St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Monday of the 3rd Week of Lent

In our Gospel passage, Jesus confronts a limited view of God held by His fellow Nazoreans, who believed that God belonged solely to the Israelites. When Jesus reminded them of instances in Scripture where God seemed to favor pagans over the Jewish people, they felt resentment and drove Him away. This rejection in Nazareth foreshadowed the more violent rejection He would face in Jerusalem.

Jesus aimed to expand the people's narrow understanding of God. He wanted them to recognize, as St. Peter later stated, that "God has no favorites." Jesus sought to convey that God's generosity and inclusiveness extend beyond their imagination. He consistently attempted to demonstrate that there is so much more to God than they comprehended.

Jesus' vision of God remains a challenge for us today, but it is still "Good News" for all who are open and willing to receive it.

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent

This third Sunday of Lent focuses on the theme of second chances. In our first reading, we encounter a bush that is engulfed in flames yet remains unburned. In the Gospel passage, there is a fig tree that bears no fruit and is destined for destruction, much like young George Washington's cherry tree, but it is saved by the gardener. In both instances, where we might expect destruction, we instead discover new opportunities for growth, care, and flourishing.

Over the centuries, the goodness of God, which always offers us another chance, has not been proclaimed as strongly as it should be. Too often, we have focused on God's justice as if it were a one-time ultimatum: shape up or ship out. This perspective can be seen in today’s second reading, where Paul appears to argue that God punished the chosen people for their complaints and infidelity.

Paul was a tough individual, and for him, commitment to Christianity was no trivial matter. He recognized the suffering and sacrifices that many endured for the Gospel, so he worked diligently to teach the people of Corinth that the commitment demanded by the Gospel might require everything they had. However, his interpretation of why the Israelites perished in the desert should be viewed alongside the second chances presented in the other readings, especially in the Gospel.

During Lent, we, as believers, enter a sacred time and explore the holy space within ourselves, where the fire of God’s love should burn brightly. These weeks provide us an opportunity to re-evaluate our values, family history, commitment, fidelity, and growth so we can determine the best ways to grow old with God. This often requires confronting our sinful behaviors and making choices to change our lives. We can only embrace this process when we trust that the fire of God’s love is not about destruction, but rather about compassion, forgiveness, and second chances.

May this Eucharist nurture the foundations of our lives and serve as a moment for us to reflect honestly on the fruitfulness of how, as a reflection of Christ's light within us, we live out our faith in our marriages, at home, at work, and in the world.

Homily for Saturday of the 2nd Week of Lent

Forgiveness and reconciliation are central to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Being a true disciple of Jesus means dedicating ourselves to achieving unity of spirit, even in the face of differences and disagreements.

The work of reconciliation is not confined to a specific time or place or dependent on any particular circumstances. It is offered to all individuals and is not limited to specific groups.

Forgiveness requires confronting our responsibility for harming others, just as the Prodigal Son did. This often entails setting aside our agendas, desires, and need for control. At times, it may necessitate putting aside our own pain to focus on the goal of reconciliation and actively work towards it. It isn’t an easy journey, but it is what the Gospel calls us to pursue. We are urged to prioritize reconciliation and healing instead of seeking vengeance and punishment, much like the father in today’s Gospel reading who navigates between his two sons.

Let us all commit ourselves to reconciliation: forgiving without wanting revenge, asking forgiveness to heal those we have harmed, and restoring hope and dignity to those who have suffered because of our actions.

Homily for Friday of the 2nd Week of Lent

Today's parable serves as a creative introduction to the narrative of Jesus' Passion. After sharing this story, Jesus quoted the Psalms: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," foreshadowing His Resurrection. Although He was rejected by the religious and political leaders of His time, Jesus rose from the dead and became the cornerstone of a new temple: the Church, which consists of people who have faith in Him.

Through this teaching, Jesus emphasizes that what we often reject is of vital importance. The aspects of our lives that we wish to leave behind might be how God communicates with us. The elements we hesitate to accept can be the very means through which the Lord works powerfully in our lives and, through us, in the lives of others. Jesus' experience also suggests that God has a purpose for what we reject. Unlike us, God never turns His back on us, even if we reject Him.

Homily for Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent

The parable for today is not intended to criticize wealth itself. Instead, it encourages those with more than enough to consider whether they share with those in need. Are we doing our part to help close the gap between those with plenty and those with very little?

While possessions are not inherently evil, they should not distract us from the plight of those in the world who have so little. In this parable, the rich man is criticized for using his wealth solely for his own benefit, which reflects his indifference toward others. 

Even if we do not consider ourselves wealthy, we can still become complacent regarding the poor. This story raises an important question: are we even aware of the poverty around us and within our communities?

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."