Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Year A. In order to understand the beginning of a journey, it’s often helpful to look ahead to the end of the journey, especially if you know where you are going. Five weeks from now, on Palm Sunday, we will hear the familiar account of our Lord’s Passion …
Costco and the Lenten Fast
Homily for Ash Wednesday 2023. One of the great things about being a priest is that every day is different; no day is exactly like the next. Even after three and a half years as a priest, I still have new experiences. Recently, I went to Costco for the first time. I had never been …
Where’s the Salt?
Homily for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. One of the things that surprised me when I started to watch a lot of cooking shows, is just how much salt is used to prepare a restaurant-quality dish. For many dishes, salt is added at every stage of the cooking process. To make a …
Scam or Roadmap to Happiness?
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 …
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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, …
Isaiah Forty-Three 