St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Wednesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

In today's Gospel, Jesus sends His Apostles on a mission and tells them to travel lightly. He wants them to trust the hospitality of those to whom they will preach the Gospel. Instead of being self-reliant, He wants them to rely on others and trust in God, who will actively help them through the service of others.

Most of us like to be somewhat self-sufficient, but we are only partially so. In our early lives, we depended on our parents and others. As we move toward the end of our lives, we will again need others to care for us. Between these two periods of total dependence, we still depend on others for things we do not have within ourselves, and others rely on us for what they do not have.

The Lord encourages us to welcome others' generous service and to offer what we have. Each of us has much to give and much to receive. The joy of giving and the fulfillment of receiving are both gifts from God, for it is in our service of one another that we all experience God's love and providence.

Homily for Tuesday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Responding to reports that family members were looking for Him, Jesus declared that His real family "are those who hear the Word of God and act on it." Jesus wants to relate to us as His family. He calls us His brothers and sisters and wants us to belong to His spiritual family. The way to become His family is relatively straightforward: we need to hear the Word of God and put it into practice in our everyday lives.

Jesus was intensely focused on God's Word and His will throughout His life and ministry. His understanding of and adherence to this Word were so complete that it influenced everything He said and did. John's Gospel even identifies Jesus as the Word made flesh.

As Christians, we are called to hear God's Word and act on it in everything we say and do. The transformative power of God's Word inspires us to become more like Jesus. If we listen to God's Word and let it shape us and our lives, then we are brothers and sisters to Jesus, our Lord.

Homily for the Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina

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 to others. By sharing the Word in speech and action, we can enlighten others and open them to transformation.

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

We pray for receptive minds and hearts so that God's Word may permeate our entire being. And we also pray that our active response to the Word will not only transform us but also bring others closer to God.

Homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There is a story about an auctioneer selling a neglected old violin. A young man offered ten dollars, and the bidding stopped. The auctioneer asked if anyone wanted to play it. An older man stepped onto the podium, took the violin, and began playing. He pulled such an enchanting melody and sound from the old instrument that the entire auction hall was almost in tears. As the beautiful strains subsided, a few seconds of silence followed. Then, a burst of thunderous applause erupted from the entire crowd.

The bidding began again and climbed up to three thousand dollars. The master's touch brought out the value of that shabby violin, a value that no one else could see.

Similarly, when we allow it to move freely in our lives, God's grace reveals our true value, the value we have always had in God's eyes, even though no one else may be able to see it.

In the Our Father prayer, we say, "Thy Kingdom come" and "Thy will be done." These two phrases basically mean the same thing.

When we ask for God's Kingdom to come, we humbly ask for His law of love and redemption to rule over our lives and the lives of all people.

This phrase also makes us think of Christ's second coming, which will occur at the end of human history when all resistance to God's law of love and redemption will be destroyed forever. However, right now, in our sinfulness, we still experience this resistance. When we pray "thy Kingdom come," we ask God to send His grace so we can Conquer that resistance. 

When we speak of God's "law of love and redemption," we speak about what He wants. Our faith tells us that God wants only what is best for each of us - this is His essential wish for us. That is what we mean by "God's will": His desire for our salvation and eternal joy.

This is motivation behind the Commandments, the Church's teachings, and the guiding hand of divine Providence. God wants to give us the grace to ask for His will for us, not only in our words, but in our hearts, minds, and choices. Let's be open to Him giving us the opportunity to make that happen.

Homily for the Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

We are familiar with the Gospel story today. Matthew, a tax collector and presumed sinful man followed Jesus and ate with Him, much to the objection of the Pharisees, who believed it violated their laws about ritual purity.

In response, Jesus referenced Hosea, saying, "Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'" Jesus stressed that mercy is above Temple sacrifices and, therefore, stands higher than the laws of ritual purity.

The Pharisees prioritized strict obedience to the law as God's will, but Jesus emphasized that mercy and love are above these laws and traditions. St. Paul affirmed this by highlighting the importance of love in all actions and knowledge.

Mercy, a product of love, is the voice of God's love for us and His desire for our well-being on earth and in the kingdom to come. Excluding and criticizing sinners, those whom Jesus came to save, is not a merciful response. Instead, let us remember that God's love is inclusive, accepting all who seek His mercy and that we are called to imitate that love.

As we strive to spread the Good News, let us pray that God's mercy and love may guide our actions, words, and attitudes toward the people we are called to serve.

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

Throughout His ministry, Jesus stressed that He came not to be served but to serve. While Jesus lived on this earth as God and as human, He still needed the help of others to perform His mission. Today’s Gospel calls us to focus on how He was helped by several women who followed Him and supported His mission. St. Luke says that as Jesus made His way preaching throughout many towns and villages, several women provided for Him out of their own resources. Their service to Him enabled Him to serve others.

If Jesus needed the help of others to complete His mission, then we also need such help. By our Baptism, we are called to serve others and accept their service because we really need their help; we cannot answer God’s call relying solely on our own resources.

Serving others embodies a spirit of generosity and humility that recognizes our need for interdependence. In his teachings, St. Paul reminds us that we are all interdependent within the Church, the Body of Christ on earth. The Spirit is at work in all our lives, guiding and supporting us in our service. We need others, and others need us. We all have something valuable to give and something valuable to receive. Let us recognize our need for, and be deeply grateful for, those who journey with us and help us through life.

Homily for Thursday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

Most people would never show up at a meal uninvited. Yet, the woman in today’s Gospel does precisely that. She did so not out of selfishness but deep humility and gratitude. She wanted to be near Jesus to show Him hospitality and love. This uninvited guest showed Jesus the hospitality His host should have shown Him but didn’t. She honored Jesus in return for what she received from Him: God’s forgiving love.

The woman is an example to all who wish to be true followers of Jesus. Like her, we have received generous gifts and a continuous flow of God’s favor and blessings. If we sense that we have been extraordinarily gifted with grace, it will hopefully prompt us, like the woman, to do something extraordinary in return. 

The woman displays how we should receive from the Lord and love Him in return, not only in our prayers of praise but also in how we serve Him not simply as a duty but as an expression of our love for God by helping those in need, just as Jesus did during His time on earth.

 

Homily for Wednesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

Some very good and conscientious people criticized John the Baptist. Some found his austere lifestyle to be strange. Many of these same people also grumbled about Jesus and how He associated with sinners and pagans. The habit of filtering reality through our own prejudices can lead us to reject things that are actually of God.

This really isn’t faith, nor is it healthy logic; it seeks to fit God carefully into our self-conceived and prearranged perception of reality.

What we truly need is to be malleable in our faith, allowing ourselves to be shaped by the will of God, rather than seeking to shape it to our own will. In the words of Isaiah the Prophet:

 

…Lord, you are our father;

we are the clay and you our potter:

we are all the work of your hand.[1]

 

[1] Isaiah 64:7

Homily for Tuesday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

In our Gospel reading, we hear about a widow mourning her only son. In the time and place where this scene occurs, a widow would have no means to provide for herself; she would have to rely on her son. In this case, her only son has died, leaving her in a vulnerable and desperate situation. She perhaps mourns not only for her dead son but also for the destitute life ahead of her, a life without any means of support or protection.

So, Jesus’ raising her son from the dead is not simply a miracle of life after death. It is another example of Jesus’ universal compassion for the poor, the suffering, and those who mourn—a compassion that is often lacking in our world but one that we are all called to embody.

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

Homily for the Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

The words of the Roman Centurion, "I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof... but say the word and let my servant be healed," are adapted for the Mass as we prepare to receive Holy Communion. The Centurion, in his humility, respected the local customs and did not want to ask Jesus to violate the Jewish Law by entering the house of a pagan. His profound trust in the life-giving power of Jesus’ word was a testament to his remarkable faith, a faith that Jesus declared greater than any he had found in Israel.

If a person, such as a pagan soldier in an occupying army, can show such faith in Jesus, it is a source of inspiration and hope. His story is a powerful reminder that faith can be found in the most unlikely of people and at the most unexpected of times. Let us not hastily assume that anyone ceased to believe in the mercy of God. We cannot predict who is a person of faith and who is not.

Let us pray that such faith will continue to be discovered in the most surprising of places, inspiring us with faith found where we never knew it existed.