Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Lent. A hidden heart is a homeless heart. The people of Israel were brought into exile. It was imposed from the outside. But after King Cyrus game them a way home, many of them chose to live in self-imposed exile. The same is true for all of us who have been exiled by our sin and slavery to death. Jesus has made it possible to step into the light and come home, but many choose to live outside the light...many of us live in self-imposed exile. Mass Readings from M...
Mar 15, 2021•24 min
Homily from the Third Sunday of Lent. Is the question, “Can I trust God?” Or is the better question, “Can God trust me?" There is something that all of us discover about ourselves the moment we have a minute of self-reflection: we have the capacity to do the things we hate. In spite of our best efforts and sincere desires to be consistently good, we have this thing in our chests that ought not to be trusted. We have treacherous hearts. And yet, Jesus entrusts His Heart to ours at every Mass. Mas...
Mar 08, 2021•26 min
Homily from the Second Sunday of Lent. Obedience precedes understanding. We are made for adventure. But adventure means mystery and uncertainty. Often, what holds us back from action is a lack of knowing why. But what if there is a better question than “why?”? What if the adventure of obedience means asking “how?”? Mass Readings from February 28, 2021: Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 Psalms 116:10, 15-17, 18-19 Romans 8:31-34 Mark 9:2-10 Download the Homily Study...
Mar 02, 2021•21 min
Homily from the First Sunday of Lent. God is not safe, but He is good. Trust is a challenge for all of us. Trust in God is a battle that every person faces at some point in their lives. Often, we might find is easier to trust God if He were a “tame god”, but He is not. This Lent, our invitation is to not only trust in God’s mercy, but also in His justice. Mass Readings from February 21, 2021: Genesis 9:8-15 Psalms 25:4-9 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15 Download the Homily Study...
Feb 22, 2021•20 min
Homily from Ash Wednesday. Return to the Lord with your whole heart. We are often tempted to run away from God and from difficult moments in life. We might even be tempted to escape from all that has been taken from us over the past year. But to choose to embrace this moment is to choose to embrace the Lord and His Providence. Mass Readings from February 17, 2021: Joel 2:12-18 Psalms 51:3-6, 12-13, 14 and 17 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18...
Feb 18, 2021•9 min
Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Every choice comes at a cost. Looking back, there are some things we could have known. And looking back, there are some things we could never have known. But one thing is unfailingly true when seen through hindsight: every decision comes at a price and every choice has a cost. Making the decision is risky, but there are things that are more important than staying safe. Mass Readings from February 14, 2021: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 1...
Feb 15, 2021•20 min
Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Good times don’t last…and neither do bad times. One of the many things that life teaches us is that life is always changing. To grow is to change. There are times that are good and there are times that are bad. All of us go through good times and bad times and neither of them are permanent. In both good times and bad, Jesus is Lord and He loves the person in a desperate situation and the person in a bright situation. Mass Readings from February 07, ...
Feb 08, 2021•19 min
Homily from the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. I learned, but I didn’t grow. Knowledge is powerful. Having lived through this past year, and looking back on what we have been through is essential. We can have learned a great number of things over 2020. But unless we are willing to act on that knowledge, hindsight will be powerless. Mass Readings from January 31, 2021: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-9 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 Mark 1:21-28 Download the Homily Study...
Feb 02, 2021•17 min
Homily from the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Editing is the enemy of how we remember the story. We look back so that we can see clearly and learn from our past. But we also have a temptation to edit the story we tell ourselves. We might edit how we tell the story, but we must not edit how we remember the story. Mass Readings from January 24, 2021: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalms 25:4-9 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 Download the Homily Study...
Jan 25, 2021•18 min
Homily from the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. We can’t predict The Moment, but we can prepare in the moment before The Moment. While no one can predict the future, all of us can learn from the past. While none of us can control when the big moments of our lives are going to happen, all of us can choose what we are doing in the moments before The Moment. Mass Readings from January 17, 2021: 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-10 1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20 John 1:35-42 Download the Homily St...
Jan 18, 2021•19 min
Homily from the Baptism of the Lord. At the Incarnation, God joined His divinity to humanity...at the Baptism of Jesus, God identifies with our brokenness. What difference does the Baptism of Jesus make? It means that God doesn't stay away from our sins, but that He takes them upon Himself. Mass Readings from January 10, 2021: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Psalms 29:1-4, 9-10 Acts 10:34-38 Mark 1:7-11...
Jan 11, 2021•17 min
Homily from the Mass of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Parents are not powerless. It can be so easy for parents to feel powerless when it comes to passing on the faith to their families. But there are four powerful tools every parent can employ to help their families become holy families. Mass Readings from December 27, 2020: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 Psalms 128:1-5 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 Luke 2:22-40...
Dec 27, 2020•25 min
Homily from the Mass of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas). Why is He there? We have become more comfortable with the "completed" past than the unknown future. Rather than desiring to launch into the challenge of the future, many of us have become paralyzed by fear of the future. When we are rooted in the Word of God each day, we become more rooted in God Himself each day. When we are rooted in the Lord, there is no room for fear of the future. Mass Readings from December 25, 2020: Isaiah 52:7...
Dec 25, 2020•15 min
Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Silence magnifies and waiting purifies. Waiting is not meant to be wasted. The chance to wait in silence is often given by God to serve a purpose...above all to change our faith into something new. Mass Readings from December 20, 2020: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 Psalms 89:2-5, 27, 29 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38...
Dec 20, 2020•21 min
Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent. No one can take from you what doesn’t belong to you. We all have the temptation to pretend to be someone or something other than we are. To pass ourselves off as someone else…to be an imposter. We do this most often when we know the truth but live in fear of the truth. John the Baptist shows us what it looks like to know the truth and live in the freedom of the truth. Mass Readings from December 13, 2020: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 Luke 1:46-50, 53-54 1 Thessalo...
Dec 14, 2020•23 min
Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent. We can’t go back to the beginning of the story, but we can start where we are and change the ending. Saint Peter reveals that the Day is coming when The Story will have been written. On that day, everything will be revealed and we will know God’s hidden role in every moment of The Story…and we will know the truth and consequences of our roles in The Story. We will know our legacy. Mass Readings from December 6, 2020: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 Psalms 85:9-12, 13...
Dec 07, 2020•25 min
Homily from the First Sunday of Advent. God will not just get us through this moment…He has brought us to this moment. Too often, we find ourselves just wanting this moment to be “done." We miss out on the miracle of the moment because we see what is happening as something that is getting in the way of life. But this is life. There is not another one we are waiting for. We need to learn to trust that God is not just going to help us get through this moment, but that He has brought us to this mom...
Nov 30, 2020•24 min
Homily from the Solemnity of Christ the King. What you do with the delay makes all the difference. We have a destination: to be who we are and to be that well. We have a Roadmap and a Rule of Life. What remains is one last question: Is there any room in your Rule for the Ruler? Mass Readings from November 22, 2020: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 Psalms 23:1-3, 5-6 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 Matthew 25:31-46 Download the Homily Study...
Nov 23, 2020•25 min
Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. What have you done with what you've been given? No one ever sets out to lose. But losing is entirely possible: in business, relationships, and in the spiritual life. It is possible to lose one’s soul. No one wants to lose, but many people do. Even with a great roadmap, we need regular checkpoints to make sure we are on course and haven’t gone off track. Mass Readings from November 15, 2020: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 Psalms 128:1-5 1 The...
Nov 16, 2020•25 min
Homily from the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Excellence requires making the decision carefully, consistently, and quickly. The one question that can either deflate or motivate a person is “When?” This question reveals whether our goal is an actual goal or merely a wish. But if we want to escape a life of accidents and craft a life of excellence, we need to make the decision of “when” are we going to choose excellence carefully, consistently, and quickly. Mass Readings from November 8, ...
Nov 10, 2020•24 min
Homily from the Solemnity of All Saints. No one ever accidentally lived on purpose. No two saints are the same. There is no “cookie-cutter” path to holiness. While there are certain givens that must be present, each person has to assess where they are in their relationship with the Lord in order to know best where to place wise guardrails in their own life. Mass Readings from November 1, 2020: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 Psalms 24:1-6 1 John 3:1-3 Matthew 5:1-12 Download the Homily Study...
Nov 02, 2020•22 min
Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Holiness isn’t always changing your what as much as changing your why. Our lives have been reclaimed by Christ and we have become a new creation. Because of this, every moment of our lives can be lived with and for a new purpose. Every moment can be repurposed to be a sacrament, and sacrifice, and an act of surrender. Mass Readings from October 25, 2020: Exodus 22:20-26 Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51/dt> 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10 Matthew 22:34-40 Downl...
Oct 26, 2020•24 min
Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The roadmap begins with “Who.” There is one true goal in life: to be a saint. Many of us believe this, but is there a path? Without a plan, we will certainly fail to hit the goal. Without a roadmap, we will spend our time on this planet wandering as if we neither know where we are or where we are going. Mass Readings from October 18, 2020: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 Psalms 96:1, 3-5, 7-10 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 Matthew 22:15-21 View the "Your Life in We...
Oct 20, 2020•25 min
Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. There are many goods. There is only one best. Modern indifference is the inability to take joy in in one's situation regardless of the circumstances. It is seeing "no difference" between the awesome and the awful...as well as the awesome alright. Mass Readings from October 11, 2020: Isaiah 25:6-10 Psalms 23:1-6 Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 Matthew 22:1-14...
Oct 12, 2020•26 min
Homily from the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. God has made you for freedom from anxiety over the unforeseeable future, the unchangeable past, and your present responsibilities. Many people are overwhelmed by anxiety. Anxiety over all the things that need to get done and over all that they have been through. But God calls us to have no anxiety at all. And to surrender our past, present, and future to His dominion.. Mass Readings from October 4, 2020: Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalms 80:9,12,13-16,19...
Oct 05, 2020•25 min
Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. If you can choose your thoughts you can change your thoughts. In the garden of the mind, our thoughts are constantly growing. Some we want, others we do not. As the gardeners of our own minds, we must think about what we think about, weed out the thoughts that poison our minds, and allow the Word of God to shape how we look. Mass Readings from September 27, 2020: Ezekiel 18:25-28 Psalms 25:4-9 Philippians 2:1-11 Matthew 21:28-32 Download the ...
Sep 28, 2020•23 min
Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It doesn’t matter how long you live. What matters is how you live. Our lives will magnify (or highlight) something. Will they be so full of nice things that they will miss the most excellent things? Or will we be wise so that, no matter the outcome, Christ will be highlighted? Mass Readings from September 20, 2020: Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalms 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 Philippians 1:20-24, 27 Matthew 20:1-16 Download the Homily Study...
Sep 21, 2020•19 min
Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. There is no forgiveness without justice. Forgiveness is neither excusing nor enabling evil. There is always a debt that needs to be paid…and somebody needs to pay it. Mass Readings from September 13, 2020: Sirach 27:30—28:7 Psalms 103:1-4, 9-12 Romans 14:7-9 Matthew 18:21-35 Download the Homily Study...
Sep 14, 2020•19 min
Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. How do Christians fight? We all have experienced the temptation to see someone who has failed or someone who has hurt us as a non-person. But taking responsibility for the people in our lives means fighting that temptation. And it means doing what we can to fight for that person. Mass Readings from September 06, 2020: Ezekiel 33:7-9 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 Romans 13:8-10 Matthew 18:15-20 Download the Homily Study...
Sep 06, 2020•24 min
Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Am I being conformed or transformed? Christians must not only live differently in the world, we must look differently at the world. Mass Readings from August 30, 2020: Jeremiah 20:7-9 Psalms 63:2-6, 8-9 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27 Download the Homily Study...
Aug 31, 2020•21 min
