St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Tuesday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time

People's questions often indicate their priorities. In today's Gospel passage, the disciples asked Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" This question suggests their special interest in status and rank.

In response Jesus called a child over and placed it in their midst; He then told them that they must become like that child merely to enter the kingdom of heaven, never mind becoming the greatest in the kingdom.

Jesus instructed His disciples to become child-like in the sense that a child trusts a loving parent. Such a trust awaits everything from God and seizes nothing, including status and rank.

True greatness comes to those who make themselves as reliant on God as children are on adults for their well-being. Jesus' response to the question of His disciples reflects the first beatitude that He had told them about earlier in Matthew's Gospel, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Homily for Monday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time

In today's Gospel, we see Jesus and His disciples continuing their journey despite Jesus having foretold His death and Resurrection. They arrive in Capernaum, Simon Peter's home, where an interesting incident takes place. The half-shekel tax was an annual payment made by every Jewish person at the time for the maintenance of the Temple. Jesus states that He and His followers are exempt from this tax, as He is the "New Temple."

However, He tells Peter to pay the tax to avoid offending the religious leaders. Essentially, Jesus proclaims freedom from this obligation but advises setting aside this freedom momentarily to prevent unnecessary offense. This serves as a powerful reminder that while we may have freedom in particular cases, it is wise to forgo that freedom when it could imperil the well-being of others and the common good.

Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Many of us engage in a fair amount of complaining, and sometimes for valid reasons. We frequently complain about the weather and may grumble about various things. If we're not careful, we can find ourselves constantly griping about anything and everything. This can lead to a negative mindset, where we only see problems without noticing anything else, failing to see the bigger picture, which always has some brighter aspects. Our vision becomes limited to what is wrong, absent, or inadequate.

Today's Gospel passage begins with the people murmuring (i.e. complaining) about Jesus. They saw Him as a problem. They knew His father and mother, but He claimed to be the Bread that came down from heaven, which scandalized them. They couldn't believe someone they knew so well could make such claims. Their response to Jesus was to complain. But complaining alone is rarely an adequate response.

Jesus calls for a unique response from us: to listen to and respond positively to His Father's teaching; those who do, He says, will come to Him. As followers of Jesus, we continually go to Him throughout our lives. We never fully reach Him in this life; we never fully understand Him, so we find ourselves always journeying to Him to know Him better. And wherever we are on our faith journey, the Lord continues to call us to come to Him.

Jesus proclaims that no one can come to Him without God's help. This help isn't merely passive but is an engaged, steering power in our lives, constantly drawing us to Jesus. There is a drive within us from God, an impetus that will guide us to Jesus if we are receptive to it, even in the slightest way.

Jesus refers to Himself as the "Bread that came down from heaven" and urges us to consume this Bread. This invitation is to come to Him by participating in the Eucharist and the Word. In the Old Testament, bread often symbolizes the Word of God. As it is said in the Book of Deuteronomy, "…it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord." We require the nourishment that comes from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ – His REAL Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity – AND we need the nourishment we receive from God's Word in the Sacred Scriptures.  To feed on the Word of the Lord means to reflect on it, allowing it to guide our thoughts and actions, thus enriching our souls.

By continuously coming to Jesus in the Eucharist, in His Word, in prayer, in His presence among us always, He will shape our lives; He will provide us with what we need to live the kind of life Saint Paul describes in our second reading, a life of love in which are "kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven [us] in Christ, [being] imitators of God, as beloved children, and [living] in love."

Homily for the Feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr

In 258, Saint Lawrence, the chief deacon of the Diocese of Rome, offered the wealth of the Church to those who had nothing of their own. A deacon's responsibility is to proclaim the Word of God, look after the material goods of the Church, and care for the poor. As the chief deacon of a diocese as large as Rome, Lawrence held a great deal of responsibility, overseeing the Church's resources and ensuring they were used to help those in need.

He was called to act upon all these roles one day when Pope Sixtus II was put under civil arrest. Soon after, the pope was martyred, and Lawrence knew that he would be one of the next Christians the Empire would come after. So, Lawrence sought out the poor, the widows, and the orphans of Rome and gave them all the money he held, even selling the sacred vessels of the Church.

The Prefect of Rome called Lawrence before him and demanded that he produce the treasure of the Church. Lawrence then gathered together the blind and the lame, the leprous, the widows, and orphans, and lined them up before the Prefect's villa. When the Prefect arrived, Lawrence said, "Here is the treasure of the Church." The Prefect not only did not understand Lawrence's words, but he also did not understand Lawrence spending his life in the service of such people. It's unlikely, in fact, that the Prefect cared one way or the other since four days after the death of the Pope, Lawrence was martyred as well, on August 10th.

Saint Lawrence understood that the true wealth of the Church lies in the manner in which our lives touch the lives of others. In our lives as Christians, one of the most important challenges we face is to realize to what extent - both for good and evil - our lives are connected to the lives of others.

Homily for Friday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus often spoke in paradoxes. One of the most noticeable paradoxes occurred when Jesus said, "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." In other words, we will lose ourselves if we are concerned only with ourselves and our needs and desires. However, if we look beyond ourselves toward the Lord and to the lives and needs of those around us, we will find our true selves.

Jesus also expressed this fundamental paradox of his teaching in another way when he said, "Give, and gifts will be given to you." In other words, it is in giving that we receive.

Hopefully, our own experience has taught us that when we look beyond ourselves to others, to the Lord present in others, we experience the Lord's own joy and life, which is an indication of the joy and life of the kingdom of heaven.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Dominic

Today's Gospel reveals two sides of Peter. Initially, he displays a remarkable understanding of Jesus, identifying Him as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus responds by calling him the rock on which He would build His Church.

Later, however, Peter rebukes Jesus for speaking about His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. At this point, Jesus addresses him as Satan and as an obstacle in his path. It is hard to conceive of a greater contradiction: from rock to stumbling stone.

There is a similar contradiction in our relationship with the Lord. We have moments when we are in harmony with the Lord's will for us, but we also have other moments when we are in discord with His will. Yet, the Lord maintains His faith in us despite our shortcomings, just as He did with Peter.

This narrative tells us that Jesus founded His Church on a somewhat imperfect rock that could potentially become a scandal, a stumbling stone. When Jesus calls Peter the rock, He refers to the Church as "my church." It will persevere because it is Jesus' Church, even when those with pastoral responsibility for the Church falter. Because the Church has the Risen Lord within it until the end of the age, the gates of the netherworld, the powers of evil and death, will never triumph over it.

Homily for Wednesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time

When the pagan woman desperately cried out for help, Jesus initially responded with silence. Despite this, she persisted in her request, and Jesus seemed to dismiss it roughly. However, she was undeterred and cleverly turned His words about feeding the children rather than dogs, meant to represent the people of Israel rather than pagans, to her advantage.

Ultimately, her persistent faith was rewarded, and her request was granted. It appears that Jesus believed it was not yet time to bring the Gospel to pagans. Still, her unwavering faith seemingly influenced His timetable.

At one point, Jesus spoke about a faith that can move mountains. This woman's faith certainly moved Jesus. Her story encourages us to remain faithful, even when it's challenging, and inspires us to keep seeking the Lord, even when He seems silent and distant.

Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

Peter, James, and John were privileged to accompany Jesus to the top of the mountain where He was transfigured before them. It must have been an incredible sight: Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah right before their eyes. They were overwhelmed and in awe of what was happening.

So Jesus is with each of us. When we least expect it, He gives us a wonderful experience of His grace to strengthen us in our journey with Him. This is a privilege, but it's not just for us to admire; it's a call to respond to His invitation to love. Jesus called these three Apostles to a deeper level of love and trust in Him, and He does the same with us.

The Apostles were so awestruck that they were speechless. However, Peter felt the urge to say something even though he didn't know what to say.

In our spiritual lives, we often struggle with the temptation to speak too much. In our Gospel passage, we hear the Father's words: "This is my son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him" God calls us to listen carefully to Jesus' words and not feel the need to speak. He is often looking for a response in action rather than in words.

Homily for Monday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Different people react in various ways to the same situation. In today's Gospel, we see a noticeable difference between Jesus's and the disciples' reactions when confronted with a large, hungry crowd in the wilderness. The disciples wanted Jesus to send the crowd away, but Jesus urged His disciples to try to feed the crowd. He said, "Give them some food yourselves."

At first, the disciples objected that they couldn't find enough food to feed the crowd. However, Jesus prevailed and urged them to bring the little food they could find to Him. Despite their doubts, the disciples obeyed Jesus' command and brought the food to Him. With those meager resources, the Lord fed the crowd with the help of His obedient disciples.

The Gospel message suggests that the Lord will always motivate us to help others, even when we feel that we don't have enough resources. These resources are not just material possessions, but also our time, talents, and spiritual gifts. If we are generous with all our resources, the Lord will use them in incredible ways.

The Lord can accomplish wonders through the very ordinary and sometimes unpromising resources and gifts that we possess. Like the disciples in the Gospel, we must do our part, but the Lord always does much more. However, if we are unwilling to do what we can with what we have, the Lord's capacity for ministry to others is limited. The Lord needs our resources, however small and seemingly inadequate they may be, to continue His good work among us and the world.

Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Throughout our lives, we seek things of lasting value that can enrich us and help us grow. When we find something truly valuable, such as a book, poem, movie, music, painting, or building, we often return to it.

Hopefully, though, we come to realize that what we truly value are not objects or things, but people. A good friend means so much more to us than a good book or piece of music. Parents value nothing more than their children. For those in love, the most cherished treasure is the one who is loved. The value of all else pales in comparison. We want the people we love to live forever, which is why the death or loss of a loved one is such a heart-wrenching experience.

In today's Gospel, the crowds that Jesus fed in the wilderness come back looking for Him and wanting more of the bread He had provided. Jesus seizes the opportunity to guide them toward something more enduring. He counsels them, saying, "Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life."

Jesus' perspective is not focused on this world, but on eternity. When He speaks of what truly lasts, He means what will last into eternity. For Jesus, what is of lasting value is what will continue to have value in heaven. It is hard to keep that perspective of eternity before us because we are not just meant for eternity but we are also meant to live our lives on earth. It can be difficult to keep both in our sights.

While Jesus' ultimate focus is on eternity, He also values our earthly experiences. He came to show us how to live this earthly life through His teachings and example. He devoted Himself to meeting the primary needs of those He met: the sick, the grieving, the hungry, the poor, the lonely, and the stranger. He instructed us to do the same, stressing that what we do for others, we do for Him. By living in this way, we are preparing ourselves to live forever. Those who live by the values of the kingdom of God will inherit it.

May we know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and may our dedication to Him lead us into the eternal life He came to offer.