St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Saturday of the 3rd Week of Advent

In today's Gospel reading, we witness a beautiful moment of grace between two relatives, Mary and Elizabeth. This passage highlights the deep love that prompted Mary to travel to Elizabeth's side during her time of need. We also see the compassion that Elizabeth offered Mary through her hospitality, comfort, and joy during this challenging period.

Mary and Elizabeth serve as shining examples of what family should be. As husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, we are gifted with one another to create a safe and welcoming environment known as family. For some, family may be discovered outside of blood relationships. Nevertheless, it is through all these connections that we experience God's love and saving grace.

Homily for Friday of the 3rd Week of Advent

While we are less than a week away from celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Gospel passage takes us back nine months to the Annunciation of His Virgin Mother, when she learns from the angel God's plan for her in His larger plan. We are reminded of Mary's initial confusion and fear and the angel's gentle admonition, "Do not be afraid."

In today's world, we may be afraid of much. Yet, the angel's gentle words to Mary are said to us" "Do not be afraid." If we, like Mary, follow the will of God in our lives, then, ultimately, we need not fear anything, for we will always be in the presence of the Lord.

During these final days of Advent, may Mary be our model of trust in the Lord as we seek to follow His will and fulfill our part in His divine plan.

Homily for Thursday of the 3rd Week of Advent

Zechariah received wonderful news from the angel Gabriel: his wife, Elizabeth, who had been unable to have children, would soon give birth to a special son. This son would be called to prepare the people for the Lord. However, Zechariah found it difficult to believe this incredible news.

Sometimes, we, too, struggle to believe good news because we are surrounded by negativity. We may find it challenging to accept the Good News that comes from God, or we may believe it in general but not feel that it applies to us personally.

During this time of year, we celebrate the Good News that God has become Emmanuel, God-is-with-us, through the birth of Jesus, Mary's son. This is Good News for all of us, both as a community and as individuals. Christ is with us in every aspect of our lives, surrounding us with His love and guidance. Let us embrace this Good News with joy during this special season.

Homily for Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent

The Gospel of Matthew differs from the other Gospels in that it doesn't tell us about the Annunciation to Mary. However, it does contain an account of an angel's message to Joseph.

In Luke's Gospel, the angel tells Mary, "Do not be afraid." In Matthew's Gospel, the angel tells Joseph the same thing: "Do not be afraid."

God was doing something unprecedented and significant in the lives of Mary and Joseph, something crucial for humanity's redemption. The conception of Jesus was a miraculous demonstration of God's grace that understandably stirred doubts in the hearts of Mary and Joseph, who were the most affected. Both of them needed assurance to confront the challenge ahead of them.

In times of change, transition, and challenge, we all require the same reassurance: "Do not be afraid." May we have faith in God's presence, in Emmanuel - God is with us - just as Mary and Joseph did, and in doing so, may we become willing participants in God's plan for us.

Homily for Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Advent

Although Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, it took about 300 years after His birth before the Church formally recognized this celebration.

Christmas and Advent are the newest additions to our liturgical calendar. While the early Church celebrated the Lord’s Resurrection from its very beginnings, the first recorded celebration of the Lord’s birth dates back to between 274 and 336 AD. The Romans held an annual festival called Sol Invictus, or the "Birthday of the Invincible Sun," which was observed on what was then the shortest day of the year, December 25th. This day marked the first day of increasing daylight as the sun began to rise higher in the sky.

As Christianity expanded throughout the Roman Empire, the Church adopted the celebration of the “Birthday of the Invincible Sun” to honor the dawning of the Son of God. Over the centuries, the liturgical season of Advent emerged as a time for prayer and preparation for Christmas.

In today’s Gospel, Matthew presents a genealogy of Jesus’ ancestors. Both Matthew’s account of Jesus’ lineage and the early Church’s choice of the timing for this celebration reflect our belief that Jesus fulfills the vision God had for the world from the very beginning of creation—a world characterized by justice and peace. Jesus enters our world as a “new” sun, illuminating it once more with the peace and justice of God. 

Homily for Monday of the 3rd Week of Advent

The question posed to Jesus by the chief priests and the elders in today’s Gospel passage comes soon after He expelled the merchants and money changers from the Temple in Jerusalem. As we heard, they wanted to know by whose authority He could do such things. They asserted authority for themselves over the Temple, and they had not given Jesus permission to do what He did.

Jesus did not answer the question about His authority, but the careful reader of the Gospel knows the source of His authority. From before His birth, Jesus was called Emmanuel, meaning “God-with-us.”

Because Jesus is “God-with-us,” He has the authority to say how God’s Temple was used. He knows that it was not being used nor operated with due faith and reverence. And He responded with righteous anger.

As we draw closer to the celebration of the birth of our Emmanuel, He shows us how to honor God rightly and helps us by filling our hearts with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May our hearts be truly open to that grace, who is always present and always active in our lives.

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent

When William Booth founded the Salvation Army in the slums of London in 1865, Victorian England was not kind to its poor citizens. Early on, Booth was arrested for his charitable work. However, he persevered, and by 1880, he was ready to send his “troops” abroad.

One Christmas, Booth wanted to send a cable to Salvation Army posts worldwide. A lengthy message was not feasible due to financial constraints, as he wished to allocate funds to help the poor. So, he chose to send just one word. That Christmas, Booth greeted his fellow workers around the globe with that one word: Others.

That single word encapsulates the essence of the Gospel. It is in doing for others that we come to recognize the presence of God in our midst—a presence we often overlook due to being too busy, jaded, proud, or overwhelmed.

As John the Baptist proclaims at the River Jordan, we can only celebrate the Messiah in our lives when we step beyond ourselves to embrace the needs and hopes of others.

In baptism, we are called to witness God’s love through the love we extend to others. We are called to be heralds of His justice by unwaveringly committing to what is right and good for others. We are called to reflect the light of Christ through our forgiveness, mercy, and compassion for others. We are called to imitate the example of Christ, the servant, through our humble, joy-filled service to others.

May we strive to be instruments of God’s love and peace to all those who are most in need in our world.

Homily for the Memorial of St. John of the Cross

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus compared John the Baptist with the prophet Elijah, who was expected to return just before the arrival of the long-awaited Savior. Jesus mentioned that people did not recognize John the Baptist and treated him however they wanted.

The fate of John the Baptist was soon going to be the fate of Jesus as well. As Jesus said, “So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.” Both John and Jesus preached the values of God's kingdom, and they suffered greatly for doing so. Even as we approach the celebration of Jesus' birth, we are reminded of the Cross that awaited this Child.

During Christmas, we celebrate the Good News that God loved the world so much that He gave us His only Son. Today's Gospel passage reminds us that God's giving was a giving-unto-death, a giving that cost everything.

During this time of year, we pray for the same generosity so that we may give to others what God has given to us.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Lucy

Jesus was a perceptive observer of people, often using everyday images from their daily lives to illustrate the kingdom of God. In today's Gospel, He mentioned children playing in the marketplaces. At times, they played joyfully, pretending to play pipes while others danced to the music. At other times, their games reflected the sorrows of life, perhaps stemming from having witnessed the death of an elderly family member. Some children sang mournful songs while others cried in response. However, some children refused to engage at all.

These unresponsive children reminded Jesus of indifferent adults. They showed no signs of mourning in response to John the Baptist's stern message, nor did they dance in response to Jesus' more joyful message. They dismissed John, calling him possessed, and labeled Jesus as a glutton and a drunkard.

Jesus identified His ministry with the piper and the dance. His life and message represent good news—the Good News of God's love for us. 

Homily for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

On a December morning in 1531, a man named Juan Diego was on his way to church. As he passed a hill at Tepeyac, near present-day Mexico City, he heard a voice calling him by name. Looking up, he was surprised to see what appeared to be a young Aztec woman. She instructed him to go to the bishop and tell him to build a shrine on the hill, which was the site of an ancient Nahuatl shrine. However, the bishop ignored Juan's message.

In her second apparition, the woman introduced herself as the Mother of God and instructed Juan to return to the bishop with her request. However, the bishop denied the request once again.

During her third appearance, the woman instructed Juan to gather a bouquet of roses growing out of season at her feet. So, Juan collected the roses in his cloak and presented them to the bishop. When he opened up his cloak to reveal the flowers, both the bishop and Juan Diego were astonished to see a full-color image of the woman Juan Diego had seen imprinted on the fabric of the cloak.

Today, we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, whose story is a significant turning point for the Church in the Americas. The apparitions occurred ten years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1521. Although Christianity was the conquerors' religion, it failed to offer much to the native people.

After the appearance of Our Lady of Guadalupe, everything changed. Mary spoke to Juan in his native language, Nahuatl, instead of Spanish. She seemed to be one of them, and all the symbols she appeared in spoke to the native people. She expressed her desire that her shrine would radiate her love and compassion to all the inhabitants of that land.

Mary's apparitions caused a significant transformation in the Church and the Aztec people. Within six years of the apparitions, around nine million Aztecs converted to Christianity. This event marked a turning point for the Church, as it shifted its focus towards serving the needs of the poor and oppressed. It was no longer seen as the religious arm of the conqueror but rather as the voice of God's compassion and justice.