Homilies

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...

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...

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! There is still a week until Palm Sunday. We are entering the Fifth Sunday and Week of Lent and the Gospel passage assigned for this Sunday brings us...

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...

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...

Scripture Readings: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18; First Corinthians 3:16-23; Matthew 5: 38-48 When preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation as a seventh-grader in a Catholic school many moons ago, we adolescents were reminded by the nuns teaching that we were temples of...

Mass Readings: Isaiah 8:23 – 9:3; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23 The beginning of our Lord’s public ministry, after His Baptism in the River Jordan, is still on our minds. Just two weeks ago we celebrated the Baptism of the Lord. We hear today about the...

Readings: Isaiah 49: 3,5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34   Probably many or maybe even most of us like to have someone travel with us when we make a long journey. It helps to lighten the burden of all the time, energy and stress entailed in getting from...

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Acts of the Apostles 10:34-38, Matthew 3:13-17 With today's liturgical celebration of the Baptism of the Lord the beautiful Christmas season draws to a close. Yes, we monks keep the Manger Scene in church and Christmas...

Scripture Readings: Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21 The shepherds who “went in haste to Bethlehem,” as directed by the angel, can be understood as the whole human race seeking Jesus. The quick response of the shepherds to seek the new-born Lord is 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 fifth...

Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, That we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ thy Son Was made known by the message of an Angel, May by his Passion and Cross Be brought to the glory of his Resurrection.   These words form the prayer...

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...

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....

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...

Scripture Readings: Second Book of Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians 2:16-3:5; Gospel According to Saint Luke 20:27-38 November is traditionally the month in the Catholic Church to recount and pray for the Faithful Departed, those...

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 2018-2019 is drawing to a close. In less than a month we will begin a new Liturgical Year with the...

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’ powerful parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple might seem like an exaggeration or a parody, outside the...

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...

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...