Homilies

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...

Scripture Readings: Genesis 14:18-20; First Corinthians 11:23-26; Gospel According to Luke: 11-17 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 the perpetual passover...

Scripture Readings: Book of Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; Gospel According to John 16:12-15 Each year on the Sunday following Pentecost, the Church celebrates the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, our belief that God is One and yet Three Persons: Father, Son and...

Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; John 20:19-23 The Solemnity of Pentecost is a splendid reminder of the universality of the love God has for us. At Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, the Church celebrates the powerful presence of God...

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...

Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 15:1-2,22-29; Book of Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23; Gospel According to Saint John 14:23-29 This Sunday’s Gospel passage comes from the Farewell Discourse of Jesus at the Last Supper, right before his betrayal, crucifixion and...

Readings: Acts of the Apostles 14:21-27; Revelation 21:1-5; John13:31-35 An essential part of being a follower of Jesus Christ is a willingness to love. How many times have we heard with our ears and our hearts the words in today’s Gospel passage, “I give you a new...

Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 13:14, 43-52; Book of Revelation 7:9, 14-17; Gospel According to Saint John 10:27-30 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...

Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 5:12-16; Revelation 1:9-11;12-13;17-19; Gospel According to Saint John 20:19-31 We continue our celebration of the Passover of Christ whose resurrection from the dead is the cause of our joy. This Sunday’s Gospel shows us...