by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | May 1, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 13:14, 43-52; Book of Revelation 7:9, 14-17; Gospel According to Saint John 10:27-30 Our Lord Jesus Christ, during his earthly ministry, knew very well how to speak to the people about his person and his mission, using simple...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Apr 23, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 5:12-16; Revelation 1:9-11;12-13;17-19; Gospel According to Saint John 20:19-31 We continue our celebration of the Passover of Christ whose resurrection from the dead is the cause of our joy. This Sunday’s Gospel shows us...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Apr 16, 2022 | Homily
The great message ringing out during this holiest of days is contained in the words of the angel at the empty tomb, heard at the Gospel account according to Saint Matthew: “Do not be afraid, I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Apr 12, 2022 | Homily
Each Holy Thursday the Church recounts the evening when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his closest disciples. At that meal Jesus inaugurated the Passover of the New Covenant, when the supreme sacrifice would be offered for the salvation of the human race, by...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Apr 6, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 50:4-7; Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians 2:6-11; Gospel According to Saint Luke 22:14-23:56 Palm Sunday Mass normally begins outside the church building with a recounting of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. After...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Apr 3, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Isaiah 43:16-21; Philippians 3:8-14; John 8:1-11 The Gospel account this Sunday is partly a study in contrasts. That is, we see the great disproportion that exists between the infinite mercy of God and the very human quick-to-condemn approach of many with...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Mar 22, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Joshua 5: 9,10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke15:1-3,11-32 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 teacher described the great rejoicing of the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Mar 16, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Exodus 3:1-8; 13-15; First Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12; Luke 13:1-9 Each year the first two Sunday’s of Lent are linked with specific events in the life of Christ: the temptations he endured in the Judean desert and the Transfiguration on the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Mar 12, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Genesis 15:5-12; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28-36 I like to call the first Sunday of Lent “Christ in the Desert Sunday,” for its emphasis on the mystery of our Lord’s temptations in the solitude of the desert, and I like to call the second Sunday of Lent...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Mar 3, 2022 | Homily
Readings: Deuteronomy 26:4-10; Romans 10:8-13; Luke 4:1-13 Each year Holy Mother Church gives us this season of Lent to renew our intention of living more completely for Christ. Lent is a word in English that is related to “length” or “lengthen,” and fittingly, in the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Feb 21, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Sirach 27:4-7; First Corinthians 15:54-58; Gospel According to Luke: 6:39-45 This Sunday’s Gospel is addressed to Jesus’ followers, whom he considers to be eventual leaders and teachers in his Church. The notion of persevering in learning...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Feb 9, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Prophet Jeremiah 17:5-8; First Corinthians 15:12,16-20; Gospel According to Luke 6:17,20-26 What is usually called the “Sermon on the Mount” in Saint Matthew’s Gospel is generally referred to as the “Sermon on the Plain” in Saint Luke’s Gospel....
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Feb 1, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Prophet Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8; First Corinthians 15:1-11; Gospel of Luke 5:1-11 Today’s Gospel passage recounts the miraculous catch of fish by Jesus’ first disciples. The successful catch is the result of Peter placing his trust in the words of Jesus,...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jan 26, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-6,17-19; First Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Luke 4:21-30 From the beginning of his public ministry, at about the age of thirty, Jesus is described in the Gospels as being filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaiming the saving word of God....
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jan 18, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10; First Corinthians 12:12-30; Gospel According to Saint Luke: 1:1-4, 4:14-21 In the course of the Liturgical Year we are given in the liturgy (the Holy Eucharist and the Divine Office) many occasions to discover or be reminded...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Jan 8, 2022 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Prophet Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 The Christmas season comes to an end with the Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord. We still have a glimpse of the season when we celebrate the Presentation of...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 27, 2021 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 60:1-6; Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 2:1-12 The Solemnity of the Epiphany, literally the “manifestation” or “showing” of the Lord Jesus Christ to the nations, is...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 23, 2021 | Homily
Readings: Isaiah 52:7-10; Letter to the Hebrews 1:1-6; Gospel of Saint John 1:1-18 The scripture readings assigned for the Mass of Christmas day emphasize an attitude of child-like wonder at all that is taking place. In the text from the prophet Isaiah, the city of...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 16, 2021 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Prophet Micah 5:1-4; Letter to the Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45 Christmas Day draws near, less than a week from now. People are shopping, cooking, cleaning, sending cards and gifts, and trying to breath a sigh of relief that maybe, just maybe, the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Dec 9, 2021 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18; Philippians 4:4-7; Gospel According to Luke 3:10-18 We have reached the half-way point in Advent. The celebration of Christmas draws near, just two weeks away. On this Sunday the Church invites us to rejoice, the opening words of...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 29, 2021 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Baruch 5:1-9; Philippians 1:3-11; Gospel According to Saint Luke 3:1-6 On the Second Sunday of Advent the Church has us contemplate the person and mission of Saint John the Baptist, the great prophet of the coming of Christ. Considered more than a...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 24, 2021 | Homily
Prophet Jeremiah 33:14-16, First Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Gospel According to Saint Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 Every Advent, the Church reflects in her Liturgy—the Mass and the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours–the threefold coming of Jesus Christ into the world....
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 16, 2021 | Homily
Readings: Prophet Daniel 7:12-14; Revelation 1:5-8; Gospel of John 18:33-37 In the Liturgical Calendar of the Church, this Sunday is celebrated as the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, dedicated to Christ the King. Next Sunday a new Liturgical Year begins with the First...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 9, 2021 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Daniel 12:1-3; Letter to the Hebrews 10:11-14, 18; Gospel According to Mark 13:24-32 We are nearly at the end of the Church’s Liturgical Year. Next Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King and the Sunday after that begins the...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Nov 5, 2021 | Homily
Readings: First Book of Kings 17:10-16; Letter to the Hebrews 9:24-28; Gospel According to Saint Mark 12:38-44 In the Gospel passage for this Sunday’s Mass, Jesus gives a clear warning against the very human tendency of seeking our own glory. In other words, parading...
