St. Benedict, Pray for Us

Homily for the Memorial of St. Benedict Our Gospel passage this morning follows Jesus’ interaction with the Rich Young Man. At the end of that interaction, we know that Jesus tells the young man to go and sell everything that he has so that he could be free be a true disciple of the Lord.…

Preparing Our Hearts for New Wine

Homily for Saturday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time Through this parable that we hear this morning from Matthew's Gospel, the Lord is inviting us to take a deeper look at the state of our hearts. He's asking us to reflect on what might be in our hearts that is preventing us from experiencing…

Wholehearted “Yes”

Homily for Monday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time This morning’s Gospel is Matthew’s equivalent to what we heard from Luke yesterday. It again shows us that sometimes there is a hesitancy within us when the Lord is asking us to follow Him. At times we’re afraid of what that might mean; or maybe…

Hesitant Discipleship

Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Farewell Homily for HNJ In the Rite of Baptism, in the prayer that accompanies the anointing with the Sacred Chrism, we are reminded that we become like Christ in a particular way through that sacrament. Through it, we are called to embrace the threefold mission of…

Waking Us Up

Homily for Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time This first reading this morning and even the Responsorial Psalm should make us pause and think for a second about the state of our world, and more specifically the state of our own country.  It seems as though our great nation has forgotten all that…

Made for Greatness

Homily for Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time In our Gospel this morning, we hear this passage that most of us have heard numerous times throughout our lives. Jesus tells us to store up for ourselves treasure in Heaven. But what exactly does that mean? I think it’s pretty safe to say that…

Setting the Record Straight

Homily for Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time In our Gospel readings recently for daily Mass, we’ve been reading through the beginning of Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. And what we have seen, especially yesterday and today, is Jesus basically setting the record straight on the Law. In fact, in…

Of You My Heart Speaks

Homily for Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time There is a line in this morning’s Responsorial Psalm that I found to be truly beautiful. The psalmist says: “Of you my heart speaks.” Honestly, I think we could spend hours praying with what that phrase means and how it relates to each one of…

Anger and Unforgiveness

Homily for Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time Sometimes I find myself sitting through Mass, listening to the words of Scripture being read, and suddenly thinking: how does this reading apply to my life? Other times, it kind of smacks me in the face. This morning’s Gospel is pretty easy for all of…