HOMILY WEEK 24 04 – Year I Unity, Community and a Spirituality of Letting Go: Feast of St. Matthew (Eph 4:1-7, 11-13; Ps 19; Mt 9:9-13) *********************************************** How have you responded to the words of Jesus, “Come, follow me,” addressed to you? The readings today, on this feast of St. Matthew, offers us three interrelated […]

HOMILY WEEK 24 03 – Year I Revelation, Resistance and Vindication: Memorial of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gōn, St. Palu Chōng Ha-sang and Companions (1 Tm 3:14-16; Ps 111; Lk 7:31-35) ******************************************** Three words capture the essence of today’s readings: revelation, resistance and vindication. These three words also offer us a clear message: we are to […]

HOMILY WEEK 24 02 – Year I Holy Compassion: Optional Memorial of St. Januarius (1 Tm 3:1-13; Ps 101; Lk 7:11-17) ******************************************* Today’s readings, present us with a miracle to ponder and appreciate, and a clear, simple double message to absorb and live: be holy and compassionate, or in the words of the psalm, “walk with […]

HOMILY WEEK 24 01 – Year I Humble Faith Expressed through Prayer and Caring (1 Tm 2:1-7; Ps 18; Lk 7:1-10) ********************************************** Can you imagine Jesus saying, “Not even in the Catholic Church have I found such faith!” Would that shock you, or would you find it thought provoking? The readings today, and the memorial […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 24 – A Learning To Forgive (Sirach 27:30-28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 14:7-9; Matthew 18:21-25) ****************************************************************** What would happen if God treated us the way we think we deserve to be treated? Forgiveness is the core of following Jesus. The gospel today is a lesson on the meaning of forgiveness. Jesus’ reply can mean […]

HOMILY WEEK 23 06 – Year I The Word of God as a Foundation: Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian (1 Tim 1:15-17; Ps 113; Lk 6:43-49) ******************************************* Recently, a young couple gave me a gift of a plaque that read, “Sometimes you just have to bow your head, say a prayer and weather the […]

MEMORIAL: OUR LADY OF SORROWS (Heb 5:7-9; Ps 31; Lk 2:33-35 or Jn 19:25-27) ************************************************** “Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered.” That striking sentence by St. Paul, becomes even more striking in our day and age when our society has lost any understanding of suffering, and tries to avoid it at all cost. The […]

EXULTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS The Cross – Source of Life Through Faith and Repentance (Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 78; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17) *********************************************************** There is much history behind today’s feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Legend has it that St. Helena, the mother of St. Augustine, discovered the True Cross in 326 […]

HOMILY WEEK 23 03 – Year I Renewal and Revelation: Memorial of St. John Chrysostom (Col 3:1-11; Ps 145; Lk 6:20-26) ******************************************** If you’re green you grow, if you’re not, you rot! That rather striking statement carries a lot of truth and actually applies to today’s readings that invite us into a life-long process of […]

HOMILY WEEK 23 02 – Year I Staying Rooted in Jesus Christ: Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Col 2:6-16; Ps 145; Lk 6:12-19) ************************************************************ One of the many scenes of destruction portrayed on television during the wrath of Hurricane Irma was that of a homeowner watching and videoing the uprooting of […]