12/30/12 Never Give Up

Homily from the Mass of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

"It is so easy to feel helpless, it is so easy to feel powerless as a Catholic mom or a Catholic dad in the face of our children's decisions. And so the good news is this: you don't have to feel powerless. You don't have to be powerless. ...The story isn't over yet. The game is not finished. There is always, always hope. Embrace and enact these four powerful things that every Catholic parent can do for their kids: to continue to teach them how to pray, to continue to bless them, to continue to live that life centered on Christ, and above all, to pray, to fast, and to intercede for them."

Mass Readings from December 30, 2012:
Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
1 John 3:1-2, 21-24
Luke 2:41-52

12/25/12 "And the Word became flesh..."

Homily from the Christmas Day Mass celebrated in Brainerd, MN.

"We still say, "God, why don't you do something?" That is still a cry from all of our hearts, every person here who has had their heart ripped open, there is a line that goes right down all of our lives, and we realize that we are all broken: 'God, why don't you do something?' Well today, this is incredible, today is the day that we come to Mass and we proclaim definitively, God has done something. God's answer to your suffering and mine, to your broken life and mine, to your broken marriage, to your broken family, to your broken heart and mine, God's answer is not a bunch of words, God's answer is one word: God's answer is, 'I will not take away your freedom. But I will give you myself.' 'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...'

Mass Readings from December 25, 2012:
Isaiah 52:7-10
Hebrews 1:1-6
John 1:1-18

12/16/12 Will We Risk the Fire?

Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent.

"Do you know what real freedom is? Real freedom is not the ability to do whatever I want. Freedom is the power to do as I ought."

Mass Readings from December 16, 2012:
Zephaniah 5:1-9
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:10-18

12/09/12 Finishing the Race

Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent.

"If there is only one real tragedy in life, to get to the end and to not have been a saint, then I need to get this into my head and into my heart: that a fall is not necessarily a tragedy; that a sin is not necessarily a tragedy; and that to be running the race and to fall down is not the end of the race yet. ...Because a fall is just a fall."

Mass Readings from December 9, 2012:
Baruch 5:1-9
Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
Luke 3:1-6

12/02/12 Do What You Gotta Do

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.

"So many of us, we find ourselves right now coming into the end of the semester like, 'Listen, if I fail this class, it's all over.' No it's not! 'Listen, if I mess up in this area, then I will never be able to recover.' Yes you will! 'No, but if I lose this thing my life will be worth nothing.' No it won't! And Jeremiah reveals this to us, 'Listen. You're in exile? You feel like there is no hope? There is a bigger story at work. There's a larger story at play. And your life is actually bigger than your life.' Jesus tells us, 'Focus. Don't distract yourself.' Jeremiah tells us, 'Realize that there is a bigger story that you are a part of.' And then Paul, writing to the Thessalonians who are in persecution, he tells them and he actually encourages them, he says, 'Don't distract yourselves. But do what you know you need to do.'"

Mass Readings from December 2, 2012:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36