Homilies

Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 4:8-12; First Letter of Saint John 3:1-2; Gospel of Saint John 10:11-18 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 and direct...

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Mark 14:1 - 15:47 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...

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33 This is the final Sunday before Holy Week, which begins next Sunday with Passion or Palm Sunday. Today we focus our attention on the nearness and coming of the hour of Jesus’ glorification. The...

Scripture Readings: Second Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21 This Sunday’s Gospel passage is part of the dialogue of Jesus with Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee and religious leader, who had come to Jesus expressing a sincere, though partial and...

Scripture Readings: Exodus 20:1-17; First Corinthians 1:22-25; Matthew 2:13-25 This Sunday's Gospel recounts the "cleansing of the Jerusalem temple" by Jesus, as it is usually called. This cleansing took place at the approach of Pasch, the annual Passover celebration,...

Scripture Readings: Genesis 22:1-18; Romans 8:31-34; Mark 9:2-10 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 Judean desert, and I like to call the second...

Scripture Readings: Genesis 9: 8-15; First Letter of Peter 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15 Last Wednesday we began the season of Lent, a favorable or opportune time, inspired by Scriptural references that speak of returning to God as something completely desirable and positive....

Readings: Job 7:1-4; 6-7; First Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39 This Sunday’s Gospel passage continues to reveal aspects of the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. Having cast out evil spirits and preached in the synagogue, which we heard in last Sunday’s...

Scripture Readings: Book of Deuteronomy 18:15-20; First Corinthians 7:32-35; Gospel According to Mark 1:21-28 The Swiss philosopher and writer Max Picard, who lived from 1888 to 1965, called snow “silence made visible.” As our Chama canyon and much of northern New...

Scripture Readings: Prophet Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38; Mark 1:7-11 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 the Lord in the...

Readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 In our Catholic Liturgical Calendar the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas is always dedicated to the mystery of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Jesus, Mary and Joseph. This year “on the third...

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7; Letter to Titus 2:11-14; Gospel According to Luke 2:1-14 First, a blessed and Merry Christmas to all! The celebrations have just begun, and continue in earnest for nearly two weeks, for what are traditionally called the “Twelve Days...

"O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appears." Rejoice! rejoice! O Israel, to thee has come Emmanuel. A Blessed and Merry Christmas to our families, friends, benefactors and oblates. Abbot...

Scripture Readings: Prophet Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11; First Letter to the Thessalonians 5:16-24; Gospel According to Saint John 1:6-8, 19-28 The Church’s Old Testament “prophet of choice” for the Advent season is Isaiah, from the 8th century before Christ. And the choice...

Readings: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Second Letter of Peter 3:8-14; Mark 8:1-8 Every year on the second Sunday of Advent, the Church has us ponder the words and deeds of Saint John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the coming of the Lord. Our own monastery church is...

This year on November 29th we begin the holy season of Advent and a new Liturgical Year begins. The message proclaimed 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...

Readings: Prophet Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17; First Letter to the Corinthians 15:20-26, 28; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 25:31-46 In the Liturgical Calendar of the Church, this Sunday is celebrated as the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, dedicated to Christ the King....

Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 6:12-16; First Thessalonians 4:13-18; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 25:1-13 God’s wisdom is the focus of this Sunday’s Mass readings. Everyone wants to be wise, to possess knowledge, good judgment, common sense and insight. These...

Scripture Readings: Book of Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; First Letter of Saint John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12  The Church has determined that the Solemnity of All Saints is so important that the commemoration is observed even when it falls on a Sunday, as is the case this...

Scripture Readings: Prophet Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; First Thessalonians 1:1-5a; Gospel According to Matthew 22:15-22 In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus is recognized as a teacher and is asked to give an official opinion on a controversial matter regarding the “poll-tax” as it...