Homilies

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: 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 2021-22 is drawing to a close. In less than a month we will begin a new Liturgical Year with the First...

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

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 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 it in his Holy Rule in the chapter...

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 Can bad example be a good lesson? Can we benefit from the misdeeds of others? What about people who expend so much energy and money...

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 the wrong attitude of the older son in the parable, the...

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 12:18-19,22-24; Gospel According to Saint Luke 14:1,7-14 “The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself.” It’s a very wise saying from the Book of Sirach, the first reading for this...

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...

Scripture Readings: Prophet Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Letter to the Hebrews 12:1-4; Gospel According to Saint Luke 12:49-53 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...

Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 18:6-9; Letter to the Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19, Gospel According to Saint Luke 12:32-48 Some parts of Sacred Scripture, the Old and New Testaments, are more interesting, engaging and memorable than others. I have to confess that this...

Scripture Readings: Book of Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Letter to the Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Gospel According to Saint Luke 12:13-21 This Sunday’s Scripture readings provide us with another opportunity to reflect on the fact that “you can’t take it (or anything!) with...

Scripture Readings: Genesis 18:20-32; Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians 2:12-14; Gospel According to Saint Luke 11:1-13 This Sunday’s Gospel passage is a collection of the Lord’s sayings on prayer. Jesus gives the teaching in the context of his own prayer. We are...

Readings: Book of Genesis 18:1-10; Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians 1:24-28; Gospel According to Saint Luke 10:38-42 Both the first reading and the Gospel for Mass this Sunday are centered on what is sometimes called “the ministry of hospitality,” a spiritual...

Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37 The wonderful parable of the Good Samaritan is unforgettable and perhaps the most famous of the parables of Jesus, on a par perhaps with the parable of the Prodigal Son, and the parable about...

Scripture Readings: Book of the Prophet Isaiah 66:10-14; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 6:14-18; Gospel According to Saint Luke 10:1-12,17-20 A fundamental truth of our life in Christ is that God desires our full and willing cooperation to carry on the work of...

Scripture Readings: First Book of Kings 19:16-21; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Gospel According to Saint Luke 9:51-62 Whether young or old, poor or rich, people normally wish to be treated with respect and fairness. Jesus encountered a lack of...