Shortly after the end of the Second World War, two trains pulled into a station in northern Italy. One train was from Germany, the other from France. As passengers from the two trains disembarked, the noisy station fell silent. Tension filled the air. Fresh wounds were reopened, lost loved ones recalled, old hatreds rekindled. Although …
Month: May 2020
The Beauty of Divine Mercy
https://youtu.be/tNBkboi8mMI Homily for Friday of the Seventh Week of Easter, Year A. Divine Mercy is God's Goodness in removing affliction, the greatest affliction of which is sin. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). "'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' …
Unity in the Church
https://youtu.be/lvrZmGRdb3Y Homily for Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter, Year A. “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that …
The Ascension of the Lord
When I woke up this morning, I had an important question on my mind. The question had to do with today’s feast: The Feast of the Ascension. But I didn’t know how to answer the question, or even how to begin answering it. And so, I got down on my knees, bowed my head, folded …
Sixth Sunday of Easter
https://youtu.be/mEYMy3axNvU Matthew Murdock was both a lawyer and a superhero. Losing his sight in a childhood accident left him with a heightened, and even superhuman, sense of hearing. And losing his father in a violent crime when he was just a boy left him with a thirst for justice. Murdock was raised Roman Catholic and …
Fifth Sunday of Easter
https://youtu.be/0o6PRKABlTM As many of you know by now, I often begin my homilies with some sort of amusing comment or story. You may think, then, that since it’s Mother’s Day, I’d begin with a few jokes about mothers. But I know that I’d be risking my life if I did. If the mothers of this …
Fourth Sunday of Easter
https://youtu.be/moYW7WgLaZk When I visited classrooms this past year, some of the most common questions from our school kids were about heaven: What was heaven going to be like? What we were going to do there? And, most importantly: Which pets, if any, went there when they died? I always dreaded the “Do dogs go to …
Isaiah Forty-Three 