Homilies

1ST READING: Rev 7:2-4. 9-14
2nd READING: 1 John 3: 1-3
GOSPEL: Matthew 5:1-12a

On one of his visits to Rome, St. Francis de Sales hired rooms for himself and his servant in a small hotel on the banks of the Tiber River. When he returned to his hotel to sleep he found his servant arguing violently with the hotel manager who wanted to rent the rooms to someone else. St. Francis told his servant: “No quarreling. Come, we will find quarters elsewhere.”

With some difficulty they finally found rooms, just in time to get out of the rains which fell so heavily that the Tiber River overflowed its banks and swept away several buildings, among them the hotel where our saint and his servant had planned on staying. Several of the guests perished in the waters. …

Feast of All SaintsRead More »

As we heard, Jesus was passing through Jericho, never intending to stay there but something prompted him to stop. Zacchaeus, the little man hated by everyone for being the head tax collector, had climbed a tree to see Jesus. Imagine his surprise when Jesus stopped under the tree, looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly for today I must stay at your house.” Realizing that Jesus cared about him, Zacchaeus promised on the spot to give half his possessions to the poor and repay four times over all he had extorted. Seeing the change of heart in him, Jesus stated, “Today salvation has come to this house.”
 
Have you ever felt like Zacchaeus, small in the sight of God?  I think we have at times felt that our sins separated us from God and others, leaving us feeling unloved and rejected. For some people, the experience can be quite painful and devastating. When that happens, we forget the good news we heard in the Book of Wisdom, which reminds us that God loves us unconditionally. “You love things that are and loathe nothing that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have fashioned.” A priest shared a story of a young woman who felt unloved and was unable to grasp that God loved her unconditionally. …

31st Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

A tiny insect met another bug who, by comparison, was really big. The tiny insect was looking up at the large insect and asked, “What kind of a bug are you?”

“I’m a praying mantis,” came the reply. The tiny insect chuckled and said, “That’s stupid. Bugs don’t pray!” With that, the mantis grabbed the tiny insect around its throat and began to squeeze. The poor little insect’s eyes started to bulge. Rolling its eyes heavenward, it screamed, “Lord, save me!” Meanwhile, the praying mantis prayed, “Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts….”

I have no idea if in their own language, bugs pray, but there comes a time when all we can do is cry out to God for help. That was essentially all the widow in the parable could do.  She pestered the judge to render justice until he did so to get her off his back. Were you left with the message that if we pester God long enough, we can eventually get what we want? Yet you and I know that our prayers aren’t always answered so is there another lesson here to consider?

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29th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Today, I need to talk to those of you who are rich. Perhaps no one in this gathering is rich but then that beggar, Lazarus, would probably think all of you are rich, and if you are, I urge you to listen to what I have to say. You see, I was that rich man in the story you just heard. I’m down here in this place called Hades, and I tell you, it’s hotter than hell down here!

Anyway, when I was alive, I was blessed with a nice house. I enjoyed fine meals, the best wines, fancy clothes and classy wheels, the whole nine yards. I was a consumer, freely spending my shekels. I never left home without them. I was addicted to buying whatever I wanted.

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26th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Fifteen years ago I was scheduled to preach on the weekend following September 11. On Thursday of that week my pastor asked if I wanted him to take my place. I said no and hold him I had been revising my homily. By the way, today’s readings are the very same readings as 15 years ago.

I guess it was understandable that I focused on loss—the anger, the sadness, the loss of innocence, the loss of so much life and the nation in mourning. It was and still is painful. What got me through that weekend and those Masses was the opportunity, actually the grace, of baptizing two cousins born just a week apart—Isabella and Matthew. In the midst of a nation in mourning, two sisters brought their families together with a profound sense of hope and love. Fifteen years later, those kids are now teenagers and maybe only vaguely aware of the significance of 911.

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24th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »