizing mission.

August 15, 2018

Archbishop Lori’s Homily: Solemnity of the Assumption

We celebrate Mary’s triumph in a moment that feels rather like the Church’s nadir. Mary, who witnessed the betrayal of her son and the cowardice of his disciples, knows, better than we do, what we are going through, why we feel as we do, and she is close to us with an amazingly tender maternal love . ....