Homilies

Homily for the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, June 1, 2025

Even if it is incorrect because the earth is spherical, instinctively we look up in the sky whenever we think of heaven, and we look down into the bowels of the earth whenever we think of hell.  As always, the starting point should be the fundamental fact that we are living in Christ and with Christ as one, inseparable entity: Jesus the Head and we the members of the Body of Christ, i.e., the Church.  So, the Ascension into heaven doesn’t mark a separation, a going away of our Head from us the Body (that would be the end of our existence) but the marking

Homilies

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter, May 25, 2025

Nowadays, there is a lot of restlessness in our hearts and our minds deal frequently with heavy concerns.  Hence, as believers, we look toward heaven and sigh as if to tell the Lord that we are placing ourselves and our loved ones ever more firmly in his hands.  Aware of our predicament, Mother Church dares to offer us the picture of her splendor and glory.  The angel took me in spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. Revelation 21:10  The Church knows that a part of her

Homilies

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter, May 18, 2025

Here is a very important question: what is our reaction to what Paul and Barnabas tell us today?   They tell us that it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. Acts 14:22  Before we answer that question, and point out our reaction to those inspired words, let me remind all of us that our God is the God of the living.  Being the God of the living, today, he uses Paul and Barnabas (who are glorious parts of the Body of Christ) to bring to us his message of concern and love.  It is necessary for us to unde

Homilies

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter, May 11, 2025

Jesus introduces himself as our Shepherd. Perhaps the Psalm most familiar and dearest to us is Psalm 23: “the Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”  However, even in our familiarity with that Psalm we are in no way hardwired to appreciate the role of Christ as our Shepherd and, even less, to accept our role as his sheep.  Hence, first, we ought to delve into the Hebrew psyche as evidenced in the Bible if we want to benefit spiritually from this image.  For the Bible, shepherds and nomads in general are closer to God because they ar

Homilies

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, May 4, 2025

Undoubtedly, for us believers, no other event in history can equal the Resurrection, Christ’s victory over those enemies against whom we are powerless: all evils and death itself.  Thus, we should approach the Resurrection accounts as direct and personalized interventions of God to allay our fear of evil and death.  We all seek the comfort of someone’s presence as we face major frightening events in life.   It is because Jesus knows what fear can do to a human being that he is present in the lives of his first disciples after his resurrect

Homilies

Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2025

While it is true that the Lord appreciates and counts on our contribution, symbolized by our Sunday collection and by the bread and wine we bring to the altar, what the Lord welcomes most of all is that part of our heart which can be dubbed “Doubting Thomas.”  He wants our “Doubting Thomas” to reshape it according to the Father’s plan.  This transformation is meant for all of God’s children, including those who have messed up as badly as Peter, Thomas, James, John, Paul or any of the others.  The readings of the Sundays after Easter cover the r

Homilies

Homily for Easter Sunday, April 20, 2025

This year’s Jubilee is called the Jubilee of Hope for a very specific reason. Pope Francis realizes that our world is in desperate need of apostles of Hope, called to rekindle in people’s hearts hope in a future worth longing for and looking forward to. Today, we have gathered in our beloved church because we know the only Person who can confirm that this future exists and that he has made it so desirable that those who believe in his victory over all evils, darkness, emptiness and indifference are willing to endure many trials and continue undaunted to sacrifice t

Homilies

Homily for Palm Sunday, April 13, 2025

While, historically, Jesus endured one horrific passion and death on a cross, we are blessed with four narratives of that same passion and death: Matthew’s, Mark’s, Luke’s and John’s.  Today, on Palm Sunday, let me share with you six points of reflection which are Luke’s gift to us for our edification and for our spiritual growth.  Holy Communion is a call to joyous service of each other. As, at the Last Supper, he was serving us his flesh and blood for our spiritual nourishment and as a pledge of life eternal, he reminded us that we, too, are calle

Homilies

Homily for the 5th Sunday in Lent, April 6, 2025

…since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12  What a wonderful statement uttered by St. Paul! It should become the template of our relationship with Christ.  There are two basic ways of becoming somebody else’s possession: by being purchased as slaves or as the result of being smitten by love.  Today, St. Paul tells us how he fell in love with Christ. (Philippians 3:8-14)  Two people smitten by love desire intensely to be possessed by their beloved. It is as if they forfeit their own will to be always

Homilies

Homily for the 4th Sunday in Lent, March 30, 2025

While it is comforting and reassuring to know from the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) that God’s love for us is such that we are guaranteed a safety net of grace were we to stray and become “big time sinners,” it begs the question: “Why is Jesus, today, retelling us the story that we know so very well?”   He knows that we are quite familiar with it … unless he feels that we really need to take another look at this parable and see if there is something of vital importance in it, we urgently need to consider.   Right away, we