St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Monday of the 2nd Week of Lent

In today’s Gospel passage from St. Luke, Jesus calls His believers to mirror the unbounded mercy of God, urging us to stop condemning others and to forgive freely, just as God forgives us. This profound mercy—offered to others without conditions—rests at the center of Christian life and is rewarded with a "good measure" of divine grace, transforming our hearts from stone into instruments of love.

 

When Jesus tells us to be merciful like His Father, He isn’t merely making a suggestion; instead, He is making a command that springs forth from our baptismal calling. It means taking on God's perspective, which looks past faults to offer compassion, understanding, and mercy. This is how Jesus dealt with people, and we are called to be like Him in every aspect of our lives.

 

Jesus tells us to stop our propensity toward judgment and condemnation. Genuine forgiveness demands that we give up the desire for revenge and let go of anger. This means refusing to dismiss people. While there are situations in which it may not be healthy or even safe to continue a relationship, forgiveness from the heart is still something to which we are called, even if we must do so from a distance.

 

To avoid becoming judgmental, we must recognize our own need for mercy from God and from others. This requires letting go of pride and replacing it with love.

May this season of Lent be a time when we recognize our own need for mercy and forgiveness, helping us to offer the same to others.

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

In St. Matthew’s Gospel, God the Father speaks from heaven only twice: in today’s Transfiguration passage and at Jesus’ Baptism. Both times, the message is the same: Jesus is His beloved Son, and we must listen to Him, which means knowing Him and following His teachings and example. This allows us to be guided by Jesus, the incarnate Lord, toward our true purpose and fulfillment in God’s kingdom.

 

In theory, this sounds easy, but as flawed humans, we face temptation, doubt, and weakness. Listening to God and following His voice isn’t always easy.

 

Abraham learned this firsthand. While living comfortably in Mesopotamia, God called him to leave behind his family, business, home, security, and friends—everything he knew. God didn’t even tell him where he was going, only saying, "Go to a land I will show you." But God had a plan to bless Abraham and others through him. Abraham listened and trusted God, stepping out of his comfort zone. His decision likely caused tension at home and was hard to explain to others.

 

St. Paul also experienced this. He was rising in the Jewish establishment when Jesus appeared on the road to Damascus and invited him to take a different, harder path. That’s why he tells Timothy in today’s second reading, "Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God."

 

Paul endured shipwrecks, imprisonment, slander, beatings, whippings, and was ultimately martyred by beheading. Listening to Jesus and heeding His call means accepting hardship for the sake of the Gospel. But it’s worth it—otherwise, why would the Father have told us to do it?

 

Most of us have a sense of what Jesus is asking of us right now. He always calls us to follow him more closely.

 

Maybe He’s asking some of us to go to confession so He can help us break a sinful habit holding back our spiritual growth.

 

Maybe He’s asking us to reconcile with someone we haven’t spoken to in years—to forgive someone who doesn’t really deserve it.

 

Maybe He’s asking us to live more for others and less for ourselves.

He may even call some of us to leave everything and follow Him in the priesthood or consecrated life, like Abraham and St. Paul.

 

When God invites us to change, we’re often torn—part of us wants to say yes, but another part is afraid. God’s nearness, even His voice in our hearts, is awe-inspiring. Like Peter, James, and John, we can be "very much afraid." But Jesus knows this. When His disciples lay face down on the mountaintop, trembling, "Jesus came and touched them, saying, 'Rise, and do not be afraid.'"

 

Today, He does the same for us. He comes to us in the Liturgy of the Word and in the Eucharist and says in our hearts: "Rise, and do not be afraid."

 

When He does, let’s respond: "OK, Lord. I believe in you. I want to listen to you.” Or, in the words of the Lord’s Prayer,  “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done."

Homily for Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

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 the word "perfect," Luke uses the word "merciful." This choice highlights that, in Jesus’ teaching, true perfection is about showing mercy and compassion rather than obsessing over flawlessness.

 

To be perfect, as Jesus intended, means to love others as God loves us—not with harsh judgment, but with patience and forgiveness. 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. This promise offers hope and reassurance: 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 today’s Gospel, Jesus calls His followers to adopt virtues and standards that go beyond those of the scribes and Pharisees, for whom the paramount commandment was "You shall not kill." Jesus’ message goes beyond this basic commandment, focusing on the underlying feelings and passions that can lead people to harm or endanger others. Addressing these deep-seated attitudes and emotions is crucial for preventing harmful actions and renewing 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 who 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 supposed to seek, and what should we ask for? The simple answer is that we should seek the Lord and His will for our lives. The Gospels mention many seekers, and Zacchaeus is a notable example. His story reminds us that the Lord we seek is always seeking us, too. 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 as long as we are on this earth. Our journey toward the Lord is ongoing, and we never completely reach our destination. Like Abraham, we are continually setting out 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 in the journey it brings, we will receive good things from God. By seeking the Lord, we open ourselves to His many gifts and blessings.

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 recitation of this Psalm as a form of penance. Psalm 51, also known as the Miserere, is a heartfelt plea for mercy, forgiveness, and spiritual renewal. Its words express deep sorrow and a longing to be made whole once again. For many, including myself, these verses capture the essence of what it means to come before God honestly, seeking not just pardon but real transformation.

While Psalm 51 reflects on humanity's sinful nature, 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 souls. The language of the Psalm paints a vivid picture of a soul yearning to be washed clean. This longing for inner renewal speaks to everyone who has ever felt burdened by guilt and desired a fresh start. It reminds us that God's grace is always available, no matter how far we may have strayed.

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. Just as rain and snow water the earth and make it fruitful, so too does God’s Word nourish our souls and bring about transformation in our lives. This powerful message, never returning to Him empty, is a testament to His divine power and unfailing faithfulness. As we are blessed with life and grace, we are called not only to receive God’s love and mercy, but also to become channels of that love to those around us—comforting, encouraging, and uplifting others. By doing so, we participate in God's ongoing work on earth, sowing seeds of hope and presenting Him with the fruits of our faith and service.

May this Lenten season, a sacred time of reflection and spiritual growth, deepen our understanding of our role as ambassadors of God's love. Let us embrace this opportunity to renew our commitment to prayer, fasting, and acts of charity, following Christ’s example with humility and dedication. May the Spirit guide us in recognizing the countless ways God blesses us each day, and inspire us to offer back to Him everything He has given us—our time, talents, and hearts—as we strive to be His faithful messengers in the world, sharing His love with everyone we meet.

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, in fact, serving Jesus Himself. This message calls us to look beyond appearances and circumstances, to truly see in each person the presence of Christ among us. Whether someone is rich or poor, strong or weak, independent or vulnerable, we must seek to see the presence of Jesus in all those we encounter.

 

When we reach out to help, comfort, or accompany those who are struggling, lonely, or marginalized, we are not just performing a duty—we are encountering Jesus in those we serve. Likewise, when we find ourselves in need and receive kindness from others, we experience God’s love through their care. These moments of giving and receiving are sacred opportunities to grow in compassion and deepen our relationship with Jesus.

 

Today, let us open our eyes and hearts to recognize the Lord in everyone we meet. May we respond with generosity, patience, and respect, honoring the dignity of each person as a living reflection of Christ’s presence among us.

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent

In the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of three films based on the classic Tolkien trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. There is a good wizard who provides a bit of wisdom that is helpful as we start our Lenten journey.

 

In the movie, the young hobbit Frodo Baggins finds himself in possession of a ring that once belonged to the Dark Lord. The magic ring, which contains all kinds of “cruelty, malice, and the will to dominate all life,” gives its possessor indescribable power. The Dark Lord seeks the return of the powerful ring for his own evil plan to enslave the world. The Dark Lord kills and destroys everyone and everything in his path as he searches for the ring.

 

Frodo is now unexpectedly thrust into a struggle for the very survival of the world. Frodo’s friend, the good wizard Gandalf, explains that the ring must be destroyed in the fiery pits of the mountains of Mordor, where the ring was originally forged. And so, Frodo, Gandalf, and their band of hobbits, dwarves, elves, and human warriors begin the perilous journey to Mordor, relentlessly pursued by the Dark Lord and his followers.

 

At one point in their long journey, after yet another narrow escape, the discouraged Frodo laments to Gandalf, “I wish the ring had never come to me… I wish none of this had happened.”

 

The kind old wizard replies, “So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

 

Obviously, the movie is a work of fantasy, but it also speaks to the very real struggle between good and evil, a part of the human experience. The wisdom of Gandalf is very real as well.

 

Like Frodo and his companions, and like Jesus in his encounter with Satan in the desert, our lives are journeys that constantly call us to decide “what we are to do with the time we are given.”

 

In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo must fight the temptation to possess the ring of evil himself rather than destroy it in order that good might triumph in the world. In our Gospel reading today, Jesus must decide between the choices given him by the tempter – personal profit, comfort, and fame – and the hard work to which God the Father has called him. [1]

 

Likewise, life presents each of us with the same kind of choices. These choices can be very hard to make and, at times, unrelenting. The choice always comes down to working hard to live the values that dwell deep in our hearts and souls, or forsake those values and for things of far less worth and permanence. [2]

 

The season of Lent calls us to embrace God’s spirit of truth so that we may make the choices that will lead us to the promised kingdom of heaven; that we may see through all the obstacles and illusions of this world and see clearly the kingdom that God has prepared for us.

 

[1] Tolkien, J.R.R., The Fellowship of the Ring, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 1954.

[2] Cormier, Jay, Editor, Connections, MediaWorks, Londonderry, NH, February 2002, p. 3.

Homily for Saturday after Ash Wednesday

In today’s Gospel passage, the scribes and Pharisees questioned Jesus’ disciples about why they were eating with tax collectors and sinners. They believed that associating with such people posed a risk, as it could lead to moral contamination and a decline in their own integrity. They thought it was better to distance themselves from those considered sinful.

 

However, Jesus was not worried about being tainted by others’ sins. He understood that His goodness, which reflects the goodness of the Father within Him, would instead transform and uplift those He encountered. The Lord is never diminished by our failings; instead, we are enriched by His holiness.

 

This is why the Lord does not separate Himself from us, even when we distance ourselves from Him because of our actions or inactions. He is always ready to sit with us, share a meal with us, and engage in communion with us. In our moments of weakness, we can draw strength from Him, and in our many failings, we can find His goodness and love.