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 …
Tag: Year C
The Risk of Faith
Homily for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. For most people, the idea of running as something fun and enjoyable is about as absurd as the idea of going to the dentist as something fun and enjoyable. It takes an act of faith, then, for most people to endure the weeks and months …
Failure is an Option
Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. If you’ve had the chance to grow up with older siblings, you know, as I do, that you can learn a lot from them. Some things they teach you directly, like when they show you how to play a game or help you with your …
The Distinguishable Christian
Homily for the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. About a hundred years after the death of Christ, an unknown author gave this description of Christians and how they live in the world: “Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, …
Resurrecting Duty
Homily for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. There are some things which you repeat so often as a child that you never forget them as an adult. For us as Catholics, these include things like the Sign of the Cross, the Our Father, and the Hail Mary. When I go to anoint …
The Lazarus on Our Doorstep
Homily for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. Of all of Jesus’ parables, this is the only one in which one of the characters is named. Usually, the fact that they aren’t named is an invitation to the audience to take the place of one of the characters in the story. If the …
The Father’s Embrace
Homily for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in ordinary time, Year C. When I was growing up, it was not uncommon to see someone holding up a sign at a football game with the words “John 3:16” written on it. Even today, if you were to ask a representative sample of Christians to share a bible verse …
Following Christ into Battle
Homily for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. One of my favorite moments in a movie or a TV show is when a leader gives a rousing and inspirational speech. This could be a coach before the start of the game, a head of state in the aftermath of a great conflict, or …
The Beauty of Humility
Homily for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. When I was in high school, my least favorite science class was chemistry. So, when I went off to college, I decided to pursue a degree in computer engineering—the kind of engineering, I thought, that involved the least amount of chemistry. I would have to …
Gateway to Heaven
Homily for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C. In the late 1970s, a small unit of the United States military was established to investigate the possibility of using psychic abilities for counterintelligence efforts. This secret group, known as the Stargate Project, focused on people who could engage in “remote viewing,” the ability, purportedly, …