homiletics
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Transfiguration and Satisfaction
On the second Sunday of Lent, the gospel is always about the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor, where the three leading apostles are shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that this Jesus they have been following is more than a Rabbi or even the Messiah anointed by God. The Transfiguration manifests the reality… Continue reading
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Something’s Coming
In the 1950s musical West Side Story, the lead character Tony sings a song called “Something’s Coming” which shares the sense of excited expectation we should have on the fourth Sunday of Advent. Tony sings, “Something’s coming, something good. Something’s coming, I don’t know what it is but it’s going to be great.” Here in… Continue reading
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Christ is Truly King
The Feast of Christ the King is relatively new, having been instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI. The point of the feast is relatively old, for it weighs in on the question of whether or not those who live in the world but do not recognize Jesus as their king are nonetheless his subjects.… Continue reading
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Discerning Caesar
The gospel reading today has much to tell us about discernment. The end, the goal, of discernment is the identification of the best or truest outcome, and the determination to do what is necessary to achieve it. Last week, the parable of the wedding feast was also about discernment. The wedding banquet was not limited… Continue reading
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The Laborers’ Gift
The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. Mt 20:1 The grumbling by the workers at the end of the day is sometimes the main thing that we take away from this story. I want today to look at it from a different angle.… Continue reading
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Be a Fool for Christ
Jesus said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Do you think Peter really understood what he said? It’s a true statement, but like Peter we do not really know the full truth of that statement. It’s… Continue reading
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Worship Obedience and Trust
Last week we read the story of the Transfiguration of Jesus, when God made his presence known on a mountain, and the disciples responded. It was a big dramatic manifestation of God, with Moses and Elijah, and a voice coming from the cloud. And the disciples were frozen in fear. Jesus gave them instructions as… Continue reading
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NFP and the Human Person
NFP is an invitation to acknowledge who you really are; in other words, NFP is part and parcel of the central teaching of Christianity. Continue reading
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Life in the Spirit
From the letter of St. Paul to the Romans, “you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the spirit of God dwells in you.” And from the Gospel, come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke… Continue reading
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Our Sacrifice in the Mass
The readings today speak to a cry for justice by the one enduring persecution. Jeremiah was a prophet sent to tell the Israelites that they were about to be sent into captivity because they had abandoned the ways of God. The Psalm today is a Psalm of Good Friday and is a cry of the… Continue reading
Bound in Love 