12/12/21 Abounding Love: Large Hearted

Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent.

Be Where Your Feet Are.

Too often, what keeps our heart small is the fact that we do the minimum minimally. What we are called to do, we put the least amount of our heart into it. But to be magnanimous, we do even the minimum excellently. Which is often nothing more than simply doing one thing at a time. Abounding love is focused love.

Mass Readings from December 12, 2021:
Zephaniah 3:14-18
Isaiah 12:2-6
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:10-18

12/08/21 Immaculate Conception

Homily from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

God gives exactly what is needed for whatever He has called us to.

The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of our Lady affirms the fact that Mary was preserved from all stain of Original Sin through the merits of her Son’s future life, death, and resurrection.

Mass Readings from December 8, 2021:
Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalms 98:1, 2-4
Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Luke 1:26-38

12/05/21 Abounding Love: What is Worth Your Heart?

Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent.

Abounding love is focused love.

Too often, we do not love well because we do not discern what is worth loving; we don't pay attention to the value of things. Because of this, our love becomes diluted. But when we truly appreciate the value of the moment or the value of the person, we develop an attitude of abundance coupled with an awareness of scarcity. And while we love with our hearts, we discern what is worth loving with our heads.

Mass Readings from December 5, 2021:
Baruch 5:1-9
Psalm 126:1-3, 4-6
Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11
Luke 3:1-6

11/28/21 Abounding Love: No Room

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.

Two things are clear about the inn at Bethlehem: Love Incarnate showed up and there was no room for Him.

Too often, we want to love the way we have been created to love. But we find ourselves incapable of loving this way. Not because we aren't willing or because we don't want to...but because our lives are simply too full. We have no room to love.

Mass Readings from November 28th, 2021:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalms 25:4-5, 8-10, 14
1 Thessalonians 3:12—4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

11/21/21 All Over the Place

Homily from the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

When torn asunder, we are held together by worship of the King of Kings.

The end of the year offers us the chance to recognize the little lords and tingy tyrants in our lives; those things we love and those things tha attack us. And we have the chance to allow Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe to be the true King over all of those fragments by offering Him true worship.

Mass Readings from November 21st, 2021:
Deuteronomy 7:13-14
Psalms 93:1-2, 5
Revelation 1:5-88
John 18:33-37

11/14/21 Always Forward. Never Back.

Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The struggle doesn't change the destination. The struggle is the way.

When we are in the middle of a journey...or the middle of life...we will encounter obstacles. In that encounter with obstacles, we will be tempted to go back. But it is necessary to ask “what is God asking of me right now?”

Mass Readings from November 14th, 2021:
Deuteronomy 12:1-3
Psalms 16:5, 8-11
Hebrews 10:11-14, 18
Mark 13:24-32

11/07/21 Learning to Lose: Practice Dying

Homily from the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Death is unavoidable.

We will all lose everything. We will all lose everything...even to the point of our very lives. Rather than avoid death, we can practice dying by actively giving away our claims to our materials, time, and our abilities.

Mass Readings from November 7th, 2021:
1 Kings 17:10-16
Psalms 146:7-10
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:38-44

11/01/21 Your Feast Day

Homily from the Solemnity of All Saints.

One day, this will be your feast day.

The Solemnity of All Saints is the day the Church has given us to celebrate and honor what God has done in the lives of the countless people He has redeemed and sanctified.

Mass Readings from November 1st, 2021:
Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Psalms 18:2-4, 47, 51
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 12:28-34

10/31/21 Learning to Lose: All is Lost

Homily from the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.

When all is lost, love God with all that's left.

We are called to love God with everything. It is easier to love when we are winning, but are we able to love when we've lost? What if we have lost everything? When we've lost, we are most tempted to become bitter, resentful, and take back our love. But we are made to love God and we can trust God even in the midst of losing it all.

Mass Readings from October 31st, 2021:
Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Psalms 18:2-4, 47, 51
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 12:28-34

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

09/26/21 Holding On: Patient and Ruthless

Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

What if the biggest obstacle to being the person you were created to be is the person you are currently choosing to be?

There are things that we need to stop holding on to if we are going to allow Christ to change our lives. Often, we know exactly what those things are. The things that our hands reach for, our eyes look at, and our feet lead us to can the exact things that are keeping us from God.

Mass Readings from September 26, 2021:
Numbers 11:25-29
Psalms 19:8, 10, 12-14
James 5:1-6
Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

09/19/21 Desperate

Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Edit, Convince, and Worry. Or Honesty, Trust, and Thanking God ahead of time.

"The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." We do not merely desire, we have inordinate desire driven by fear. We do not merely have ambition, we have selfish ambition in which we can only envision one possible outcome. To escape this trap, we must lean into honesty, trust and thanking God ahead of time.

Mass Readings from September 19, 2021:
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
Psalms 54:3-6 and 8
James 3:16—4:3
Mark 9:30-37

09/12/21 Not Mine

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Faith must be lived, not merely believed.

It is wise to take responsibility for one’s own time, resources, and family. And yet, we must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. This demands faith. Real faith is more than belief, but involves renunciation of any claim we might have on our lives in favor of the absolute claim Jesus has on every aspect of our lives.

Mass Readings from September 12, 2021:
Isaiah 50:5-9
Psalm 116:1-6, 8-9
James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35

09/05/21 Seen. Known. Loved.

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Transition always involves destruction.

Jesus heals the man who was deaf and mute. In doing this, He was destroying something in the man’s life…his identity. Jesus has to take away the false identity in order to tell us who we truly are.

Mass Readings from September 5, 2021:
Isaiah 35:4-7
Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
James 2:1-5
Mark 7:31-37

08/29/21 Living in Later?

Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Am I doing “everything but”?

Often we avoid doing what is essential by filling our lives with many things that are optional.

Mass Readings from August 29, 2021:
Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8
Psalm 15:2-5
James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

08/22/21 Consumer Catholic: The Church of Me

Homily from the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Everything I like and nothing that I don't.

The temptation to create a God in our own image and have a church in our own image is strong. But God has revealed Himself to us, which means we either choose Him…or we choose “not Him.” We don’t get to create our own personally curated version.

Mass Readings from August 22, 2021:
Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18
Psalm 34:2-3, 16-21
Ephesians 5:21-32
John 6:60-69

08/15/21 Consumer Catholic: The Body

Homily from the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

You are your body.

The Assumption of Mary reveals many things. One of the things it reveals is that our destiny is to be reunited with our resurrected bodies forever. Our bodies are good, and an essential part of what it is to be human.

Mass Readings from August 15, 2021:
Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10
Psalm 45:10-12, 16
1 Corinthians 15:20-27
Luke 1:39-56