Homilies

One of my favorite cartoons is Non Sequitur; in one Sunday strip, little Danae finds herself sitting next to an elderly man in the park. The ten year old says, “I gotta tell ya, Mister, …that’s an awful boring tattoo on your arm. It’s just a bunch of numbers.” The old man explains, “Well, I was just about your age when I got it, and kept it as a reminder.” Danae asks, “A reminder of happier days?”

“No,” the man replied sadly. “It’s a reminder of a time when the world went mad. Imagine yourself in a land where your countrymen followed the voice of political extremists who didn’t like your religion. Imagine having everything taken from you, your entire family sent to a concentration camp as slave laborers, then systematically murdered. In this place, they even take your name and replace it with a number tattooed on your arm. It was called the Holocaust, when millions of people perished just because of their faith…”

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6th Sunday of EasterRead More »

We are in the midst of the Easter season, but the gospel setting today takes us back to the Last Supper. Far from experiencing the joy we associate with Easter, the apostles are distraught. Jesus has been telling them that he is about to leave them. He even told them that one of them would betray him and that Peter would deny knowing him. All their hopes for a new Israel are being dashed. Always the master of pep talks, Jesus tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. He urges them to go on believing in God. “You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” He then assures them that he is going to prepare a place for them.

Thomas understandably challenges Jesus. “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Imagine setting out on a journey with no destination in mind. Only when we have a destination can we begin to plot our journey and make use of maps and directions. A journey into the unknown sounds more like a huge gamble that offers us a slim chance of arriving at a desirable destination.

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5th Sunday of EasterRead More »

My dear Sisters and Brothers: We are listening to the growth of the early church as told through the Acts of the Apostles. Our 1st reading for this liturgy is an address by Peter immediately after the recounting of the Pentecost experience. We do not hear his entire speech, but enough to know that his listeners are moved to ask a good question. Peter confronts them with the reality that the One they crucified is actually the Anointed, the Christ.

Their question seems to flow from a sense that they did not know this and now, “What are they supposed to do?” This conclusion is the same which ends most of Peter’s proclamations, “repent and be baptized.” He added that they had a chance right then to remove themselves from the corrupt generation which had resisted the preaching of Jesus, himself. And so, who is Jesus and what are we supposed to do? The gospel today answers this question.

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4th Sunday of EasterRead More »

Today’s gospel tells the familiar story of “doubting” Thomas. He doubted what the other apostles told him and who could blame him? No one had ever risen from the dead before, certainly not after such a gruesome death. This all changed when he saw the risen Lord himself a week later. How ironic that “doubting” Thomas was the first to say, “My Lord and my God.” Jesus’ next comment is meant for us as well. “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” How blessed we are!

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2nd Sunday of EasterRead More »

No matter how we present it, the message of Easter is incredible. Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is risen from the dead! This event cannot be denied. If historians were to rank the significant events of all time, I believe many would place the resurrection of Jesus at the top of their list. Probably no singular or more incredible event has had a greater impact than what happened on the third day following Jesus’ death on the cross. All the gospels tell us that on that day an empty tomb was discovered. So what was the impact?

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EasterRead More »