Homilies

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...

Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Gospel According to Saint Luke 17:5-10 “The just man, because of his faith, shall live,” Habakkuk the prophet announces in the first reading for Mass...

Scripture readings: Book of the Prophet Amos 6:1, 4-7; First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 6:11-16; Gospel According to Saint Luke 16:19-31 “A wise man is known by the fewness of his words,” as the saying goes. Saint Benedict cites this saying in his Holy Rule, in...

Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Amos 8:4-7; First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy 2:1-8; Gospel According to Saint Luke 16:1-13 The characters Jesus describes in this Sunday’s parable are not proposed as models whose precise behavior we should imitate. Other...

Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14; First Letter to Timothy 1:12-17;                                                      Gospel According to Luke 15:1-32 The story is told of a catechism class studying the Parable the Prodigal Son. After emphasizing...

Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 9:13-18; Letter of Saint Paul to Philemon 9-17;                                    Gospel According to Saint Luke 14:25-33 The first words we hear from Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel passage might almost startle us. They were spoken...

Scripture Readings: Book of Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Letter to the Hebrews 1218-19, 22-24; Gospel According to Saint Luke 14:1, 7 – 14 All three Mass readings from the Bible this Sunday are gems of wisdom and joy for those who take them to heart and strive to put...

Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 66:18-21; Letter to the Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Gospel According to Saint Luke 13:22-30 This Sunday in Ordinary Time directs our attention to God’s intention for the salvation of the human race in Jesus Christ. Expressed...

As an infant of forty days, Jesus was presented in the Jerusalem Temple, where the elderly prophet Simeon said to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, that her child was “set for the fall and rising of many in Israel,’ and as a sign that would be spoken against,” (see Luke...