by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 5, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 35:1-6, 10; Letter of James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 We are now very close to celebrating the Solemnity of the Lord’s Nativity, Christmas Day, on December 25th. The Lord is very near and is coming quickly, as the Liturgy of the Church keeps...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 2, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12 A fundamental emphasis of the Season of Advent each year is to welcome Jesus, who came in time, who will come at the end of time, and who comes to us every day: in Sacred Scripture, in the Sacraments of...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 20, 2022 | Homily
We began the holy season of Advent this past Sunday and a new Liturgical Year has begun. The message we will be hearing throughout Advent is this: prepare your hearts, for our God is sending a Savior, Emmanuel, a name which means, God-with-us. The firm conviction that...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 17, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Second Book of Samuel 5:1-3; Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians 1:12-20; Gospel According to Saint Luke 23:35-43 In the Liturgical Calendar of the Catholic Church, this Sunday we celebrate the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, dedicated to Christ the King....
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 7, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Book of the Prophet Malachi 3:19-20; Saint Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians 3:7-12; Gospel According to Saint Luke 21:5-19 No doubt to the consternation of his hearers, Jesus predicted the destruction of the great Temple in Jerusalem. The people...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Oct 27, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 11:23-12:2; Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Gospel According to Saint Luke 19:1-10 The Liturgical Year 2021-22 is drawing to a close. In less than a month we will begin a new Liturgical Year with the First...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Oct 20, 2022 | Homily
Book of Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 4:6-8; 16-18; Gospel According to Saint Luke 18:9-14 Jesus’ famous parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple might seem like an exaggeration or a parody, even something...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Oct 11, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Book of Exodus 17:8-13; Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 3:14-4:2; Gospel According to Saint Luke 18:1-8 Our ancestors in the faith, the children of Israel, went forth from slavery in Egypt accompanied by the Patriarch Moses. Their destination was the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Oct 5, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Second Book of Kings 5:14-17; Second Letter of Paul to Timothy 2:8:13; Gospel According to Saint Luke 17:11-19 Throughout the Gospels we see clearly that our Lord has the power of healing people. Sometimes the faith of the one or more persons who want to be...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Sep 23, 2022 | Homily
Scripture readings: Book of the Prophet Amos 6:1, 4-7; First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 6:11-16; Gospel According to Saint Luke 16:19-31 “A wise man is known by the fewness of his words,” as the saying goes. Saint Benedict cites it in his Holy Rule in the chapter...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Sep 12, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Amos 8:4-7; First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 2:1-8; Gospel According to Saint Luke 16:1-13 Can bad example be a good lesson? Can we benefit from the misdeeds of others? What about people who expend so much energy and money...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Sep 9, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; First Letter to Timothy 1:12-17 Gospel According to Luke 15:1-32 The story is told of a catechism class studying the Parable the Prodigal Son. After emphasizing the wrong attitude of the older son in the parable, the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Aug 29, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 9:13-18; Letter of Saint Paul to Philemon 9-17; Gospel According to Saint Luke 14:25-33 The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel passage might almost startle us. They were spoken...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Aug 27, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Sirach 3:17-18,20,28-29; Letter to the Hebrews 12:18-19,22-24; Gospel According to Saint Luke 14:1,7-14 “The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself.” It’s a very wise saying from the Book of Sirach, the first reading for this...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Aug 19, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 66:18-21; Letter to the Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Gospel According to Saint Luke 13:22-30 This Sunday in Ordinary Time directs our attention to God’s intention for the salvation of the human race in Jesus Christ. Expressed...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Aug 8, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Prophet Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Letter to the Hebrews 12:1-4; Gospel According to Saint Luke 12:49-53 As an infant of forty days, Jesus was presented in the Jerusalem Temple, where the elderly prophet Simeon said to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, that...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Aug 7, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 18:6-9; Letter to the Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19, Gospel According to Saint Luke 12:32-48 Some parts of Sacred Scripture, the Old and New Testaments, are more interesting, engaging and memorable than others. I have to confess that this...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jul 26, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Letter to the Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Gospel According to Saint Luke 12:13-21 This Sunday’s Scripture readings provide us with another opportunity to reflect on the fact that “you can’t take it (or anything!) with...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jul 23, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Genesis 18:20-32; Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians 2:12-14; Gospel According to Saint Luke 11:1-13 This Sunday’s Gospel passage is a collection of the Lord’s sayings on prayer. Jesus gives the teaching in the context of his own prayer. We are...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jul 13, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Book of Genesis 18:1-10; Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians 1:24-28; Gospel According to Saint Luke 10:38-42 Both the first reading and the Gospel for Mass this Sunday are centered on what is sometimes called “the ministry of hospitality,” a spiritual...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jul 5, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37 The wonderful parable of the Good Samaritan is unforgettable and perhaps the most famous of the parables of Jesus, on a par perhaps with the parable of the Prodigal Son, and the parable about...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jun 29, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 66:10-14; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 6:14-18; Gospel According to Saint Luke 10:1-12,17-20 A fundamental truth of our life in Christ is that God desires our full and willing cooperation to carry on the work of...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jun 20, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: First Book of Kings 19:16-21; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Gospel According to Saint Luke 9:51-62 Whether young or old, poor or rich, people normally wish to be treated with respect and fairness. Jesus encountered a lack of...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jun 16, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Genesis 14:18-20; First Corinthians 11:23-26; Gospel According to Luke: 11-17 On the night before giving His life on the cross, Jesus instituted the Eucharist, the gift of his Body and Blood, in the form of bread and wine, as the perpetual passover...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jun 10, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; Gospel According to John 16:12-15 Each year on the Sunday following Pentecost, the Church celebrates the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, our belief that God is One and yet Three Persons: Father, Son and...
