St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina

In response to reports that His family members were searching for Him, Jesus declared that His true family consists of "those who hear the Word of God and act on it." He desires to relate to us as part of His family, calling us His brothers and sisters and inviting us to belong to His spiritual family. The pathway to becoming part of His family is quite simple: we must hear the Word of God and apply it in our everyday lives.

Throughout His life and ministry, Jesus was intensely focused on God's Word and His will. His deep understanding and commitment to this Word influenced everything He said and did. The Gospel of John even describes Jesus as the Word made flesh.

As Christians, we are called to listen to God's Word and put it into action in all aspects of our lives. The transformative power of God's Word motivates us to become more like Jesus. If we truly listen to God's Word and allow it to shape us, we are regarded as brothers and sisters of Jesus, our Lord.

Homily for Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary TIme

In today's Gospel, Jesus uses the powerful metaphor of light. Those who hear the Word are called to act on it and become a light for others. By sharing the Word through both speech and action, we can enlighten others and lead them toward transformation.

To those who hear and respond well to the Word, even greater graces will be given. However, those who choose to ignore the Word risk losing the invaluable blessings it offers.

We pray for open minds and hearts so that God's Word may fill our entire being. We also pray that our active response to the Word will not only transform us but also draw others closer to God.

Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

"No servant can serve two masters." Jesus tells us that we have two choices in life: one path brings us closer to Him, and the other path takes us away. Earlier in St. Luke's Gospel, He says, "He who does not gather with me scatters."

This means we cannot just sit back and be neutral about what is right and wrong. We either live for ourselves, focusing on what makes us feel good, or we live for Jesus. If we choose to be selfish, we contribute to a world filled with selfishness, which empowers evil. But if we choose to live for Jesus, we help build a world of justice, love, and peace.

Some people think they can stay neutral rather than choosing the correct path, but they are only deceiving themselves. Jesus tells us that we have to make this choice every day, in both small things and big decisions. Each day offers us chances to show our love for Him or to focus on ourselves. Being a Christian means making many choices that either help us follow Jesus or pull us away from Him.

At times, we have all wasted the gifts God has given us because we have all made mistakes. One day, we will face our choices when we die. But for now, we have a special chance to use our lives and talents for His Kingdom instead of just for ourselves. 

When we try to serve two different masters—pretending to follow Jesus on the inside while following the latest trends on the outside—we end up confused and unhappy.

You may have heard of the book "To Kill a Mockingbird," which was adapted into a movie starring Gregory Peck in 1962. It is considered one of the great American classics. The story happens in a small town in Alabama during the 1930s, a time when racism was extreme and before the civil rights movement began.

The main character is Atticus Finch, a lawyer and widower with two children who attend school. The county judge has given him the difficult job of defending Tom Robinson, a Black man who is wrongly accused of crimes against a white woman. The people in the town are upset with Atticus because he is a respected white man, and they think it is wrong for him to defend a black man facing such serious charges. Despite the warnings and threats he receives, Atticus decides to take on the case, and he and his children face numerous problems as a result.

Atticus explains why he believes it is essential to do the right thing, even when it's risky. Near the end of the book, he says, "I can't live one way in town and another way at home." This shows what it means to have a strong and honest heart. It is the key to his integrity, strength, and peace of mind.

Jesus wants us to have whole hearts, strong minds, and peaceful thoughts. He wants us to serve only one master—the right one. One way to keep our hearts focused is to use small visual reminders in conspicuous places. For example, a rosary hanging from the rearview mirror in our car can remind us that our daily choices and actions are like beads on the rosary: together, they help build God's Kingdom. And, it's a great reminder to pray.

If we have offices, we can keep a small cross or crucifix on our desks. This reminds us that our work, when done with care and offered to Christ, can share God's love in the world. There is a man who takes a few minutes every Sunday to think of a phrase that stuck with him during Mass—maybe a word from the Bible, the priest's message, or a thought he had while praying. He keeps that phrase in his mind all week. He might use it as a screen saver at work, send it to himself in a text, or write it on a note card to keep in his book. This helps him stay focused on serving Christ in everything he does.

In some old Catholic countries in Europe, you can find "wayside chapels" along the roads. These are wooden crosses or statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary placed under roof-like sheltered spots at intersections or beside roads. They remind travelers to consider their proper direction in life and encourage them to pray during their journey.

This week, let's all feel again what it means to serve Him in everything we do. Let's create some "wayside chapels" in our lives to help make His vision a reality in our hearts and in our very lives.

Homily for the Memorial of Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions

In the parable of the sower and the seed, not every seed grows into a plant; many seeds do not make it. Only some seeds land in good soil and grow strong. These seeds face numerous challenges, and the conditions surrounding them are not always conducive to growth and fruition. 

This is similar to our journey of faith. The seed of faith planted in us at baptism is also weak. Today, the world often makes it hard for our faith to grow. Difficult times can test our beliefs, and worries, as well as concerns about money and pleasures, can distract us from our faith. Therefore, we must nurture the seed of faith that has been given to us.

We play a crucial role in preparing the soil for seeds to grow. One way to create good soil is through prayer—both our own prayers and the prayers of others in our community. The readings tell us to listen to the word and take it to heart. A spirit of prayer helps create an environment where our faith can grow, leading us to listen to God’s word and live it out in our lives. This is a good time to consider how we can nurture our seeds of faith to their fullest potential.

Homily for Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

Throughout His ministry, Jesus emphasized that He came not to be served, but to serve. Although He lived on earth as both God and human, He still relied on the help of others to fulfill His mission. Today's Gospel reminds us to pay attention to the support He received from several women who followed Him and aided His mission. Their service enabled Him to serve others effectively.

If Jesus required assistance to complete His mission, we also need help in our lives. Through our Baptism, we are called to serve others and to accept their service because we cannot fulfill God's call by depending solely on our own resources.

Serving others reflects a spirit of generosity and humility that recognizes our interdependence. In his teachings, St. Paul reminds us that we are all interconnected within the Church, the Body of Christ on earth. The Spirit works in all our lives, guiding and supporting us in our service to others. We need each other, and others need us as well. Each of us has something valuable to give and something valuable to receive. Let us acknowledge our need for one another and be genuinely grateful for those who accompany us on our journeys and assist us throughout life.

Homily for Thursday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

Most people would never show up at a meal uninvited. However, the woman in today's Gospel does just that. She does not act out of selfishness but rather out of deep humility and gratitude. She desires to be near Jesus to offer Him hospitality and love. This uninvited guest demonstrates the hospitality that His host should have extended to Him, but did not. She honors Jesus in response to the forgiving love she has received from Him.

The woman serves as an example for all who want to be faithful followers of Jesus. Like her, we have received abundant gifts and an ongoing flow of God's favor and blessings. Recognizing that we have been extraordinarily graced should inspire us, like the woman, to respond in extraordinary ways.

Her actions illustrate how we should receive God's grace and love Him in return. This love should be expressed not only in our prayers of praise but also through our service to others. We should serve not merely out of obligation, but as an expression of our love for God by helping those in need, just as Jesus did throughout His life and ministry.
 

Homily for Wednesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

Some good and conscientious (yet mistaken) people criticized John the Baptist, finding his austere lifestyle strange. Many of these same individuals also grumbled about Jesus and His associations with sinners and pagans. This tendency to filter reality through our own prejudices can lead us to reject what is genuinely of God.

This behavior is neither genuine faith nor sound reasoning; it seeks to fit God into our preconceived and limited understanding of reality. 

What we truly need is to be open and flexible in our faith, allowing ourselves to be shaped by God’s will rather than trying to shape it according to our own desires. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah:
 
…Lord, you are our father;
we are the clay and you our potter:
we are all the work of your hand.

Homily for the Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian

In our Gospel reading, we encounter a widow who is mourning the loss of her only son. In the time and place of this scene, a widow had no means to provide for herself and had to rely on her son for support. With her only son now deceased, she finds herself in a vulnerable and desperate situation. Her mourning likely extends beyond her son's death; she may also lament the bleak future that awaits her, one without any means of support or protection.

When Jesus raises her son from the dead, it is not merely a miracle of life after death. It exemplifies Jesus' universal compassion for the poor, the suffering, and those who grieve—a compassion that often seems lacking in our world, yet we are all called to embody it.

Let us recognize our role in this divine plan. We should pray that Jesus' compassion fills our hearts and souls, as well as our words and actions, so that His love can be spread through us as His ambassadors in the world.

Homily for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

When someone we love experiences suffering and pain, we often feel it too. This is especially true for parents; when their sons or daughters struggle physically, emotionally, or mentally, parents endure that pain as well, sometimes even more acutely.

Loving someone always carries the risk of heartache. All forms of love involve some degree of suffering. The only way to avoid that suffering altogether is to shut our hearts off to others. While it might be tempting to refrain from opening our hearts to prevent pain, doing so means living only half a life. To truly live, we must be willing to love and accept the suffering that inevitably comes with it.

As she stood at the foot of the Cross, watching Jesus die, Mary's heart broke. Many years earlier, Simeon had prophesied this connection between Jesus' suffering and that of his mother when he said, "And you yourself a sword will pierce."

When our challenges feel overwhelming, we can look to Our Lady of Sorrows for inspiration and support.

Homily for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Burdens come in many varieties.

It could be the mountain of laundry you face every day or your child's tuition bill. It might come in the form of textbooks you use to teach your students, tools you rely on at the construction site, or the computer that generates the reports and graphics keeping your business running smoothly.

For some, it is the wheelchair necessary for navigating through life or the medication needed just to survive. For you, it might be the meal you prepare or deliver for "Take and Eat" or the soccer ball you use to coach a team of excited six- and seven-year-olds.

Some of the most profound burdens are the ear that always listens to another's troubles, the shoulder that is always available for someone to cry on, the smile that readily brings comfort, and the heart that breaks alongside another's pain.

Believe it or not, spouses can sometimes be significant burdens for one another, and good friends readily accept each other's struggles.

These are our crosses.

We often view crosses as burdens—things and people that demand so much of our energy and time. Many days, we would prefer to set those crosses aside and never pick them up again.

However, the true crosses—the ones God places on our shoulders and which Christ bears with us—are sources of hope, joy, discovery, life, and resurrection for both us and others. Yes, at times, they can be difficult to endure.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, also known as the Triumph of the Cross, an ancient observance commemorating the discovery of Christ's Cross in Jerusalem and the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which continues to house the sites of Calvary and Jesus’ burial place.

As we reflect on Jesus being "lifted up" on the Cross for the redemption of the world, let us celebrate the crosses we carry, the challenges we take on in our journeys to Calvary, and the burdens that transform into trees of life, turning our trials into triumphs of hope and new life—just as promised in the Easter message.