Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C. If familiarity breeds contempt, it’s surprising that this parable can still captivate and move us. It is, after all, the most familiar parable in all the gospels. And we may be tempted, having heard it so often, to think that there is no new insight we …

Continue reading The Extravagance of the Father’s Mercy

Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year C. About two and a half years ago, I spent a week in the desert at Joshua Tree National Park in California. It was technically a vacation, but it ended up being more like a retreat. Each day I went for a long hike by myself, which …

Continue reading Come Home

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Year C. For the first three-hundred years after the birth of Christ, it was a risky business being a follower of Jesus. To practice your faith openly, or even to gather in private in someone’s home to celebrate Mass, was to take your life into your hands. Martyrdom …

Continue reading Desert Temptations