Discerning Spirits

Homily for the Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Today’s first reading from the First Letter of St. John is one of my favorites in all of Scripture because it calls us to open our spiritual eyes and ears to see where the Holy Spirit is at work in the world and in the Church.…

Mary, Mother of God

Homily for the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. It reminds us of the importance and the honor that we give to Mary as Catholics. I’m sure most of us here today have been asked at least once why Catholics give the Blessed Mother…

The Example of Anna

Homily for the Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas Over the last couple of days now, we have been reading through the account of the Presentation of the Lord from the Gospel of Luke. Yesterday, we read the Canticle of Simeon, this great prayer of thanksgiving to God for allowing him to see the…

Extraordinary Ordinariness

Homily for the Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas As I reflected on this Gospel yesterday, I found myself really drawn to pray with the ordinariness of the Holy Family. There was nothing extraordinary about Mary and Joseph bringing Jesus to be dedicated in the Temple after his birth. It is something that is…

God Works Through History

Homily for Thursday of the Third Week of Advent I’ve been reflecting on this particular Gospel passage for a few weeks now. It was the Gospel I picked for the Night of Merciful Love a couple of weeks ago and it made up a large portion of the talks for the Advent morning of reflection…

Walking in Righteousness

Homily for Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent Last night, I was talking to a priest friend of mine about the readings for today and he said something to me that has just really had me thinking. He was talking about how he was really intrigued by this interaction between Jesus and the Scribes…

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Homily for the Memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a day when we remember how the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531 in Mexico. The story of her appearance resulted in the conversion of over 9 million people to Catholicism. So,…