St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Friday of the 2nd Week of Lent

As we just heard, Jesus taught a parable about tenants who killed the vineyard owner's son to claim the property. This was a creative introduction to Jesus' Passion. After telling the parable, Jesus quoted from the Psalms, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," which looks forward to His Resurrection. Although rejected by the religious and political leaders of the day, Jesus rose from the dead and became the cornerstone of a new temple, the Church, made up of people who have faith in Him.

Jesus teaches us that what we reject may be of critical importance. The things in our lives that we want to leave behind may actually be how God speaks to us. The elements of our lives that we may be slow to accept may be the means through which the Lord can work most powerfully in our lives and, through us, in the lives of others. The experience of Jesus also implies that God may have a purpose for what we reject. God never rejects us, even if we turn our backs on Him.

Homily for Thursday of the 2nd Week of Lent

The parable for today is not meant to criticize wealth itself. Rather, it prompts those who have more than enough to consider whether they are sharing with others who are in need. Are we doing our part to reduce the gap between those who have plenty and those who have very little?

Although possessions are not inherently evil, they should not divert our attention from those in the world who have so little.

In this parable, the rich man is criticized for using his wealth only for his own benefit, which shows his indifference towards others. Although we may not consider ourselves wealthy, we can still become complacent towards the poor. The story raises an important question of whether we are even aware of the poverty that exists around us and among us.

The parable does not have an ending, which leaves us wondering if the five brothers ever received the message about the negative outcomes of neglecting individuals who are experiencing poverty. This allows us to create our own conclusion about how we will live our lives, having learned about the contrast between the temporary wealth of this world and the eternal riches of God's kingdom.

Homily for Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Lent

As we just heard, Jesus asked James and John, “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” In other words, were they truly prepared to share His chalice, cast their lots with Him, and follow where He would lead them, even though it could cost them their lives?

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” Yet, He went on to drink that cup on the Cross.

At the Last Supper, He drank of the Chalice and then gave it to His disciples, who also drank from it. Yet, a little later, they deserted him and fled. Despite what they promised Him, James and John would not follow Him when things got really challenging.

We, too, are invited to drink from the Lord’s Chalice, the Chalice of sacrifice, the Chalice of suffering, and the Chalice of the Eucharist. When we do so, we express our willingness to go where He leads and walk in His way, with all its challenges and joys.

Jesus teaches that His way of selfless service to others is that to which we are called. May we be faithful to what that action signifies: walking in the footsteps of the Son of Man who came not to be served but to serve.

Homily for Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Lent

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus blames the Pharisees for imposing unwarranted and heavy burdens on ordinary people's shoulders. However, He invites everyone to come to Him, especially those who are burdened and tired, and promises to give them rest.

As we go through life, we all face different types of burdens. While some of these burdens are necessary and unavoidable, such as the burdens of love and responsibility for others, Jesus rejects unnecessary and unjustified burdens placed upon others.

It is our responsibility to make life less burdensome for the people around us. We must help them to the best of our abilities and in the spirit of the One who promised to give us rest from our labors.

Whenever we feel burdened, we should turn to God for help and comfort. We should also allow God to work through us to ease the burdens of those around us.

Homily for Monday of the 2nd Week of Lent

We often measure our success by what we have accumulated, such as money, possessions, or achievements.

However, those of us who have faith are called to invest our love, care, and compassion in others without expecting a reward. Love and mercy are what matter most in God's eyes.

Jesus instructs us to love one another unconditionally and without limit, just as God loves us. Ultimately, God will reward us with the things of heaven.

Let us pray that God will open our hearts and minds to focus on the things of heaven as the ultimate reward for all our actions in this life.

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent

In the Transfiguration, Jesus climbed the mountain and gave His disciples Peter, James, and John a peek at the glorious life they will live with their beloved one day. This life will be free from all distractions and filled with love. It encourages us to seek silence and pray so we can encounter Our Lord in our hearts.

The First Reading recalls another mountain and a time when Abraham had to make a life or death decision. It showed where his priorities lay and who came first in his life.

In the Second Reading, Paul reminds us that the Lord spared Abraham's son but did not hesitate to sacrifice His own.

In the Gospel, Jesus takes His closest disciples up the mountain alone to show them a glimpse of His divinity and prepare them for the trials to come. Elijah and Moses appeared, showing that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and prophets. God the Father identified Jesus as His Beloved Son.

This was a culminating moment of the faith the disciples had already shown. Like Abraham with Isaac, neither the disciples nor Abraham completely understood what had happened after the "mountain."

Getting to a mountaintop is not easy. In today's Gospel, Our Lord takes his disciples up a high mountain, away from the noise and distractions of the world.

Prayer is one of the pillars of Lenten observance. The struggle for quality prayer is often a struggle for silence. Everyone acknowledges the utility of "quiet time," but for prayer, this is just the first step. Exterior silence must facilitate interior silence. We have to quiet down on the inside too.

So, find a quiet place this week, such as a chapel, monastery, convent, or shrine, and set aside some real quiet time so that Our Lord can reveal himself to you more profoundly.

Homily for Saturday of the 1st Week of Lent

If someone is a perfectionist, it suggests that they are a taskmaster and demand everything to be precisely right, down to the last detail. However, when Jesus says, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” he does not ask for detailed perfectionism. In Luke’s gospel, the companion passage is almost identical to today’s passage from Matthew, except that instead of perfect, Luke has “merciful”: “Be merciful as your heavenly Father is merciful.” Therefore, Luke has interpreted what Jesus meant by “being perfect.”

Being perfect means to love others unconditionally. It involves loving others in the same way God loves us. This is the central message of Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount - to love one another with a selfless love that seeks nothing in return.

Jesus urges us to love in the same way that God loves, which indicates that this command is not impossible to fulfill. Though we may not be capable of loving in this divine manner independently, we can accomplish it with the help of God. 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 a virtue and a standard greater than those of the scribes and Pharisees, for whom an essential commandment was “You shall not kill.” Jesus’ call goes far beyond that to the fundamental feelings and passions that lead people to kill others or put the lives of others in danger. Deep-seated attitudes and emotions need to be addressed to prevent evil actions and lead us to a recreation of our minds and souls.

The more profound and more fundamental re-creation and transformation for which Jesus is calling is not something we can bring about by our own efforts; we need the power and the grace of the Holy Spirit to bring about that profound transformation within us.

So, let us pray that the Holy Spirit will re-create deep within us the love that is God, that the roots of that deeper virtue and standard may grow within our hearts and minds and help us to become what God truly wants us to be.+

Homily for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle. This day does not refer to a piece of furniture but recognizes the authority Jesus bestowed upon St. Peter and his successors. This authority is not St. Peter's own but rather the authority of Christ. The Chair, also known as the Cathedra, is a symbol of that authority. The term Cathedral, which refers to the seat of authority in any diocese, is derived from this.

Jesus' authority was never used for His own purposes but rather to carry out the will of His Father in heaven. He used His authority to heal the sick, comfort the brokenhearted, and give hope to the oppressed. In the same way, the authority He bestowed upon St. Peter was less about power and more about responsibility. It was a responsibility of faith, love, and compassion.

This is also reflected in Bernini's sculpture of the Chair of St. Peter under the dome of the Basilica in Rome. The inscription on it reads, "O Pastor Ecclesiae, tu omnes Christi pascis agnos et oves," which means, "O pastor of the Church, you feed all Christ's lambs and sheep."

On this special day, let us pray for our Holy Father, that the Holy Spirit may guide him always as he continues to act as the Vicar of Christ on earth. May his work, prayer, and life be an example of how to use the gifts we have received to spread God's love and grace to all those we encounter.

Homily for Wednesday of the 1st Week of Lent

Our response to the Psalm today is taken from one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 51. Sometimes, during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I give this Psalm to people as a penance.

Although Psalm 51 speaks heavily about the sinful nature of human beings, it is also a Psalm of hope. It gives hope that a truly repentant heart will not be ignored by God. The Psalm is filled with the hope that a person can be cleansed of their sins and created anew in the deepest recesses of their soul. 

It also emphasizes that nothing will merit God's forgiveness more than a genuinely contrite and humble spirit. No offering, no action, no matter how great, can earn the merciful attention of God more than a sincere word and spirit of being sorry for our sins.

Throughout this season of Lent, let us ask God for the grace to remove from our lives, our minds, and our hearts those things that keep us from being truly repentant for our failings. Let us use God's grace to do so.