Reflections on the Sunday readings from the Catholic Lectionary for Mass. Includes homilies, sermons, and other thoughts.
The Church Visible I was once surprised to learn that many non-Catholics use the same creed that we do and actually profess to believe in “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic …
Faithful to Hope It seems everyone wants to be successful, but when it comes to faith this can be a dangerous goal. You see, we always tend to measure success …
Peace Is Flowing Like an Ocean When Jesus reveals himself to the apostles after his resurrection the Scriptures tell us that his wounds were still visible. Why would a glorified …
Faith: Love It, Learn It, Live It In today’s Gospel, we read how Peter and John both saw the same evidence at the tomb. The tomb it empty. Yet faith …
The Hour Has Come After weeks of prayer and fasting through these forty days of Lent, the Gospel tells us today that “the hour” has come. It is time for …
Habemus Papam This past week has been an amazing time of excitement and joy in the Holy Spirit as we rejoice at the gift of our new Holy Father, Pope …
Keys to the Conclave Today’s homily gives an overview of the history of electing the Pope and the process that will be followed this week. If you have other questions …
Time to Bear Fruit Today I am on the road in Longview, Texas giving a parish mission at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church. Msgr. Xavier Pappu and all the parishioners have …
Citizens of the Mountain Paul reminds us in today’s second reading that “Our citizenship is in heaven.” To be a citizen means that you are at home, you are protected …
Hungry for God After fasting for 40 days, Jesus was hungry. So says the inerrant Word of God in today’s Gospel. We tend to think that this fact is obvious …
Memento Mori Remember death. That phrase is very similar to the one we hear today as we receive ashes, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” …
The following homily was given to students from Bishop Miege High School had just returned from the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. Mass was held in the St. …
Let’s Do Something It has been said that all that is necessary for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. When we see injustice and evil we …
The Gift of the Magi In today’s Gospel we read of the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem. However, what always puzzles me is the arrival of the Magi before …
Holy Families in Training Isn’t it amazing to think that when God came into this world he couldn’t even take care of himself? He chose to come in need of …
What Christmas is All About One of the greatest TV moments in history occurs in the great classic, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” when Charlie Brown famously asks, “Isn’t there anyone …
O Adonai Sometimes people will speak of the Old and New Testaments as if they were completely different stories. A false distinction is often made between the “God of the …
Rejoice Always In today’s 2nd Reading, St. Paul reminds us to “Rejoice Always!” At times in our life it might seem particularly hard to rejoice. In the wake of the …
Practical Tips for Confession In today’s reading we hear of John the Baptist and all the people that were going to him in the desert to repent. Why is it …
For our Jewish ancestors, the time waiting for the Messiah was focused not on a tree, but on a stump and on a shoot that was to spout from it.
Viva Cristo Rey What does it mean to say that Christ is King? Today’s homily discusses how the faithful in Mexico help us to answer this question. During the 1920’2 …
Four! At Bishop Miege High School where I am the chaplain, the football players have the tradition at the end of the 3rd quarter of raising their hands showing four …
The Temple and the Mass Today’s 2nd reading continues from the the Letter to the Hebrews. It was written by Christians to a Jewish audience attempting to explain how Jesus …
Something Beautiful for God This is the first in a series of homilies explaining various elements of the Mass and Catholic worship in honor of the 50th anniversary of the …
Answer the Call In today’s Gospel Jesus calls a young man to follow him. It is the greatest moment in his life, and yet we are told he goes away …
From Worse to Better As you survey the state of marriage in our society today, it would be easy to get discouraged. Yet we see in our gospel today that …
Prophet Training You are a prophet! Maybe you didn’t know it, but in your baptism you were anointed “priest, prophet, and king.” Perhaps you’re wondering about just what a prophet …
Be Opened In today’s gospel, Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man. Maybe we think all of our senses are working just fine, but what about our spiritual senses? …
All That Jazz When we’re growing up, no kid seems to like rules. I remember a similar experience learning to play the trumpet. My teacher wanted me to learn a …
How Important is the Eucharist We’ve spent the last several weeks learning about the Eucharist as we read St. John’s gospel. However, there comes a time when you have to …