Homilies

Homily for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time, July 7, 2024

“…they shall know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezekiel 2:5  This is my unconventional definition of a prophet.  A prophet is a person selected and anointed by God to be charged, imbued, possessed and transformed by his divine words to such a degree that it becomes impossible for his audience to continue to live their lives as if he had never confronted them with those words.  Without a single exception, God’s words are more than challenging; they all come with a warning: “Handle with extreme caution: these words are meant to generate Life

Homilies

Homily for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 30, 2024

Jesus tells the formerly hemorrhaging woman: “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.” Mark 5:34  And to distraught Jairus: “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Mark 5:36  Today, Jesus offers himself to us as the source of inner peace and freedom from fear, especially paralyzing fear, if we wholeheartedly place our faith in him.  The Catholic Church has the deepest knowledge of Christ Jesus, her divine Bridegroom.   For over 2000 years she has shared this intimate knowledge with billions of b

Homilies

Homily for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 23, 2024

The smell of a new car seems to have the power to make everyone riding in it feel better and acquire an overall positive outlook.  They admire its new features; they touch here and there; they stroke the upholstery; they let their eyes feast on all corners of its interior.  Today, we are reminded by St. Paul that “whoever is in Christ is a new creation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17  We need this reminder as so many events, along with painful circumstances and lingering worries keep us from capitalizing on what Christ has won for us in his Resurrection.&

Homilies

Homily for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 16, 2024

Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8  I don’t know how you feel about this personal statement from St. Paul.    Do you find it odd for people to wish to die so that they could be at home with our heavenly Father forever?    Or do you find it rather dark and off-putting?  No matter how we take it, I think that for a healthy person to wish to be at home with Daddy in heaven rather than keep living on this earth indicates that he/she is firmly convinced that

Homilies

Homily for the 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time, June 9, 2024

Today’s gospel passage mentions what is needed, in Jesus’ eyes, to turn a house into a home. Jesus came home with his disciples. Mark 3:20 Jesus and his disciples had been on a mission to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom in many villages and towns. At home, in Capernaum, they were in urgent need of recovering and re-energizing themselves before the next mission. However, the crowds had even more pressing needs: massive needs for healing, for freedom from demonic possessions and the comfort of the good news. Rumors that Jesus was all spent and that he and hi

Homilies

Homily for the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 2, 2024

It is patently clear that the word “blood” is the most revealing word in all three readings of this liturgy. We immediately associate blood with life; while we recoil from the sight of spilled blood as, right away, it conjures up the specter of a violent death. The significance and the message conveyed by blood are evident in the sealing of the covenant between the community (the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the twelve pillars) and Yahweh God (Exodus 224:3-8). The sprinkling with blood indicates that, through a covenant, the community commits itself to

Homilies

Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, May 26, 2024

The feast of the Most Holy Trinity is providential in more ways than one.  The statement I am about to make about it might sound outlandish and preposterous: this feast is providential because a good number of believers tend to reduce God to a manageable size which would make our brand of religiosity convenient and God somewhat “controllable.”  Let us put this unwise thought to rest right away: Our God is in heaven; whatever God wills is done. Psalm 115:3  Already in the Old Testament, Moses tried to get the Israelites to cease attempting to comp

Homilies

Homily for Pentecost, May 19, 2024

Fierce attacks have been, and are, directed mostly against the Catholic Church by those who are hellbent on replacing reality, nature, truth, decency, and common sense with crazy ideologies inspired by the prince of darkness.  Satan’s minions know that the Catholic Church might be the last standing bulwark of morality based on natural law and on the Gospel.  Hence, it should not be surprising that often we get upset, deeply concerned, and even become apprehensive and frightened just watching the news.    Regardless of the issue of the day

Homilies

Homily for Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, May 12, 2024

The Ascension of the Lord Jesus is a Solemnity because for Jesus, as Head of the Body, it marks the crowning of his complete triumph over all our enemies, death included, and his full glorification by the Father. As far as we, members of the Body are concerned, this Solemnity comprises all that the Risen Lord said and did after his Resurrection to prepare all his disciples, across the millennia, to abide in him, to relate to him and to hope in him until their full glorification in heaven by the Father. From the evening of Easter Sunay and for a period of forty day

Homilies

Homily for The Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 5, 2024

As I prepared this homily, I realized that all three readings are building on last Sunday’s readings by insisting on the vital importance of loving.    I became thoroughly scared, with an awful knot in my stomach, because it was difficult for me to come up with verifiable evidence of loving not in word or speech but in deed and truth. (cf. 1 John 3: 18)  You might want to check your love level and see if you get the same feeling I got.  Beloved, let us love one another because love is of God.  (cf. 1 John 4: 7)  This ques