Homilies

First Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; Gospel of John 6:41-51 Today’s Gospel passage continues the discourse on the Bread of Life from last Sunday. Who is the Bread of Life? Jesus himself, of course. The fact that Jesus claimed to be the heavenly bread indicated the...

Scripture Readings: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35 The essence of the Gospel message, the heart of what Jesus is trying to say to us, might be put in the form of a question. Jesus often used questions in his public ministry: “Who do you say...

Scripture Readings: Second Book of Kings 4:42-44; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6:1-15 We are told in the Gospel today that Jesus “went up the mountain.” Which mountain, we do not actually know, but the crowds followed him on foot. The setting is outside Jerusalem, on the...

Scripture Readings: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:13-18; Gospel According to Mark 6:30-34 The emphasis in the Gospel text this Sunday on Jesus and his disciples going by themselves to an out-of-way place for prayer and rest. It is something that Christians throughout...

Scripture Readings: Amos 7:12-15, Ephesians 1:3-14, Mark 6:7-13 Behind every good sports team or individual athletic competitor there is usually a competent trainer or coach. That person indicates and even insists on what must be done in order for the athlete to be...

Scripture Readings:  Ezekiel 2:2-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Gospel According to Mark 6:1-6 The first reading for Mass this Sunday is from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, who addressed the people of Israel while they were in forced exile, far from home, around the year...

Readings: Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19 Every year on June 29th the Church remembers the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, two of the greatest saints of our Christian tradition. So important were they both for the spread of Gospel of Jesus...

Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15; Mark 5:21-43 The first reading for this Sunday, from the Book of Wisdom, was written about 100 years before the birth of Christ and expresses a developed thinking...

Every year on June 24th the Church remembers in a special way the birth of the great prophet, John the Baptist. So important is his commemoration that when June 24th falls on a Sunday, the Church likewise keeps the feast. This is also the day of our yearly recalling...

Scripture Texts: Job 38: 1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Mark 4:35-41 We might all agree that in daily life there are circumstances, events and realities that make us feel happy or joyful: getting a vacation, for example, or seeing old friends and family after a long...

Scripture Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-24; Second Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:21-34 Of late we have been celebrating a number of festive Sundays: Pentecost, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, as well as non-Sunday ones, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary....

Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 24:3-8; Letter to the Hebrews 9:11-15; Gospel According to Saint Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 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...

Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 1:17-23; Gospel According to Saint Mark 16:15-20 We celebrate our Lord’s Ascension, taking place forty days after his resurrection. We recount with joy the day Christ completed his...

Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; First Letter of John 4:7-10; Gospel of John 15:9-17 In our popular language, the word “love” is so often used and misused, that it has almost become devoid of meaning. Love is a word so frequently exploited in the media of...

Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 9:26-31; First Letter of Saint John 18-24; Gospel of Saint John 15:1-8 Perhaps few or none who read this have grown grapes, though perhaps some have. Even if we have not grown grapes, we are familiar with the notion of a tree...

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,...