Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A. Three years ago, I was in the market for a new car. The suspension on the car I was driving at the time was completely shot, and it was going to cost more money than the car was worth to repair it. It was becoming …
Location, Location, Location
Homily for the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A. “Location, location, location.” This is, of course, the most famous saying in the real estate business. It makes the point, quite emphatically, that the most significant factor in determining the value of a piece of property is its location. This saying is also applicable to …
What Star Do You Follow?
Homily for the Solemnity of Epiphany, 2023. When you’re young, it’s impossible to know what it feels like to be older. But when you’re older, it’s easy to forget what it felt like to be young. The challenges you face as an adult are much more difficult than the ones you faced as a child …
The Lion, the Pope, and the New Year
Homily for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. The passing of a pope is always a significant moment in the life of the Church. I was thirteen when St. John Paul II—who was, until yesterday, the most recent pope to die—passed away on April 2, 2005. Although, at the time, …
Your Arms Holding Him, His Arms Holding You
Homily for Christmas 2022. You may be surprised to hear this, given that I’m a priest, but from the time I was in sixth grade until I was a sophomore in college, I really didn’t like people a whole lot. Thankfully that’s changed. But if I would have had a moto during those teenage years …
Continue reading Your Arms Holding Him, His Arms Holding You
Bringing Mary Into Our Homes
Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A. Recently, I visited a family who had just moved. They asked me to come over and bless their new home. As is often the case after a move, many of their possessions were still in boxes, waiting to be unpacked. Many of the things that were …
Rejoice! The Lord is Near
Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Year A. In the year 1223, on his way back from Rome, St. Francis of Assisi stopped in the little Italian town of Greccio. The caves in that town reminded him of another little town—Bethlehem—which Francis had visited several years before. This gave Francis an idea. And so, …
The Forerunner
Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year A. If you worked at a PR firm, and were in charge of picking a spokesperson for the Advent season, the last person you’d probably pick is John the Baptist. You might pick St. Nick. You might pick a shepherd. You might pick an angel or a …
St. Augustine and Newton’s First Law of Motion
Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, Year A. When you take an introductory physics course, either in high school or in college, some of the first things you learn are Newton’s three laws of motion. The first of these laws concerns momentum. It states that an object in motion will stay in motion, and …
Continue reading St. Augustine and Newton’s First Law of Motion
Johnny Cash and the End Times
Homily for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. One of my favorite music videos is of the song Hurt by Johnny Cash. Filmed just a few months before his death, Cash seems aware in the video that his days are numbered. Although his voice is strong, it feels like it will soon go …
Isaiah Forty-Three 