Homilies
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 Romans 8:26-27 Matthew 13:24-43 Today Jesus speaks to us about weeding, a task common to many people. We are fortunate to have a couple of dedicated…
Read MoreThose of you who are regular readers of my blog might notice that the title of this article is “Some Thoughts on the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A” as compared to the normal title including the word “homily.”…
Read More14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Zechariah 9:9-10 Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 Romans 8:9, 11-13 Matthew 11:25-30 Giving praise to God is a recurring theme in today’s readings. Our reading from Zechariah calls us to “shout for joy.” …
Read More13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a Psalm 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19 Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 Matthew 10:37-42 The Fourth Commandment tells us to “honor our father and mother” but today Jesus says, “Whoever loves father or mother…
Read MoreThe Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 John 6:51-58 Moses speaks to the Israelites of how they were “afflicted with hunger” and God fed them “with manna, a food…
Read MoreThe Most Holy Trinity Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9 Daniel 3:52-55 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 John 3:16-18 Last week we celebrated Pentecost and the gift of the Holy Spirit and that brought our Easter season to a close. That means we are now…
Read MorePentecost Acts 2:1-11 Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 John 20:19-23 Our Easter Season draws to a close today with our celebration of Pentecost but we should never think of Pentecost as simply an end to…
Read MoreI’ve titled this article “Why Do We Celebrate the Ascension ‘Today’? but even the title needs a short explanation. I put “today” in single quote marks because not everyone is celebrating the Ascension today. Some dioceses move it to the…
Read More6th Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 607, 16, 20 1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 The Samaritan people were despised by the Jews but Samaria is where Philip to proclaimed Christ to the people in…
Read More5th Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 6:1-7 Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 (22) 1 Peter 2:4-9 John 14:1-12 Throughout our Easter season our first reading comes from the Acts of the Apostles. Acts tells the story of the early church. …
Read More4th Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 2:14a, 36-41 Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 1 Peter 2:20b-25 John 10:1-10 Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Each year on this Sunday we hear Jesus’ Good Shepherd discourse as found…
Read More3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A Acts 2:14, 22-23 Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 1 Peter 1:17-21 Luke 24:13-35 Once again, we hear a story of the disciples right after the tomb was found empty. This time it is…
Read More2nd Sunday of Easter, Sunday of Divine Mercy Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24 1 Peter 1:3-9 John 20:19-31 Last week we celebrated Holy Week that culminated in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The tomb was found empty. Some…
Read MoreEaster Vigil Genesis 1:1-2:2 Genesis 22:1-18 Exodus 14:15-15:1 Isaiah 55:1-11 Romans 6:3-11 Matthew 28:1-10 April 15, 2017 Holy week is the most special time of the year for us. We began it on Sunday with the blessing of the Palms…
Read MoreGood Friday Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25 Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1-19:42 April 14, 2017 Jesus has died. It was a horrible death. It started when he was betrayed by Judas, one of his own disciples. …
Read MoreHoly Thursday Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-15 April 13, 2017 Tonight we begin something very special, our Easter Triduum. The word “triduum” means three days. What we begin tonight lasts until Sunday. Our…
Read MorePalm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Year A Matthew 21:1-11 Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 Philippians 2:6-11 Matthew 26:14-27:66 April 9, 2017 Our opening blessing of the palms begins the holiest time of the year for…
Read More5th Sunday of Lent, Year A Ezekiel 37:12-14 Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 Romans 8:8-11 John 11:1-45 April 2, 2017 Last week we heard the story of the man born blind and how Jesus gave him physical sight and then…
Read More4th Sunday of Lent, Year A 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 Ephesians 5:8-14 John 9:1-41 March 26, 2017 Saul has turned out to be a bad king so God sends Samuel to anoint his successor. …
Read More3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 John 4:5-42 March 19, 2017 The Israelites have just left slavery in Egypt. You might think they would be very thankful for being set free…
Read More2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 2 Timothy 1:8b-10 Matthew 17:1-9 March 12, 2017 In our responsorial psalm verse today we sang, “as we place our trust in you.” We come here to…
Read More1st Sunday of Lent, Year A Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7 Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17 Romans 5:12-19 Matthew 4:1-11 March 5, 2017 Today we hear the story of the “original sin.” Adam and Eve were in the Garden and God had…
Read More8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 49:14-15 Psalm 62:2-3, 6-7, 8-9 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 Matthew 6:24-34 February 26, 2017 “No one can serve two masters.” These are Jesus’ words to us. As we hear them our first thought…
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