St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Jesus often used parables to teach people about life, faith, and His mission to lead them to the Kingdom of Heaven. He used metaphors that the people could relate to, and in today's passage, He explains to His Apostles the meanings behind these metaphors.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus focuses on the different types of soil on which the seed falls, representing how people receive the Word of God. Some never accept the Word; others believe briefly but fall away due to criticism of their faith; some believe, but the Word is choked by worldly anxiety and the seduction of riches; while others respond to the Word and produce abundant fruit.

Let's pray that we always remain as the fertile soil on which the seed of God’s Word falls and that we take that Word and share it with others through our words, actions, and attitudes.

Homily for the Feast of St. James, Apostle

The Gospel passage today illustrates the human tendency to seek status and importance. In this instance, the mother of two of Jesus' disciples seeks this for her sons. We understand that this tendency can be rooted in pride, whether for ourselves or for those we love. The offense taken by the other Apostles is another example of the desire to appear important in the eyes of others.

This tendency is evident in various areas such as the media, government, and other areas where people aim to seem more important and influential than others.

Jesus's teaching in this story is clear: status-seeking has no place in the lives of His disciples. To truly follow Him, they must be willing to experience suffering, as He did. They must serve others and not seek to be served. Humility and putting others before ourselves are the keys to true greatness, the kind of greatness to which we are all called. It's the greatness of being born in the image of God, following His ways, and returning home to our Father at the end of time, with nothing except the fruits of our actions on earth.

Homily for Wednesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time

The Parable of the Sower is one of Jesus' best-known stories. It is remarkable because it is the only parable that He would go on to explain to His disciples.

The different kinds of soil refer to various human responses to God's message. We are reminded that while God's Word is powerful, it needs our response to be effective. We must open ourselves to the Word if it is to bear fruit.

The parable specifies certain obstacles to our opening ourselves to God's Word. One is the absence of understanding; we need to know who Jesus is and what He has done and said if we are to respond to Him.

Another obstacle is our inclination to keep God at a distance, which thwarts His Word from rooting itself in us.

A third obstacle is our becoming too engaged in both the tensions and the delights of earthly life so that they become our primary reality.

In His later interpretation of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus shows a pragmatic understanding of the obstacles to His presence and His Word, which He must help us through. However, that practical vision should lead us to something other than discouragement. The Gospel's message is that God’s perseverance is more powerful than those obstacles. On one occasion, Jesus' disciples asked Him the rather cynical question, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus replied, “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”[1]

 

 

 

[1] Matthew 19:26

Homily for Tuesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time

For most of us, our family is essential in our lives. As we age, we might not see our family members as often as we once did, but they still matter significantly to us. They say, “Blood is thicker than water.” When a family member struggles, we will gather around them to support them.

The Gospels don’t tell us much about Jesus’ family. Yet, when they mention His family, they give the impression that there was often tension between Jesus and His blood family.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ family, including His mother, stood outside where Jesus spoke, anxious to talk with Him. They were trying to get His attention, perhaps even get Him home, away from the crowds always pursuing Him.

However, Jesus stood His ground; he didn’t go with His family. Instead, He redefined who his family was. He identified His disciples as His family, and He declared that all those who do the will of His heavenly Father are His family.

As disciples of Jesus, we are all brothers and sisters of the LORD and each other, as well as sons and daughters of God. This is the new family that Jesus came to form, and what distinguishes this family is the desire to do the will of God, as Jesus has revealed that to us by His words and His life. That is why, as members of the Lord’s family, we pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Homily for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

In the Church's tradition, including its artistic tradition, Mary Magdalene has often been depicted as a repentant sinner. This is mainly because she was mistakenly associated with the sinful woman who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. However, there is no evidence in the Gospels to indicate that Mary was any more of a sinner than the other disciples of Jesus. According to our Gospel passage today, Mary Magdalene is identified as the woman who, out of devotion, went to the tomb early on that first Sunday morning. Her deep devotion to Jesus also led her to stay outside the tomb, weeping tears of loss upon discovering that Jesus' body was not there.

Mary Magdalene was searching for the Lord but couldn't find Him. However, the Lord sought her out and found her when He called her by name. Just like her, we also seek the Lord, and just like her, Jesus seeks and finds us. It's the Lord's search for us that comes before our search for Him. Even if we struggle to find the Lord, like Mary, the Lord always finds His way to us and calls us by name. He is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us and now calls us by name.

When the Lord calls us by name, He also sends us out, just as He did with Mary Magdalene, to share the Good News of His Resurrection with those we encounter. The Lord not only calls us by name but also requests that we be His messengers to others.

Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We are currently in the midst of vacation season. We all need a break from our daily routines. Typically, we go on vacation with someone or visit someone when we go away. Most of us prefer to be with others while away from home.

In the Gospel, Jesus leads His disciples to rest and quiet. They had been busy and were eager to share their experiences with Him. This was a time of reflection in Jesus' company when they would do nothing except be present to each other and the Lord. This narrative highlights the importance of rest and reflection in our faith journey.

In our faith lives, we all need such desert moments when we try to be present to the Lord and each other. Our church here is open every weekday until about 3:00 pm and until the end of the last Masses on the weekend. We have the Rosary after Daily Mass. We have Daily Mass at 8:00 am... what an excellent way to start the day! Throughout each day, many, many people stop at our grotto to offer a prayer to our Blessed Mother. And we have so much more. Our church is that sort of desert space in the middle of our community. It is a place to which people can come away and rest for a while, in the words of the Gospel. It is also a place where we can commune with the Lord, feeling spiritually connected and rejuvenated.

During moments of silence, we can share with the Lord what has been happening in our lives. In the Gospel, the disciples shared with Jesus all they had been doing and teaching. We can use this time to do the same. Some people find this moment of silence by going for a walk. As we walk, we can become more aware of the Lord's presence and also of the people in our lives, even if we are walking alone. However we choose to do it, as believers and followers of the Lord, we all need to take some time alone to rest and allow the Lord to commune with us more deeply.

If the first part of today's Gospel emphasizes the importance of taking time away from our everyday concerns to be present with the Lord, the second part emphasizes another value. The solitude of the place where Jesus and his disciples landed soon turned into a bustling scene even before they arrived. Instead of stepping into a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, Jesus and His disciples were surrounded by human need and urgency.

Jesus responded to the interruption by being completely present. He did not try to avoid the crowd or send them away; He fully engaged with them. In the words of the Gospel, "His heart was moved with pity for them."

Like Jesus and His disciples, we all experience unexpected interruptions in our plans. Sometimes, we anticipate one thing, but the opposite occurs. These interruptions are a normal part of life. As one writer noted, God can often be found amid these interruptions.

Part of our calling as followers of the Lord is to be present for others, even when they show up unexpectedly and disrupt our carefully laid plans. It's easy to get agitated and annoyed when things don't go as we had envisioned, and we may start seeing people as annoyances rather than being present for them with the same compassion that Jesus showed. Jesus often spent time alone in prayer, and it was in those moments of connection with God that He could be present for others, no matter who they were or how they approached Him. Similarly, taking time to be with the Lord enables us to be fully present for those who come into our lives. Our reflective moments and times of solitude help us become more contemplative and attentive in our interactions with others.

Homily for Saturday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time

There is a stark contrast between those who sought to destroy Jesus and Jesus himself, who came not to destroy but to heal. From the very start of his ministry, some wanted Jesus dead. Despite this, Jesus always aimed to bring life to others and to share in God’s own life. We hear, "a bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench." His mission inspires hope and instills a sense of life and purpose in us.

The bruised reed and the smoldering wick refer to those broken in body and spirit. Breaking a bruised reed and extinguishing a smoldering wick is very easy. Those who are broken physically or spiritually are extremely vulnerable. Jesus is sensitive to those who are vulnerable. He can restore the bruised reed and ignite the smoldering wick into a living flame.

Homily for Friday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time

Religious leaders in Jesus’ day were more concerned with following precise religious practices than understanding their origins and spiritual meanings. Because of this, they often clashed with Jesus and distrusted Him.

One Sabbath, Jesus, and His hungry disciples walked through a field and started picking and eating heads of grain because they were hungry. The Pharisees, who had a strict interpretation of the Sabbath rules, saw this as a violation of the laws against labor on the Sabbath.

Jesus didn't go against the traditions; He made sure to follow the rules. However, He also pointed out that the strict interpretation of the Pharisees was not in line with the Scriptures nor the spirit of the Law. According to Jesus, the Sabbath should be celebrated by more than following specific detailed rituals, and people are more important than temple rituals. Therefore, what the disciples did was justified in the name of life.

In our worship and in following the will and law of the Lord, let us always remember that our practice of the faith is not just about fulfilling requirements, but about celebrating and living out the love of the Lord.

Homily for Thursday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time

There is an Arabian fable about a traveler who came upon a fox that had lost its legs. The traveler wondered how the poor creature managed to survive. Then, a tiger approached with meat in its mouth. The tiger ate its fill of the game and left the rest for the wounded fox.

The next day, the traveler watched God feed the fox through the same tiger. Marveling at God's generosity to a lowly animal, the man thought, "I too shall rest in the corner of the forest with full trust that the LORD will provide me with all I need."

The man rested by a tree in the woods for many days waiting, but nothing happened. Starving, the man was at death's door when he heard an angel's voice call to him: "Oh, you fool! Open your eyes to the truth. Do not imitate the disabled fox, but embrace the example of the tiger!"

Jesus calls us to take on the "yoke," the "burden," of the tiger, to imitate Christ's example of selfless service and compassion to the hungry, the needy, and the challenged in our forests, to be "eagles' wings" for the weary and despairing, the lost and struggling we meet on our journey.

The "yoke" of the Gospel of Jesus is "easy" in the joy it brings to the generous heart; it is made "light" by the love of God that such selfless compassion reflects in our own lives and the lives we touch.

Let us pray that we may learn from Jesus' humility of heart and generosity of spirit. By His grace, may we imitate His selflessness in the compassion and love we extend to people experiencing poverty, the lost, and the struggling.[1]

 

[1] Cormier, Jay, Connections, Advent 2006, p. 5

Homily for Wednesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time

Close relationships with family and friends are among the things we value most, along with health and life. Relationships and friendships are priceless; without them, we could hardly get through life.

In a significant moment, Jesus revealed the most crucial relationship in His life: His relationship with His heavenly Father. He spoke in terms of mutual knowing: "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." This relationship has a profound and unique intimacy but is not a closed circle.

We all receive an invitation into this relationship of trust and love between Jesus and His Father in heaven. He shows us the Father and shares that bond with us. They invite us all into their mutual relationship, a relationship that fosters and protects. Our Psalm response says that God will not abandon us; the Father and the Son bring us into their shared love so that we can reflect that love to others. In response, our spirits must be receptive as a child rather than closed with the self-assurance of the learned.