Feast of St. Vincent de Paul, Patron Saint of the Diocese of Richmond Vincent de Paul was always a decent, upright man. From an early age, he lived a basically good life. But it might surprise you to learn that Vincent’s original motivation for becoming a priest was really quite worldly and superficial. It’s well […]
When I was in high school, I worked at Shoney’s as a waiter. And if you’ve ever waited tables, you’ll know — you have to work really hard for tips. You have to scratch and claw your way for every single dollar you make. I remember vividly, at the end of a long shift, as […]
Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 26, 2020 | St. Mary’s – Richmond, VA We are each on a quest for perfection. St. Augustine once said: “We search for the good and perfect Pearl and find none — until we find Christ.” In other words: On this quest for perfection that every […]
My grandma held up 3 fingers — “Three days!” she said. “My grandson is coming in three days!” The next day, she held up 2 fingers — “Two days! He’s coming in two days!” Then, only one. “Tomorrow! Anthony is coming tomorrow!” Yesterday morning, I had the immense privilege and honor of celebrating a mass […]
Peter said to Jesus: “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” Peter is asking an intense, fundamentally human question: “Lord, what will happen to us? We have forsaken our homes. Our families. Our jobs. We’ve let go of everything. We are ALL IN for You — What will […]
In our Psalm today, we heard the following phrases: The judgements of the Lord are true, and all of them just. The law of the LORD is perfect. The decree of the LORD is trustworthy. The precepts of the LORD are right. The command of the LORD is clear. Phrases like these are crucially important […]
In a scene from my all-time favorite movie, the Lord of the Rings, King Theoden — broken and exhausted as the Battle at Helms Deep looked more and more hopeless — asks a desperate question amidst all the confusion: “What can man do against such reckless hate?” His situation was dire. His fortress was surrounded […]
Homily for Memorial of Pope St. Paul VI In his landmark document on evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope St. Paul VI poses these questions: “Do you really believe what you are proclaiming? Do you live what you believe? Do you really preach what you live?” These questions aren’t just for priests, deacons and bishops to ponder […]
Homily for the Feast of St. Philip Neri St. Philip Neri, whose feast day we celebrate today, once said: Let no one wear a mask, otherwise he will do ill. And if he has one, let him burn it. This quote struck me as ironic, given that we are now required to wear face-masks at […]
Homily for St. Joseph Catholic School Mass – May 21, 2020 Jesus says to us in our gospel today: “A little while and you will no longer see me” and then “a little while later, you will see me.” What’s Jesus talking about? Well, this passage comes from the very end of John’s Gospel in […]