HOMILY SUNDAY 13 – B The Healing Power of Love (Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24; 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43) **************************************************** Have you ever seen the movie “Elephant Man?” That movie is a vignette of the gospel story we heard today, and carries a powerful message. Believe in the healing power of love and loving […]

HOMILY – SOLEMNITY of SAINTS PETER AND PAUL Apostles of Forgiveness and Evangelization (Acts 12:1-11; Ps 34; 2 Tim 4:6-8;17-18; Mt 16:13-19) *************************************************** Today’s solemnity invites us to reflect on two foundational figures of the early Church, to be inspired by them and to learn from them. St. Peter and St. Paul met only a […]

HOMILY WEEK 12 05 – Year II Faith in Jesus as Son of God and Experiencing Jesus as the Messiah: Memorial of St. Irenaeus (2 Kg 25:1-12; Ps 137; Mt 8:1-4) ********************************************************* Does the statement, “Jesus worked miracles, but he was not a miracle worker,” make sense to you? The gospel today invites us to […]

HOMILY WEEK 12 04 – Year II Building a Solid House of Discipleship: Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria (2 Kg 24:8-17; Ps 79; Mt 7:21-19) ******************************************************** How many of us have construction experience? Today, Jesus once again speaks in metaphors to get his point across. He asks us to build a house. The […]

HOMILY WEEK 12 04 – Year II Covenantal Love (2 Kg 22.8-13; 23:1-3; Ps119; Mt 7:15-20) ***************************************** A couple reminded me I had married them 36 years earlier and shared all was going well with their marriage covenant. This stirred up in me pleasant memories of the emotions connected with that event. There is something […]

HOMILY WEEK 12 02 – Year II Three Lessons Toward Eternal Life (2 Kg 19:9-36; Ps 48; Mt 7:6-14) *************************************** “Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction.” The readings today offer us three crucial lessons or teachings we are to live by to […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 12 – C The Birth of John the Baptist (Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 139; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66; 80) ************************************************************ Have you answered the call of God in your life? Today’s solemnity of the birth of John the Baptist invites us to respond to God’s call by being a disciple, taking up our cross […]

  HOMILY SUNDAY 12-B Calming the Storm (Job 38:1-4, 8-11; 2 Cor 5:14-17; Mk 4:35-41) ************************************************** “Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.” As a young priest, I misquoted and mixed up that statement one Sunday in Beauval. Starting out my homily, I am told I said “life was […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 06 – Year II Marriage Encounter and the Reign of God: Optional Memorial of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More (2 Chron 24:17-25; Ps 89; Mt 6:24-34) ************************************************ Human beings have a rather unique characteristic – a desire to build a better mousetrap. The birds Jesus mentions in the gospel build […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 05 – Year II Priority and Perception: Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga (2 Kg 11:1-4, 9-18, 20; Ps 132; Mt 6:19-23) ********************************************* Two words summarize the gospel today: priority and perspective. The two sentences expressing these two words are: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” and “The eye […]