St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Wednesday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Traditionally, the human heart is viewed as a symbol of love. However, in today's Gospel passage, Jesus presents a different perspective on the human heart, highlighting it as the source of evil intentions that can harm and destroy others.

The heart represents a person's inner core, which encompasses both light and darkness. It can serve as a reservoir for goodness or become a channel for evil. One compelling image of our faith is the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a figure that was prominent in my home while growing up and still holds significance today. This image represents God's inner core, which embodies wholly selfless love. This love was fully revealed through the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus, demonstrating a love that is intensely creative and life-giving.

Our calling is to cultivate hearts that, to some extent, reflect the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to have inner cores that participate in God's essence. This profound vision of our central calling is beautifully captured in the simple yet powerful prayer many of us learned: "Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them the fire of your love."

Homily for Tuesday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus challenged His critics for prioritizing human regulations over God's commandments. He recognized that the religious traditions of His time did not always align with God's will, as revealed in the Scriptures and, more fully, through His own teachings.

The Church must remain vigilant to ensure that its traditions reflect God's Word, particularly as expressed by Jesus. Periodically, the Church needs to renew itself, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to cleanse its traditions so they align more closely with the true spirit of the Gospel. The Second Vatican Council is a significant example of such an effort.

Similarly, in our personal lives, we can fall into traditional practices that do not resonate with the essence of God's message in Scripture. Whether in our religious practices or in a broader context, our personal traditions require reform in light of the Gospel. We should continually seek to hear the Word of the Lord anew and ask the Holy Spirit for help in doing so.

Homily for the Memorial of Saint Scholastica

Our Gospel today emphasizes Jesus' incredible popularity among the people of Galilee. He especially attracted the sick and broken because God's healing power was clearly at work through Him. People were hurrying to bring their sick to Him. People begged Him to let them touch even the tassel on His cloak. 

We often seek out the Lord with the greatest sense of urgency in our brokenness and weakness. Something happens to us that causes us to see our vulnerability, weakness, and inability to manage things unaided.

When we face our frailties, those experiences reinforce our recognition of the need for and dependence on the Lord. Often, life's darker and more painful experiences open us up to the Lord.

When St. Paul struggled with his "thorn in the flesh," he heard the Risen Lord say, "My power is made perfect in weakness." Our recognition of our weaknesses can be the opening through which we reach out to and encounter God.

Homily for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We've just heard one of the greatest vocation stories of biblical times: Jesus calls Simon Peter to become a fisher of God's people, sharing the Good News and gathering people to the Lord. 

One might ask: "Why him? He was flawed and would even deny knowing Jesus." But this is nothing new for God, who has repeatedly called on flawed individuals for significant responsibilities. Abraham became the father of a great nation at a very old age; Moses, who was described as "slow of speech and heavy-tongued, was called to take on Pharaoh; David, a young shepherd, was called to be king; and Saul, the prolific persecutor of Christians, was called to become an Apostle of Christ named Paul. 

God does as God wills.

Peter experienced the Lord's generosity in the incredible catch of fish in our Gospel. At that moment, he became aware of his own weakness and unworthiness. He felt undeserving of such generosity but found that the Lord loved him and had a great purpose for his life despite his imperfections. From that moment on, he would gather people to the Lord. 

Throughout history, God has chosen flawed person after flawed person to be instruments of His love, mercy, compassion, and justice. So, it would be wrong for us to conclude that we could never be called by God to be His instruments. Despite our failings and weaknesses, we are all called to be, in some way, instruments and ambassadors of God's presence, love, and action in our world.

The Lord's plan for us is not conditional on our worthiness. The Lord does not wait for us to be perfect before calling us to share in his life-giving work. Indeed, like Simon Peter, our calling demands our comprehension of our unworthiness, thus creating a way for the Lord to work through us. 

Genuine service to God requires humility and recognition of our need for God's grace in every facet of our lives and person. As Paul said, "If any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise."

Homily for Saturday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Flexibility is a good gift because things do not always go as planned. In the morning, we intend to accomplish certain tasks by the end of the day, but sometimes, those tasks remain unfinished. On a larger scale, we might have envisioned specific plans for our lives that have not come to fruition for various reasons. Such experiences can lead to feelings of despair. Still, we also have the option to respond differently and move beyond disappointment or frustration.

Jesus experienced similar situations with His plans and those of His followers. As we heard in today's Gospel, He intended to take them to a deserted place for quiet prayer and reflection because they had been so busy that they barely had time to eat or pray. However, when they arrived at that secluded spot, they found it crowded with people who had gotten there before them.

Jesus' response to the disruption of His plans was not anger or resentment. Instead, "His heart was moved with pity for them... and He began to teach them many things." His plans needed to change because a situation arose that aligned with God's larger purpose.

Whenever our plans go off-kilter, we should remain open to the possibility that something better can replace them. Being flexible allows us to see greater opportunities beyond our own desires. Ultimately, God's plan is always more important than our personal plans. When we have to set aside our own goals and dreams, we should pray for the Lord's life-giving purpose for our lives to prevail.

Homily for Friday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time

The Gospel describes John the Baptist as a "righteous and holy man." He courageously spoke the truth about God and His ways, which ultimately led to his beheading. Similarly, Jesus was crucified for the same reason: He, too, proclaimed the truth and purpose of God's teachings.

We are all called to share God's ways, as revealed by Jesus. This often requires courage, much like that of John the Baptist and Jesus. One of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is courage. Today, perhaps more than ever, we need a courageous faith and the strength of the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the values and messages of the Gospel, as John the Baptist and Jesus did.

It is important to remember that a courageous faith is not the same as an arrogant faith; it is not condescending or self-righteous. Instead, it is a firm, lasting faith that remains strong in adversity because its roots run deep.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Paul Miki & Companions

St. Mark illustrates that, early in His ministry, Jesus sent out the Twelve disciples He had chosen to assist Him in His work. He commissioned them to do what He had been doing: preaching the gospel and healing the sick. Jesus recognized that He needed help from others to accomplish the mission He had been given. Similarly, Jesus still needs us today to carry out His work. We are called to be His eyes, ears, hands, feet, voice, and presence wherever we are. He desires to work in and through us.

St. Paul understood this concept clearly. He viewed the Church as the Body of Christ in the world. The Body of Christ cannot function effectively unless everyone fulfills the role they are called and equipped to play through their baptism. Each person has a unique contribution to make to the life of the Body and, consequently, to the work of the Lord in today’s world. Every individual is indispensable and essential. The first reading from the letter to the Hebrews expresses this clearly: in the Church, everyone is regarded as a “first-born child” and a “citizen of heaven.” There are to be no second-class citizens in the Church. Each of us is a vital member of Christ’s Body, uniquely endowed by the Lord for His work and mission in the world.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Agatha

The people of Nazareth should have recognized how God the Father was working through Jesus in a unique way. Instead, they mocked Him and looked down on Him. They found Him too familiar, too local, and too well-known. They were acquainted with His mother and His family. Because He was one of their own, they saw Him as too ordinary to take seriously. This is a classic example of "familiarity breeding contempt."

Often, we fail to recognize God's presence in the every day and the familiar. In truth, we do not need to travel far or witness extraordinary miracles to acknowledge the wisdom and power of God. His presence is all around us—in the near, the familiar, and the ordinary—if only we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear. The Gospel urges us to view the familiar and the ordinary with fresh perspectives. The failure of the people of Nazareth to see in this way hindered what Jesus could accomplish among them. When we change our perspective, it opens up space for the Lord to work among us in new and profound ways.

Homily for Tuesday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Throughout the four Gospels, Jesus poses many different questions. Reflecting on these questions can be valuable. 

In today’s Gospel passage, we find one such question: “Who has touched my clothes?” The disciples were perplexed by this question, responding, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?'” After all, many people were touching Him.

However, Jesus was aware that one person had touched Him out of a deep act of hope as a final effort for healing. Although many were in contact with Him, one woman deliberately reached out in faith to make personal and physical contact. When Jesus realized who it was, He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you.” 

The Lord is always present; He walks among us, often unnoticed. The woman in today’s Gospel demonstrates the power of intentionally reaching out to the Lord. By doing so, we can experience His life-giving presence in our lives more profoundly.

Homily for Monday of the 4th Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel reading presents an unsettling story about a man possessed by demons. He was out of control, perhaps feeling detached from himself and others. Living among the tombs, he was more dead than alive and was considered an absolute outsider. However, Jesus engaged with him, and as a result of their encounter, the man was healed, and his relationship with his community was restored. 

Having just calmed a storm at sea, Jesus also calmed the storm within this man's mind and spirit and sent him out as a messenger of good news to his community.

While we may never experience such extreme turmoil as this man did, there are times when we can all feel out of sorts—disconnected from ourselves and others, feeling only half alive and tossed about by life's challenges. In those moments, we need to come before the Lord, just as the man in the Gospel did. His initial approach to Jesus was quite aggressive, filled with anger: "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God" This can be a similar starting point for us when we are distressed and pray to the Lord.

Yet, Jesus is never put off by our inner turmoil. If we allow Him, He will fill our hearts with His peace and calm us, just as He calmed the storm. Once we find that peace, He will send us out to share His mercy and tranquility with others, just as He sent out the man in the Gospel.