10/24/21 Learning to Lose: Get Up

Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Life is about losing. It is not about quitting.

It is one thing to lose. It is another thing when those losses begin to stack up and we get to the point where we haven't just lost...we've been beaten. We can wind up feeling defeated. Into this place of defeat, God Himself speaks into our loss and our shame, telling us what is needed.

Mass Readings from October 24th, 2021:
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalms 126:1-6
Hebrews 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52

10/17/21 Learning to Lose: Winner or Witness?

Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Life isn't about power, it is about being poured out.

The world sees life as being about winning. And to win is to gain power and influence. If a person wins they get power, and with that power they can re-shape the world as they see fit. But a Christian view of winning is different. Life is not about power, it is about being poured out. Life isn't about winning, it is about witnessing.

Mass Readings from October 17th, 2021:
Isaiah 53:10-11
Psalms 33:4-5, 18-20, 22
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mark 10:35-45

10/10/21 Holding On: Holding On to You

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

What you've been holding on to ends up holding on to you.

Anything can keep us from Heaven. Anything that we prefer over and over (and anything that we defer putting down over and over) can end up holding on to us. There are times when we've chosen so often that we no longer have a choice. And there are times when we have put off letting go so often that we can't put it down. And we find ourselves stuck. What do we hold on to then?

Mass Readings from October 10th, 2021:
Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalms 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30

10/03/21 Holding On: The Power of a Promise

Homily from the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

"Because I said I would."

We are not yet who we are called to be. Sometimes, in order to become the person we are called to be, we need to stop holding on to what is holding us back. Other times, we need to keep holding on. The ability to make and keep a promise is one of the ways we are called to become who we are created and redeemed to be.

Mass Readings from October 3rd, 2021:
Genesis 2:18-24
Psalms 128:1-6
Hebrews 2:9-11
Mark 10:2-16