HOMILY SUNDAY 12 – Year A Living the Pattern of Faith, Hope and Love (Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69; Romans 5:12-15; Mt 10:26-33) ********************************************************* The phrase “every hair on your head is counted” in today’s gospel arouses a bit of envy in me towards those who have a full head of hair. It is also a […]

HOMILY WEEK 10 06 – Year II Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Is 61:9-11; 1 Sm 2; Lk 2:41-51) ********************************************** “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” That statement by St. Augustine fits today’s memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who models for us a life of deep faith lived […]

SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS – Year II Revealing Our God Who is Love, Mercy and Compassion (Dt 7:6-11; Ps 103; 1Jn 4:7-16; Mt 11:25-30) ****************************************************** What word resonates in your heart more deeply – loyalty or love? Today’s solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus invites us into a paradigm shift from […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 04 – Year II Redemptive Suffering and the Test (Sir 48:1-14; Ps 97; Mt 6:7-15) ****************************************** Elijah continues to be the focus of the first reading in today’s liturgy. In this passage, we hear about him as an epic hero from the point of view of another Old Testament author – Sirach, […]

HOMILY WEEKDAY 11 03 – Year II Three Ascetical Practices (2 Kg 2:1,6-14; Ps 31; Mt 6:1-6; 16-18 ********************************************* Does the word “asceticism” sound attractive to you? The gospel today invites us to practice three ascetical traditions in the Church as a way of humbly living out our faith and the Great Commandment of Jesus, […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 02 – Year II (1 Kg 21:17-29; 51; Mt 5:43-48) *************************************** The readings today are like a two-act play, conveying the message to love others as Jesus has loved us, by being as merciful as the Father is merciful. Elijah and King Ahab in the first reading mirror the events with Nabob […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 01 – Year II Living the Law of Love (1 Kg 21:1-16; Ps 5; Mt 5:38-42) ************************************* “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Retaliation is one of the world’s oldest and most contagious sins. Did you know that the Old Testament law of “an eye for an […]

HOMILY CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY Living the Eucharist (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16; Psalm 147; 1 Cor 10:16-17; Jn 6:51-59) ***************************************************************** The famous Forest Lawn Memorial Garden in the state of Georgia is a huge marble carving of the Last Supper. Twenty feet long and seven feet high, it is carved out of a 60-ton block of white […]

HOMILY WEEK 10 06 – Year II Trust in God and Live in the Truth: Memorial of St. Anthony (1 Kg 19:16-21; Ps 16; Mt 5:33-37) ************************************* “You are my inheritance, O Lord” Today’s psalm and readings invite us to place our complete trust in God and to live in the truth. In a tense […]

HOMILY WEEK 10 05 – Year II Shining like Bright Stars with the Word of Life (1 Kg 19:9-16; Ps 27; Mt 5:27-32) ******************************************** “Shine on the world like bright stars; you are offering it the word of life.” That gospel acclamation, and the readings today, invite us to deepen our faith in Jesus and […]