frsuelzle Sermons

No Other God Will Do

A sermon for the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, by Fr. Dan Suelzle

On Holy Trinity Sunday, it can be tempting to view the doctrine of the Trinity as a vague, intellectual, esoteric idea meant only for theologians. However, obsessing over the “how” of the Trinity misses the point entirely. The true danger of denying the Trinity isn’t about failing a theological quiz; it’s about rejecting the very way God has revealed Himself to us. When we look at scripture—from Isaiah’s vision of God’s holiness to Jesus explaining the mystery of rebirth to Nicodemus—we see that to confess the Trinity is to confess God in action.

Ultimately, we confess the Triune God not because we fully comprehend Him, but because there is no other God to confess. We need the Father who loves the world, the Son who offers Himself as a substitutionary atonement on the cross, and the Holy Spirit who creates faith within us. No other god will do. When human reason fails and our minds spin, the gospel invites us to step back from trying to comprehend the infinite and instead rejoice in His saving deeds.

Listen to the sermon audio below.

frsuelzle Sermons

You Need The Holy Spirit

A sermon for the Day of Pentecost, by Fr. Dan Suelzle

The power of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost turned a group of uneducated disciples into courageous preachers who proclaimed the mighty works of God in Christ. Just as the Spirit transformed Peter from a man who denied Christ into a bold witness of the resurrection, God continues to perform his works wherever His Word is proclaimed. This divine power is not a vague energy we tap into for a quick boost; rather, it is a concrete, life-giving force that meets us in our absolute helplessness. Like a physician administering CPR, the Holy Spirit raises us from spiritual death to life through the Gospel, initiating a saving faith that we could never achieve on our own strength or reason.


As baptized believers navigating a broken world, we continually need the Spirit’s ongoing work as our helper, comforter, and teacher. In the midst of our daily struggles against sin, temptation, and a culture that rejects the truth, the Holy Spirit actively silences the devil’s accusations by pointing us back to the cross and unburdening our consciences through forgiveness. He does not deliver this teaching through isolated, individual experiences, but through the tangible gifts of Word and Sacrament within the gathering of the Church. By anchoring us to Christ’s truth, the Holy Spirit grants us a divine, lasting peace, ensuring that the same miraculous work that began at Pentecost continues to sustain and keep us in the one true faith today.

Listen to the sermon audio below.

frsuelzle Sermons

You Need the True Cross

A sermon for The Invention of the Holy Cross, by Fr. Dan Suelzle.

The apostle Paul declares that he would boast in nothing except the cross of Jesus Christ. At first glance, perhaps this focus seems narrow. Why not boast in Christ’s mercy, His resurrection, or the sacraments? The reality is that these gifts are inseparable from the cross of Jesus. As we reflect on the feast of the “Invention”, or discovery, of the Holy Cross, we are reminded that our salvation is not a vague, ethereal concept, but a historical reality rooted in time and space. God enlisted the creature, wood, to be the means upon which his only-begotten Son is crucified for the sin of the world. Thus, the cross becomes the Tree which gives life, undoing the effects of the tree which brought death in the garden.

While historical accounts like St. Helena’s discovery of the True Cross ground our faith in history, they also serve as a cautionary tale. Just as the Israelites eventually turned the bronze serpent into an idol, we are prone to chasing relics rather than the Redeemer. Our boast is not in the inherent power of a piece of wood, but in the promises God attached to Christ’s sacrifice. Today, we don’t need to hunt for ancient slivers of timber to find God’s favor. Instead, Christ continues to deliver the fruits of the cross by connecting them to other creatures: the water of Baptism, the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist. We honor the cross by putting ourselves in proximity to these gifts to receive them in faith, where the victory won at the cross is delivered directly to us today.

Listen to the homily below.