St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the Memorial of St. Ambrose

We can all relate to the weather metaphors that Jesus uses in today's gospel. He talks about rain, floods, and winds, which we can easily understand. Living in New England, we can add snow to the list and still get the message that Jesus is trying to convey.

Apart from the weather, we can experience storms of a different nature in our lives, no matter where we live in the world. As individuals, we may find ourselves struggling with life's challenges, facing difficulties and obstacles that seem insurmountable.

Jesus warns us that we will face storms in life, but He wants to help us overcome them. When storms come, we can either be tossed about helplessly or stand strong and move beyond them.

Jesus wants to be our rock during the storms of life. If we listen to and follow His teachings, we will remain safe, even when the storms rage around us. Jesus reminds us of the importance of doing God's will and encourages us to keep returning to that focal point. By doing so, we can endure any storm we face with the help of the Lord.

Homily for Tuesday of the 1st Week of Advent

All people receive gifts from the Holy Spirit. These gifts help us to live as children of God and enable us to be instruments of God's love and grace to people in our world. 

As a sacramental Church, we open ourselves up to the creative grace of God, our loving Father, the compassionate and loving grace of Jesus Christ, and the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit. 

In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are described in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah: wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, holiness, knowledge, and fear of the LORD. If we are genuinely open to the Spirit, to God's love and grace, then we will be transformed by these gifts. Real transformation means that we must use these gifts for our good and for the good of all people. 

During the Advent season, we are reminded to take a step back and reflect on the gifts that we have received from the Holy Spirit. However, it is not enough to simply acknowledge these gifts; we must actively work to utilize them. By doing so, we allow God's love and peace to flow through us, and we fulfill our calling to bring ourselves and others closer to God's kingdom of love. 

And so, we pray...

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our LORD. Amen.

Homily for Monday of the 1st Week of Advent

When we get sick, it's usually just a matter of time. Our joints ache, our heads throb and our stomachs wage war against us - but we know that it's only a matter of waiting out the cold or flu. We know that, with time, we will feel better.

There are times when waiting is more uncertain, anxious, and desperate. We don't know how this suffering will end, and we are terrified at what these symptoms may mean. We wait for the lab results to come back, we wait to see if the medicine will work, we wait for the surgery to be completed, and we wait for a cure.

And sometimes we are left waiting. . . for God.

Advent is the season of waiting for healing, transformation, and God's arrival in the person of Jesus. In today's Gospel, the centurion is an example of Advent waiting. He has looked after his servant and now awaits a cure. However, his faith gives him the ability to wait with hope. This Gentile's faith allows him to hope that God will act through Jesus. With a unique blend of dignity and humility, he requests that Jesus speak a word of healing.

This season of Advent calls us to hope that our waiting, our yearning for healing, peace, and salvation will come.

Let us pray… Come, O Christ, the Healer and Worker of Wonders! May we put our trust in your Word to heal our afflictions and illnesses. Let us hope in your light to shatter the darkness of our despair and pain. Help us to live our lives with faith in your compassion and hope in your grace during the Advent season and beyond.[1]

 

[1] Connections, Advent 2005, Media Works, Londonderry, NH, Jay Cormier, Editor

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent

This week, we begin a new Church year with the Season of Advent. This is a season of hope that focuses on the one who changed the course of human history. The season of Advent proclaims the message that God has not abandoned His people.  He sent His Son among us to come to our aid and to free us from our sins.

This holy season celebrates the abiding presence of Christ in our world and His birth in each one of our hearts. This season tells us about the beginning and future ending of the story of our redemption. While we look forward to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Christ, we cast a glance into the future and to that great day when Christ will come in glory. In the meantime, we are to wait in joyful hope for our LORD and Savior to be revealed.

Echoed and re-echoed throughout the readings is the warning, "Be on your guard, stay awake because you never know when the time will come." The real challenge of Advent is to prepare ourselves for that great moment by letting God's presence and power work in our lives.

Life is incomplete without God, and we are useless and inadequate without God’s presence in our lives. God alone can satisfy our deepest longings and fill us with inner peace. St. Julian of Norwich prays, “God, of your goodness, give me yourself, for you are enough for me, and I can ask for nothing which is less which can pay you full worship. And if I ask for anything else, always I am in want; but in you do I have everything.”[1]

Advent makes us aware of our need to turn to God in hope and humble prayer, begging God to save us. It is a time for soul searching and renewal, for becoming more conscious of our sins and asking for pardon. If we have abandoned God, neglected prayer, or broken the Commandments, now is the time to make a fresh start at building a closer relationship with God. There is not much point in Christ coming into our world if He is not at home and alive in our hearts. God values our response to His love. 

We are invited to listen to the voice of God in the countless ways He speaks to us every day, and we're called upon to recognize and share this love. The challenge of God in Jesus is around every corner — at work or school, on the street, while we are with friends, at home, or in the sometimes-dull routine of daily life. There is never a day when God does not knock at the door of our hearts. Advent is about recognizing the many ways in which, and in many people through whom, God announces Himself in our lives.[2]

 

[1] Julian of Norwich, Showings, 1978, Paulist Press, New York, NY, p. 184.

[2] Desmond Knowles, Voicing A Thought On Sundays, 1991, Columbia Press/ Twenty-Third Publications, Mystic, CT, pp. 138-9.

Homily for the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle

There is a beautiful simplicity to the story of the call of Andrew and his brother Simon and the other set of brothers, James and John. Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea, going about their daily work, and He called out to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told that the brothers immediately followed Him.

However, Matthew may have simplified the conversion experience of these two fishermen, which may have been more complicated. It would be natural to expect some resistance to the call of Jesus because answering it would mean leaving behind all that they ever knew and their whole livelihood and heading out into “uncharted waters.” Catching people is more complex than catching fish. However, whatever tentativeness Andrew and Simon may or may not have felt, they overcame it and went with Jesus. They became great evangelists, preaching well of the gospel of Christ.

The LORD works in our lives as He did in the lives of Andrew, Simon, James, and John. He often calls out to people amid their daily tasks, in the ordinary and sometimes humdrum moments of our lives. He calls us to go beyond where we are, beyond the familiar, beyond our comfort zone, into the service of God’s kingdom. That call can come to us in small and subtle ways. We may find ourselves resisting it, but if we listen to it and allow it to echo within us, and respond positively to it, we may find that the LORD works through us for good in ways that can surprise us.

Homily for Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus tells us today that by our perseverance, we will save our lives. Jesus' talk about perseverance reflects the hard reality of life for the Church, especially in the first century. Being witnesses to Jesus and to His values under the harsh rule of imperial Rome meant risking prison and even death. A believer's faith might be betrayed by one of their own family or a friend. To be recognized as a Christian could cost a person their life. It was possible to keep secret one's faith and to live a quiet life, but the danger was always there. The risk of following Jesus was genuine, especially in the early days of Christianity.

Our relationship with Jesus today isn't meant to be hidden; it should not be a private thing of no concern to anyone. If our friendship with Jesus is the most important relationship in our lives, it will affect our other relationships and guide us in what we say and do. We don't just keep our faith private but try to live it visibly. In today's culture, that is not always an easy thing to do. However, we can trust that God gives us the resources to live as Jesus' disciples and as witnesses to our faith. His abiding presence motivates us to truly live as His followers.

Homily for Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the readings focus on the darker side of human experience, such as destruction, loss, conflict, and deception. It seems like the liturgy is in harmony with these dark days of the end of November.

This coming weekend, we will start a new liturgical year by celebrating the first Sunday of Advent. Even though the days will remain dark, the liturgical readings will take on a much brighter tone as they invite us to look forward to the coming of the light.

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus talks about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and other dark events. No one looking at the Temple in Jerusalem in Jesus' day could imagine its destruction. After all, it had taken almost fifty years to build and was still unfinished in the time of Jesus. But even the strongest and finest buildings only last so long.

Today's Gospel warns us not to become attached to things that do not last. Instead, we should connect ourselves to the One who says of Himself in Matthew's Gospel that "something greater than the Temple is here." When everything else fails, disappears, and turns to dust, He endures, and through our relationship with Him, we endure.

Homily for Monday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

The phrase "widow's mite" is based on the Gospel passage we just heard. This phrase illustrates the paradox that sometimes people who give the most are actually giving very little, while others who give a little are actually giving an enormous amount.

In terms of money, the widow gave less than everyone else to the temple treasury, but in reality, she gave a large amount because she gave everything she had.

This paradox holds true even in our own lives. There are times when we may appear to be giving very little, but in reality, we are giving a lot because we are giving as much as we can. Our health may be troubling us, or our energy level may be low due to some personal issues we are struggling with. What we have within ourselves to give is much less than usual. Even in these situations, giving a little of ourselves can be equivalent to giving a great deal.

The widow in today's gospel reminds us that even when we have little to give, we can still be extremely generous.

Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. Our Gospel reminds us that Christ, the King and shepherd, takes care of his flock through our actions, attitudes, words, and even our souls. By serving the needs of others, we pay homage to him.

As followers of Christ, we act as his hands and feet. We are the instruments through which God provides for the needs of others by feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, comforting the sick and dying, and visiting and assisting prisoners. We recognize that every person, regardless of their standing in society, is a dwelling place of God. Therefore, by serving others, we are serving God.

We are all called to follow the example of Jesus and serve others. By serving others, we are promised a reward from God. The Gospel emphasizes that if we fail to serve others with a genuine heart, we put ourselves in serious danger.

There are various causes that can prevent us from helping others. It could be that we are too preoccupied with our own concerns or that we don't allow ourselves enough time in our busy schedules to assist those in need. Sometimes, we may be afraid of failing to help them. However, the biggest reason is often the fear of rejection. Most of us have tried to genuinely extend our help to someone, only to have them refuse our offer. Even Jesus was rejected by the very people he came to help. If we truly want to follow Jesus, we must be prepared to face the possibility of rejection from the people we reach out to, even from those we love.

As believers, we are responsible for preparing the world for the Kingdom of Heaven. We are called to actively spread the love, compassion, and healing of God's presence to those who are in need. This requires sacrifice and a strong sense of responsibility on our part.

There’s an old story about a holy hermit who saw passing by, a crippled person, a mother begging for food for her malnourished child, and a victim of what must have been a severe beating. Seeing them, the holy man turned to God and said, “Great God, how is it that such a loving creator can see so much suffering and yet do nothing about it?” And deep within his heart, he heard God reply, “I have done something about it: I made you.”

To see Christ in others and be Christ's love and action to others. That is our calling in this life.

Homily for Saturday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

Our Gospel passage today comes at a time when the Sadducees, Pharisees, and chief priests were at a point when they had had enough of Jesus and His message. They wanted to kill Him, but He had the ear and the support of the people. So, the leaders believed they couldn’t kill Him.

The questions they began posing were an attempt to get Him to blaspheme, giving them a reason to put Him to death. They were trying to get Him to mess things up for Himself. They had an agenda hidden within their questioning.

We, too, often have an agenda when we go to Jesus. Usually, it’s something we want, something we want to change, or something about our life or our faith that we don’t like. Sometimes, without meaning to, that agenda can go against Jesus’ message or even the nature of God.

In our prayer, we should ask God for help with things, for change, for answers, but that prayer needs to be offered with a genuinely open heart, mind, and soul, that our agenda may take a back seat or disappear completely, so that God’s agenda may be our agenda.