12/24/13 "I Played My Worst for Him"

Homily from the Christmas Eve Mass.

"Paul said, 'Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a good person, although perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die.' But here's the kicker, here's the line, here's what Christianity is: 'But God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' This recognition that God's not waiting for you, He's not waiting for me to get better in order to listen to us or in order to come close to us or in order to get involved in our lives. Because the story of Christianity, Christmas, is a story of God's love: not how well I love. It's the story of God's faithfulness: not how faithful I am. It's the story of God's goodness: not my goodness, and not your goodness."

Mass Readings from December 24, 2013:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Acts 13:16-17, 22-25
Matthew 1:1-25

12/22/13 "I Don't _______ You"

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

"Sometimes we ask the question, 'How can this be?' Or we make the statement, 'I don't understand You.' Sometimes the Lord is really clear in His answer and sometimes the answer is very cryptic, or very muddled, or we just don't hear it very well. Or the answer is simply silence. But in those times, in those places, what we can be is we can be imitators of Mary. And we can imitate that confidence and that faith. We can imitate that saying, 'Behold, I am the handmaid, or the servant, of the Lord. May it be done unto me according to Your Word.'"

Mass Readings from December 22, 2013:
Isaiah 7:10-14
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24

12/15/13 Repentance: Waiting Well

Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent.

"What God does in us while we are waiting is often as important as what we are waiting for."
--Ben Patterson

Mass Readings from December 15, 2013:
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

To see the video of the experiment that's referred to in the homily, click here!

12/08/13 Repentance: A Chance to Change

Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent.

"Jesus came to actually give us freedom from that besetting sin, from that thing that just keeps holding us back from having that kind of joy, and the kind of life, and the kind of freedom that you know you want. So the question is this: why not purify your environment? I am going to ask you to do this one thing. What is that one besetting sin in your life right now? What is one thing that you can do tonight right after Mass to change your environment and open up the way for the Lord? To get the obstacle out of the way?"

Mass Readings from December 8, 2013:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12

12/01/13 Enough

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.

"This line of enough is really important, but it's really subtle, and it's so vital: because if I have more than enough I have excess, but if I have less than enough I have suffering. ... At the end of the day, each of us has to know and has to choose what enough actually is. We actually have to do the hard work of thinking it through and saying, 'So I can't feel my way to what is enough because I am a terrible judge of that when I go by my gut, literally and figuratively. But also, if I don't decide what enough really is, then I will never actually be happy because I'll never know if I have it. I'll never actually know if I have enough.' ... As we enter into Advent, the big question comes up: what is enough? And not just what is enough stuff. But the question is this: do I love Jesus enough? ... What is there in my life that I might actually need less of in my life just so that I can have more than enough love for Jesus?"

Mass Readings from December 1, 2013:
Isaiah 2:1-5
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44