St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today's Gospel highlights that while St. Joseph loved and protected his young Son, he sometimes struggled to understand Him. After anxiously searching for Jesus with Mary, Joseph finally found Him in the Temple, where Jesus told him that He must be engaged in His Father's affairs.

In that moment, St. Joseph realized that his Son had a deeper connection with another "Father." It became clear that Jesus had a stronger loyalty to this divine Father than to His earthly parents. St. Joseph learned that he needed to allow his Son to pursue a greater purpose, even if it differed from the one he had envisioned for Jesus. Consequently, St. Joseph serves as an inspiration and a reference point for all parents who face the challenging task of learning to "let go" of their children.

Homily for Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Lent

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus chastises the Pharisees for placing unwarranted and heavy burdens on the shoulders of ordinary people. However, He extends an invitation to everyone, especially those who are weary and burdened, promising to provide them with rest.

Throughout life, we encounter various types of burdens. While some of these burdens, such as the responsibilities of love and care for others, are necessary and unavoidable, Jesus rejects those that are unnecessary and unjustly imposed on others.

It is our responsibility to alleviate the burdens of those around us. We should assist others to the best of our abilities, embodying the spirit of the One who promises to give us rest from our labors.

Whenever we feel overwhelmed, we should seek help and comfort from God. In turn, we should also allow God to work through us to lighten the burdens of those in our lives.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Patrick

We often define our success by what we accumulate, such as money, possessions, or achievements. However, those of us with faith are called to invest our love, care, and compassion in others without expecting anything in return. Love and mercy are what truly matter in God's eyes.

Jesus, our greatest teacher, guides us to love one another without limits, just as God loves us. This profound love is the key to our eternal treasures in heaven, a reward beyond measure.

Let us pray that God opens our hearts and minds, guiding us to focus on the ultimate goal of our actions in this life: the heavenly reward that awaits us. This divine promise should inspire and motivate us in our daily lives.

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

In her book Kitchen Table Wisdom, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen tells the story of a married couple. Throughout their life together, the husband was the strong, outgoing one who made the major decisions, while the wife was painfully shy, retiring, and somewhat fragile. They eloped because she could not face having a public ceremony.

One day, however, the husband was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and he grew concerned about how his wife would handle his illness and the possibility of his death. Given her fragility over the years, he could not imagine how she would manage the needs of their children and oversee the business he had built.

As he struggled with brutal chemotherapy and continued to lose ground, she underwent a remarkable transformation. It was she who encouraged him to take risks; she dealt with doctors and specialists, took over more of the business, and supported and comforted their children.

Her courage was both impressive and unexpected. After he passed away, she continued successfully managing and growing the business while being a loving and nurturing single parent to their children.

Sometime later, the doctor expressed admiration for what the woman had accomplished. She asked the woman if she had known she would be capable of all she had done since her husband first fell ill.

The woman admitted she did not realize this. She explained that she had been shy as a little girl and labeled as such throughout her life. As a result, no one challenged her, and she never challenged herself.

She shared that her shyness was so profound that she had to muster courage just to say hello to someone. Simple tasks, like going to the supermarket or answering the phone, felt like significant risks. 

She told the doctor, "I guess over the years, my courage grew from being used so often. When the time came that Jim needed me desperately, and I could no longer afford to be shy, I found that I was ready."

In her deep love for her husband and family, this woman discovered the strength and courage to care for her husband and keep her family together. In what we've come to call Jesus' "Transfiguration," the three disciples recognized the divinity—the very life and love of God—within Jesus.

That same touch of divinity exists within each of us as well. God is present within us, inspiring us to do wonderful, holy things; guiding us to walk humbly and justly according to God's ways; enlightening our vision with wisdom and selflessness to bring justice and mercy to our world.

The challenge of discipleship is to allow the love of God within us to "transfigure" despair into hope, sadness into joy, anguish into healing, and separation into community.

Homily for Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

If someone is a perfectionist, they tend to be a taskmaster, demanding that everything be exactly right, down to the smallest detail. However, when Jesus says, "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect," He is not calling for a rigid form of perfectionism. In Luke's Gospel, the corresponding passage is nearly identical to today's passage from Matthew, with one key difference: instead of using "perfect," Luke uses the word "merciful." This choice indicates how Luke interpreted Jesus' message about perfection.

To be perfect, as Jesus intended, means to love others unconditionally. It involves loving people in the same way that God loves us. This theme is central to Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount: we are called to love one another with a selfless love that expects nothing in return.

Jesus encourages us to love as God loves, suggesting that this command is not impossible to fulfill. While we may struggle to love in such a divine manner on our own, we can achieve it with God's help. As Jesus later tells His disciples in Matthew's Gospel, "For God, all things are possible."

Homily for Friday of the 1st Week of Lent

In our Gospel passage today, Jesus calls His followers to embrace virtues and standards that go beyond those of the scribes and Pharisees, for whom the essential commandment was "You shall not kill." Jesus' message transcends this basic commandment, targeting the underlying feelings and passions that can lead people to harm or endanger others. Addressing these deep-seated attitudes and emotions is crucial to preventing evil actions and facilitating a renewal of our minds and souls. 

The profound transformation that Jesus calls for cannot be achieved solely through our own efforts; we need the power and grace of the Holy Spirit to begin this deep change within us. 

So, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will instill within us a deep, God-like love so that the roots of this higher virtue and standard may grow in our hearts and minds, guiding us to become what God truly wants us to be.

Homily for Thursday of the 1st Week of Lent

Jesus encourages us to be seekers: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” So, what are we to seek, and what should we ask for? The simple answer is that we should seek the Lord and His will for our lives. Many seekers are mentioned in the Gospels, and Zacchaeus is one notable example. His story reminds us that the Lord we seek is always seeking us as well. While dining with Zacchaeus, Jesus described Himself as the Son of Man, who came to seek out and save the lost.

Because we can never fully find the Lord in this life, we will always be seeking Him for as long as we are on this earth. Our journey toward the Lord is ongoing, and we never completely arrive at our destination. Like Abraham, we are continually embarking on a journey in response to the Lord’s call. As Saint Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, we must strain “forward to what lies ahead” and press on toward our ultimate goal: the Lord.

Jesus assures us in the Gospel that if we remain faithful in our search for the Lord and the journey it entails, we will receive good things from God. By seeking the Lord, we open ourselves to His many gifts and graces.

Homily for Wednesday of the 1st Week of Lent

Today's Psalm response comes from one of my favorites, Psalm 51. At times, during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I assign the praying of this Psalm to people as a form of penance.

While Psalm 51 reflects on the sinful nature of humanity, it is ultimately a Psalm of hope. It reassures us that a truly repentant heart will never be ignored by God. The Psalm conveys the message that a person can be cleansed of their sins and made anew in the deepest parts of their soul.

Moreover, it stresses that nothing can merit God's forgiveness more than a genuinely contrite and humble spirit. No offering or action, no matter how grand, can earn God's merciful attention more than a sincere expression of remorse for our sins.

Homily for Tuesday of the 1st Week of Lent

Our reading from the book of Isaiah reminds us of the profound truth that when God speaks, His Word fulfills its purpose without fail. This powerful message, never returning to Him empty, is a testament to His divine power. As we are blessed with life, we are called to share God's love and mercy with those around us. By doing so, we participate in God's work on earth and present Him with the fruits of our labor. 

May this Lenten season, a time of reflection and spiritual growth, deepen our understanding of our role as ambassadors of God's love. Let it inspire us to offer back to Him everything He has given us, as we strive to be His faithful messengers in the world.

Homily for Monday of the 1st Week of Lent

In today's Gospel reading from Matthew, we are reminded that serving those in greatest need is serving Jesus Himself. It's essential to recognize that Jesus is present in all of us, regardless of our socioeconomic status or level of independence. In the mutual act of serving and being served, we will encounter Jesus as He lives and acts within us. Therefore, let us strive to recognize the presence of Jesus in every person we meet today, valuing and respecting each individual as a bearer of His presence.