Homily from the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Everything I like and nothing that I don't. The temptation to create a God in our own image and have a church in our own image is strong. But God has revealed Himself to us, which means we either choose Him…or we choose “not Him.” We don’t get to create our own personally curated version. Mass Readings from August 22, 2021: Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18 Psalms 34:2-3, 16-21 Ephesians 5:21-32 John 6:60-69...
Aug 23, 2021•19 min
Homily from the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. You are your body. The Assumption of Mary reveals many things. One of the things it reveals is that our destiny is to be reunited with our resurrected bodies forever. Our bodies are good, and an essential part of what it is to be human. Mass Readings from August 15, 2021: Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10 Psalms 45:10-12, 16 1 Corinthians 15:20-27 Luke 1:39-56...
Aug 16, 2021•14 min
Homily from the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The best of your life is ahead of you...you will need food for the journey. The worst days of our life often come after the best days of our life. But even in those "worst days", you are not done yet. God has more for you to do and further for you to go. He wants to feed you with what you are going to need to have enough strength for the journey. Mass Readings from August 8, 2021: 1 Kings 19:4-85 Psalms 34:2-9 Ephesians 4:30—5:2 John 6:41-51...
Aug 09, 2021•18 min
Homily from the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Choose God over the works of God. The signs point to Jesus and Jesus is the point of the signs. When we are challenged to merely consume… When we are challenged to want the gifts more than the Giver of the gift, we must allow ourselves to be trained in a trust in God. To be trained in freedom. Mass Readings from August 1, 2021: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 Psalms 78:3-4, 23-25, 54 Ephesians 4:17, 20-24 John 6:24-35...
Aug 02, 2021•15 min
Homily from the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Nothing given to God is wasted. The Apostles asked the question, "What good are these for so many?" Yet, Jesus invited them to give what they had and to trust Him with all of it. Jesus invites us to do the same: Give everything and know that nothing will be wasted. Mass Readings from July 25, 2021: 2 Kings 4:42-44 Psalms 145:10-11, 15-18 Ephesians 4:1-6 John 6:1-15...
Jul 26, 2021•21 min
Homily from the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Indifference does not mean you don’t care; it just means you don’t care enough to move. There are many opportunities to waste one’s life. One of those ways is to allow one’s circle of interest to outstrip one’s circle of influence. Mass Readings from July 18, 2021: Jeremiah 23:1-6 Psalms 23:1-6 Ephesians 2:13-18 Mark 6:30-34...
Jul 19, 2021•16 min
Homily from the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. You are wanted and set apart. You are special. We’ve heard that for so much of our lives that we’ve either grown numb to it or no longer believe it. But what if it is true? Mass Readings from July 11, 2021: Amos 7:12-15 Psalms 85:9-14 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:7-13...
Jul 12, 2021•20 min
Homily from the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The beauty is in the broken. Too often, when we encounter our own brokenness and woundedness, we either pretend it isn’t there or we just want it to be taken away. But surrendered to God, our weakness is more than replaced and more than erased, they are redeemed. Mass Readings from July 4, 2021: Ezekiel 2:2-5 Psalms 123:1-4 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Mark 6:1-6...
Jul 05, 2021•16 min
Homily from the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Love requires risk. Risk requires courage. Many of us make plans. And many of those plans don’t end up working out the way that we had expected. Fortunately, God calls us to be courageous even when things don’t work out as we had expected. Mass Readings from June 27, 2021: Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24 Psalms 30:2, 4-6, 11, 12, 13 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15 Mark 5:21-43...
Jun 28, 2021•22 min
Homily from the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. God is in the storm. There are times when we do everything God has asked us to do…and we still find ourselves in the midst of a storm. In those moments, we are called to resist resentment and embrace courage. In those moments, we are called to run into the storm, confident that God is in the storm. Mass Readings from June 20, 2021: Ezekiel 17:22-24 Psalms 92:2-3, 13-16 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Mark 4:26-34...
Jun 21, 2021•18 min
Homily from the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Everyday courage simply does what is necessary. Courage is not merely needed for the big moments of life, but is required for each moment of a life well-lived. Courage is all of the other virtues the moment they are needed the most. Mass Readings from June 13, 2021: Ezekiel 17:22-24 Psalm 92:2-3, 13-16 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 Mark 4:26-34...
Jun 14, 2021•20 min
Homily from The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Do we lack faith? Or do we lack love? Most people who call themselves Catholic do not believe one of the most central and most powerful teaching in the Church. Is it because they lack hearing? Do they lack the opportunity to know about this teaching? Do they lack faith? Or is something else missing? Mass Readings from June 6, 2021: Exodus 24:3-8 Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18 Hebrews 9:11-15 Mark 14:12-16, 22-26...
Jun 07, 2021•18 min
Homily from the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. What is God's deepest secret? What is yours? What we are is shaped and revealed by what we choose. Who we are is established by relationships. Mass Readings from May 30, 2021: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 Psalms 33:4-6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22 Romans 8:14-17 Matthew 28:16-20...
Jun 01, 2021•17 min
Homily from Pentecost Sunday. Am I willing to use the gifts that God has already given? At Pentecost, the disciples received the Holy Spirit and the subsequent gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts glorify the Father and have changed the world. If we were given these gifts, we could also glorify the Father and change the world…but would we? Mass Readings from May 23, 2021: Acts 2:1-11 Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34 1 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13 John 20:19-23...
May 23, 2021•17 min
Homily from the Mass of the Ascension of the Lord. Nice is different than good. Jesus doesn't call us to simply be "nice people." Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit so that we can be more than we are now...so that we can do more than we can do now. Jesus sends His Holy Spirit so that we can have the strength to be the kind of people who can bear witness to Him and His love in this world. He gives His Spirit so that people can be saved and God can be glorified. Mass Readings from May 16, 2021...
May 17, 2021•18 min
Homily from the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Joy is rooted in confidence and comes as a consequence. We can choose joy only insofar as we can choose the source of our joy. Joy comes as a consequence; it is a fruit. And the depth and permanence of our joy is only going to be as deep and long lasting as what we place our confidence in. Only when we surrender to the love of God can we have a joy that is deeper and more permanent than any amount of suffering that comes from life. Mass Readings from May 9...
May 10, 2021•19 min
Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Practice making the promise. We find ourselves always moving and never done. We have so many options that we experience decision paralysis and subsequent decision dissatisfaction. But we are made for a full life. A full life is only possible when we intentionally limit ourselves by making the decision to love this person or to root ourselves in this place. Ultimately, unless we truly decide to remain in Christ, we will never experience the life we have bee...
May 03, 2021•18 min
Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter. Inclusive means neither passive nor permissive. To be included is an incredible gift. To be inclusive is powerful. It means more than being “welcome”, it means being radically open and desperately fighting to bring people in. The Church is as inclusive as God’s love. And yet, Jesus is also exclusive in His claim. Jesus has made an exclusive claim about Himself. And if this is true, Jesus has an exclusive claim on us. Mass Readings from April 25, 2021: Act...
Apr 26, 2021•20 min
Homily from the Third Sunday of Easter. It is possible to see the miracle and to not be a witness. It is possible to encounter God and go back to the same life. It is possible to live as if the miracle had never happened. It is possible to say "I believe" and not be a witness. But it is also possible to not see a miracle and still bear witness to Christ by how we live, what we choose, and what we love. Mass Readings from April 18, 2021: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Psalms 4:2, 4, 7-9 1 John 2:1-5 Luke 24...
Apr 19, 2021•17 min
Homily from the Sunday of Divine Mercy. Every scar has a story. Virtually everyone has scars. And every scar has a story. Scars are reminders of our past...they are reminders that won’t go away. And Jesus has kept His wounds in order to help us to never forget His story. Mass Readings from April 11, 2021: Acts 4:32-35 1 John 5:1-6 Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:19-31...
Apr 12, 2021•19 min
Homily from the Mass of the Resurrection of Our Lord. It means that something more is coming. Death is final. The death of Christ was thought to be final. But it wasn't the end...it was just the beginning. Mass Readings from April 4, 2021: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23 Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-9...
Apr 04, 2021•17 min
Homily from Good Friday of the Lord's Passion. Peter expected to fight in the Garden, not in the courtyard. Peter told Jesus that he would die for Him. And he meant it. He just wasn’t ready at the right time. Mass Readings from April 2, 2021: Isaiah 52:13—53:12 Psalms 116:12-13, 15-18 Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1—19:42...
Apr 03, 2021•8 min
Homily from the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. On the night He was betrayed…He gave. Everything in the Bible leads to the moment of the Last Supper…and leads to every time we are at the Mass. Mass Readings from April 1, 2021: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Psalms 116:12-13, 15-18 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-15...
Apr 02, 2021•22 min
Homily from Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion. Christianity doesn’t offer comfort. It offers something else. In our culture today, we are able to avoid thinking of death. But death is the inevitable reality of living. Still, the fact that we will all die is not the problem. The problem is that we pretend that we won’t. Mass Readings from March 28, 2021: Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalms 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24 Phillipians 2:6-11 Mark 14:1—15:47...
Mar 29, 2021•17 min
Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Lent. A heart that is too soft has to be protected. A heart that is too tough can’t be touched. What good is it to have a heart that can be hurt by this world? Many choose to numb themselves rather than feel the pain of life. But becoming numb leaves us with a heart that is unable. Unable to feel pain but also unable to feel joy. As Christians, we are called to have a heart like the heart of Jesus: vulnerable and able. Mass Readings from March 21, 2021: Jeremiah 3...
Mar 22, 2021•22 min
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
