God became like the sick, so that the sick might become like God. This humbling truth is perhaps best depicted in a famous image of the Crucifixion in the Isenheim Altarpiece by the artist, Matthias Grünwald. It is an incredibly gruesome painting, showing Jesus in absolute agony on the Cross: His body is twisted, his […]
Listen to a recording of this homily here: We all want control. And when we finally think have control… we immediately start to worry that we’re gonna lose it. That is exactly the dynamic we see in our first reading today from the first book of Kings. The Davidic Kingdom has recently been divided and […]
Homily for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul Listen to the recording of the homily here: Before entering seminary, I had an opportunity to go on a pilgrimage in Rome. We arrived later in the evening, and it became quickly apparent that the Wi-Fi in our hotel was terrible. So, like any good […]
Listen to the recorded homily: Readings for Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time “Why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Because Jesus is the perfect evangelizer. He is so natural, so smooth, so unassuming in his masterful way of loving people, that he’s able to easily slip into their daily life. […]
Christmas Readings “The time came for her to have her child.” The time came for each one of us. For me, the time came at 7PM sharp on August 30th, 1988. For my sister, the time came at 2:30AM on May 15th, 1991. For my beautiful little niece, the time finally came at 5:30AM on […]
Homily for Memorial of Saint Ambrose Readings for the Day “Without cost you have received. Without cost you are to give.” These words come to us in a season of gift-receiving and gift-giving, with Christmas just two and a half weeks away now. It might be helpful, therefore, to reflect on THE GREATEST gift-giver the […]
Homily for Thanksgiving Day Readings for the day Did the others even realize they were healed? That is the question the Lord laid on my heart as I meditated on this gospel: The nine other lepers who failed to return and give thanks to Jesus…Did they even realize what had happened to them? Did they […]
Are our lives so on fire with God’s love that they demand explanation? Readings for the day Are we living lives that provoke questions? True Christian witness is a very odd thing. Holiness inevitably causes a stir — It makes people curious, perhaps angry, annoyed. And we know it when we see it. In a […]
Homily for Saturday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Readings of the Day Our gospel passage today — the story of the persistent widow — is obviously meant to teach us a fundamental Christian truth: “Pray always, without becoming weary.” But this essential lesson takes on a fascinating layer of meaning when we hold […]
Homily for 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings of the Day Seminarians are always asked to give their “vocation stories.” People love to hear why anyone would want to become a priest in this day and age. But here’s the deal y’all: “my” vocation story really isn’t “mine” at all. Why do I say that? […]