St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today, the Church celebrates the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary with great solemnity. From the very beginning, she was chosen to be the daughter of God the Father, the spouse of the Holy Spirit, and the Mother of Jesus Christ. Because of this, she is honored as the queen of angels and all people.

Early Christian teachers reflected on Mary’s roles and believed she was conceived without Original Sin. Throughout history, no saint has challenged this belief. Decisions made by bishops in the early Church supported this idea.

As human beings, we have many limitations. We are finite, which means we do not have everything we need within ourselves. We depend on external resources to live. Sometimes, this dependence can hurt us if we misuse these resources. However, when we use them wisely, they can help us grow and make the world a better place.

When we connect with God’s love and grace, we become whole and can overcome our limitations. When the Church talks about Original Sin, it addresses the weakness of our human existence and our need for something to make us feel complete.

Mary demonstrated through her actions that God is what completes her. She fully relied on God to fill any gaps in her life as a human being. Mary trusted that God loved her and would help her become everything she was meant to be in this life and the next.

Mary’s life and faith encourage us to trust that God is always devoted to us. As Meister Eckhart said, “No matter how devoted you are to God, you can be sure that He is even more devoted to you.”

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent

Seven hundred years before Christ, as the Kingdom of Israel fell apart, God promised not to abandon His people. He vowed to send a Savior, a descendant of King David, known as a "shoot from the stump of Jesse" (Jesse being David's father). This promise was fulfilled when Jesus was born 2,000 years ago.

To prepare the people for the arrival of the Messiah, God sent John the Baptist as a messenger. Just as dignitaries send delegations ahead of them, Jesus also had a forerunner to announce His forthcoming ministry and to remind the Israelites of their covenant with God.

These actions reflect a faithful God who keeps His promises. He fulfilled His promise to Israel and continues to fulfill His promises to us. On the day of our baptism, God promised never to abandon us, adopting us as His children and assuring us of His continuous support through grace, love, and truth.

John the Baptist's message today reminds us of this essential truth: our God is faithful.

Francis Thompson, a British poet from the late 1800s, wrote one of the greatest Christian poems, "The Hound of Heaven." Despite a difficult life marked by a failed medical career, homelessness, and an opium addiction, he explored profound themes in his work. The poem illustrates a protagonist who searches in vain for happiness while being pursued by a hunting dog, symbolizing God's unwavering love and determination to reach even the most wayward sinner. It begins with the protagonist fleeing from God, highlighting his futile quest for fulfillment in the wrong places.

"I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears

I hid from Him, and under running laughter."

But at the end, with nowhere else to run to, the hound catches up to him and says,

"Rise, clasp My hand, and come!

...Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,

I am He Whom thou seekest!

Thou drivest love from thee, who drivest Me."

Nothing we do can diminish God's love for us; he is faithful, and his hand is always outstretched to save us from ourselves.

If God is faithful, as today's celebration and the Advent season remind us, He is worthy of our trust. In a world filled with contradictory opinions and endless distractions, we need a reliable source of truth.

God's Gospel is trustworthy and unchanging. His Church guides us despite its imperfections, reminding us of essential truths and the path to meaning and peace. To obey His voice—expressed in the Scriptures and Church teachings—is to secure ourselves and our loved ones on the journey to heaven.

God's faithfulness is affirmed as we receive Him in the Eucharist today. Let us thank Him and renew our commitment to trust and obey Him.

Homily for Saturday of the 1st Week of Advent

We believe that Jesus was like us in every way except for sin, but the Gospels rarely mention His emotions. However, in today’s reading from Matthew, we see that when Jesus saw the crowds, “His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” Compassion arises when we empathize with the needs of others and feel compelled to act. Jesus’ compassion for the crowd is evident in two significant ways in the Gospel.

First, He instructed His disciples to pray for God to send workers into His harvest. The troubled and abandoned people needed those who could journey alongside them and guide them.

Second, Jesus appointed workers Himself. He summoned twelve of His disciples and instructed them to share His life-giving message with others.

As we reflect on today’s Gospel reading, we should ask ourselves: Where do we see ourselves in this story? Who do we relate to?

At times, we may find ourselves among the troubled and abandoned. In these moments, today’s Gospel reassures us that the Lord is with us in our distress, drawing near with His compassion.

At other times, we might be among the workers whom the Lord sends forth, tasked with helping the troubled and abandoned. In these instances, the Gospel assures us that the Lord will empower us for the work He calls us to do.

Let us pray that, regardless of our circumstances, we may always feel the Lord’s presence within and around us, and that we may both experience and share His compassion with others.

Homily for Friday of the 1st Week of Advent

In today’s Gospel passage, the two blind men do more than simply ask Jesus for healing; they approach Him and cry out, “Son of David, have pity on us.” This statement clearly demonstrates their faith in Him. They follow Jesus until He reaches the house where He is going, and once inside, He turns to them and asks, “Do you believe that I can do this?” Their response, “Yes, Lord,” further illustrates their faith.

This scene of the two blind men calling out as Jesus walks by encourages us to keep reaching out to Him in faith. Like them, many of us often turn to prayer when we recognize our needs. We all experience various forms of neediness in our lives, facing areas of weakness that require healing. Each of us has imperfections and vulnerabilities that can leave us feeling broken.

The example of the two blind men inspires us to continually turn to the Lord in prayer, even when it seems as though He is not listening. Ultimately, our prayers of faith will not go unanswered.

Homily for Thursday of the 1st Week of Advent

We can all relate to the weather metaphors Jesus uses in today's Gospel. He talks about rain, floods, and winds—concepts that are easy to grasp. Living in New England, we can even add snow to that list and still understand the message Jesus conveys.

Beyond the weather, we each face personal storms, no matter where we live. We may find ourselves struggling with life's challenges and confronting difficulties that seem overwhelming.

Jesus warns us that storms will come, but He is here to help us overcome them. When these storms arrive, we can choose to feel helpless and be tossed about or find the strength to stand firm and move beyond them.

Jesus wants to be our rock during these turbulent times. If we listen to and follow His teachings, we can remain safe even when the storms rage around us. He emphasizes the importance of doing God's will and encourages us to consistently focus on that. By doing so, we can endure any storm we encounter.

Homily for the Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

Today's Mass readings highlight the concept of the high ground. In the first reading, Isaiah speaks of a mountain where the Lord invites everyone to a lavish banquet featuring rich food and fine wines. On this mountain, all mourning, sadness, and shame will be eliminated, and even death will be destroyed. This vision inspires us to rise above our current experiences and look toward a realm where everything aligns with God's intentions.

In today's Gospel, Jesus ascends a mountainside, followed by a large crowd. There, high above the Sea of Galilee, Jesus restores speech to the mute, mobility to the lame, and sight to the blind. He also feeds the hungry with minimal resources, providing so much that everyone eats their fill, and there are abundant leftovers.

Isaiah's words in the first reading come to life in the Gospel. Both readings convey the message that God desires for us to have life and to experience it in abundance. Saint Irenaeus once said that "God's glory is the human person fully alive." In the Gospel, the Lord relies on others to bring the sick to Him; He needs the disciples to help feed the crowd. He continues to depend on us to carry out His life-giving work in the world.

Advent calls upon all of us to be instruments of the Lord's life-giving and healing presence. During Advent, we pray, "Come, Lord Jesus," and offer ourselves as channels for the Lord's coming.

Homily for Tuesday of the 1st Week of Advent

Everyone is offered gifts from the Holy Spirit that help us live as children of God and enable us to be instruments of God's love and grace in the world. 

As a sacramental Church, we open ourselves to the creative grace of God, our loving Father; the compassionate grace of Jesus Christ; and the transformative grace of the Holy Spirit. In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as described in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah: wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, holiness, knowledge, and fear of the LORD. 

These gifts can transform us if we are genuinely open to the Spirit and to God's love and grace. True transformation means using these gifts for our own good and for the good of all people. 

This Advent season calls us to slow down and reflect on how the Holy Spirit has gifted us and how we are called to use these gifts. However, we cannot stop there; we must actively work to utilize them so that God's love and peace may flow through us, allowing us to fulfill our vocation of bringing ourselves and others into God's kingdom of love.

Homily for Monday of the 1st Week of Advent

When we get sick, our joints ache, our heads throb, and our stomachs feel unsettled. Yet, we usually understand that this discomfort is just a temporary phase as we wait for a cold or flu to pass. We know that in time, we will feel better.

However, there are times when waiting becomes uncertain and worrisome. We may not know how our suffering will end, and we might fear what our symptoms could mean. We find ourselves waiting for lab results, for medications to take effect, for surgeries to be completed, and for cures to be discovered.

Sometimes, we find ourselves waiting… for God.

Advent is a season of waiting for healing, transformation, and the arrival of God in the person of Jesus. In today’s Gospel, the centurion embodies the essence of this Advent waiting. He has cared for his servant and now awaits a cure. His faith allows him to wait with hope, trusting that God will act through Jesus. With a beautiful blend of dignity and humility, he simply asks Jesus to speak a word of healing.

This Advent season invites us to hope that our waiting and longing for healing, peace, and salvation will be fulfilled.

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent

There are many ways that people in specific jobs prepare themselves to perform their duties in stressful situations. One effective method is through simulation, which allows them to make mistakes and learn from them without putting anyone in danger. For example, pilots use flight simulators to learn how to respond in emergencies. Hospitals simulate disasters to assess how doctors, nurses, and equipment will handle an overload of victims. Schools conduct fire drills and other disaster simulations to determine the fastest and safest ways to evacuate hundreds or even thousands of students. The military also simulates war scenarios to ensure it is prepared in the event of a real attack.

With this context in mind, the Church invites us to view the season of Advent, which begins today, as a time of simulation. It encourages us to simulate the coming of Jesus into the world—not only his arrival on that first Christmas but also his Second Coming at the end of time. The Church particularly emphasizes this Second Coming on the first Sunday of Advent.

First, the Church reminds us that the Second Coming may be closer than we think. St. Paul states in our second reading, "The night is advanced, the day is at hand."

Second, the Church tells us that the Second Coming of Christ will catch us by surprise. St. Matthew writes, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, right up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know. Therefore, you must also be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."

Someone once said that the most dangerous day of our lives is when we learn the word "tomorrow." On that day, we start putting things off, procrastinating, and acting as if we have plenty of time to do whatever we wish.

William Barclay, the Scottish theologian, tells the story of three devils preparing to depart for Earth to begin their apprenticeship in deceiving people. Before leaving, each had an interview with Satan, the chief of all devils.

Satan asked the first devil, "How do you plan to deceive people and destroy them?" The first devil replied, "I plan to convince them that there is no God."

"And what about you?" Satan asked the second devil. The second devil answered, "I plan to convince people that there is no hell."

Finally, Satan turned to the third devil and asked, "What is your approach?" The third devil said, "My strategy will be simpler. I will convince people that they have plenty of time to prepare for death and for the Second Coming of Jesus." Satan smiled and said, "If you do that, you will deceive many."

The point is that there are certain things in life we should never put off until tomorrow because we cannot be sure that tomorrow will come for us. Advent serves as a reminder that we must always be prepared since we do not know when we will meet our maker. The intention to be ready is not enough; we must live the kind of lives that God desires for us. We should always be on the lookout for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Homily for Saturday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Today, the Church celebrates the last day of our liturgical year. Our Scripture readings offer us parting words of hope: a vision of heaven, a call to Jesus to come to us, and a final piece of advice on how to reach the Promised Land.

Tomorrow, we begin anew with the season of Advent—a time for reflection and anticipation of God's incarnation in the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let us pray that this upcoming holy season and the year ahead will draw us closer to God and to one another as the People of God. May we give praise to our Creator and be His instruments of love, peace, and mercy in the world.