Homilies
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 34:4b-6, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, Gospel According to Saint John 3:16-18 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:...
Pentecost Sunday
Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23 The Solemnity of Pentecost is a splendid reminder of the universality of the love God has for us. At Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, the Church celebrates the powerful presence of God...
Solemnity Of The Ascension Of The Lord
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 1:17-23; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 28:16-20 We celebrate our Lord’s Ascension, which took place forty days after his Resurrection. We recount with joy the day when Christ...
Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Readings: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; First Letter of Peter 3:15-18; John 14:15-21 The readings for this Sunday are taken from the final days of Jesus' earthly sojourn as well as the first steps of the infant Church after the death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord. The...
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Readings: Acts 6:1-7; First Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12 We are drawing near to the Solemnity of the Lord's Ascension, forty days after Easter, just two weeks from now. Where does the time go? Like it or not, time tends to fly by quickly, even when we try to live it...
Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year A
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:14a, 36-41; First Letter of Saint Peter 2:20b-25; Gospel According to Saint John 10:1-10 This Sunday is usually called “Good Shepherd Sunday,” because of the focus of the Mass readings, especially the Gospel, where Jesus...
Third Sunday of Easter, Year A
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:14, 22-28; First Letter of Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24:13-35 Perhaps the first question we want to ask after hearing this Sunday’s Gospel text is: why did the disciples not immediately recognize the risen Lord? Had they not known...
Second Sunday of Easter, Year A
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:42-47; First Letter of Saint Peter 1:3-9; Gospel According to Saint John 20:19-31 We are still celebrating the Passover of Christ, his Resurrection from the dead, and today the Gospel shows us Christ in the midst of his...
Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Each year on the Sunday before Easter, Christians around the world celebrate and commemorate what is traditionally called Palm or Passion Sunday, when we recount the events leading up to the betrayal, crucifixion and death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This...
Fifth Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Readings: Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:14-45 It is nearly Palm Sunday and Holy Week, but not quite yet! We are entering the fifth Sunday and week of Lent and the Gospel passage assigned for this Sunday brings us face to face with death, the death of a...
Fourth Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Readings: First Book of Samuel 16:1-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41 The color of the vestments worn today is rose, a reminder for us to rejoice, for we are half way through the Lenten journey and our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The traditional...
Third Sunday of Lent, Cycle A
Readings: Exodus 17:3-7; Romans 5:1- 8; John 4:5-42 A precious commodity anywhere, and certainly in New Mexico, is water, something many of us perhaps take for granted. For the gift of water, we are always grateful. Saint Francis of Assisi went so far as to call it,...
Second Sunday of Lent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Genesis 12:1-4; Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 1:8-10; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 17:1-9 I like to call the second Sunday of Lent “Transfiguration Sunday,” for its focus on that great mystery in the life of Christ...
First Sunday of Lent, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7; Romans 12-19; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 4:1-11 Each year the 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...
Ash Wednesday
Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Joel 2:12-18; Second Corinthians 5:20-6:2; Gospel According to Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18. The readings for Mass today set the tone for the entire season of Lent which we now begin. Keep in mind the word “Lent” comes from the same...
Seventh Sunday In Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18; First Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5:38-48 Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Liturgical Season of Lent, is just three days away. The three Scripture readings given to the Church on this Sunday before Lent offer...
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
Scripture Readings: Book of Sirach 15:15-20; Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians 2:6-10; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 5:17-37 Christians believe, rooted in the words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, that Christ came into the world to fulfill the Law and the...
FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A
Scripture readings: Isaiah 58:7-10; First Corinthians 2:1-5; Matthew 5:13-16 Listening to the scripture lessons for this Sunday, we hear a message that is clearly about being concerned, as followers of Jesus, for the good of others. In our day and age, when money can...
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Time A
Readings: Isaiah 8:23-9:3; First Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-33 These first Sunday’s of Ordinary Time we are being called to reflect on the beginnings of Jesus' public ministry. In today's Gospel account, John the Baptizer, who had boldly announced the...
Solemnity of the Epiphany
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...