St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Friday after Ash Wenesday

Many people—children and adults alike—often express fear when discussing the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This fear can come from various sources, but it usually centers on concerns about rejection or harsh judgment. Individuals may worry that the priest will think less of them or that God is angry with them. Some may even fear their own self-judgment.

 

However, it’s important to understand that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is about mercy—not anger. It emphasizes God’s mercy and His desire for us to be close to Him. When we distance ourselves from God through sin, all we need to do is turn to Him with genuine remorse. God will always welcome us back with open arms.

 

As we enter Lent, let’s strive to be humble in heart and open ourselves to God’s constant and loving mercy.

Homily for Thursday After Ash Wednesday

In our reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, we receive the message to "Choose life" by loving and following God. Our lives here on earth involve a constant struggle to balance our desire for a good life, our material needs, and our spiritual growth in our relationship with God. Achieving balance is essential.

Today's readings encourage us to seek the good things of the Lord above all else. In pursuing these, we discover true happiness and fulfillment. While meeting our needs in this life is important, we must put God and our need for Him first in everything we do.

Let us pray during this Lenten season to always put God first in our lives and allow our love for God to guide our thoughts and actions.

 

Homily for Ash Wednesday

The theme of returning is prominent in the Ash Wednesday readings, especially in the reading from the Book of Joel: “Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart... Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.”

However, such a return must be genuine, according to the prophet. It requires the heartfelt acknowledgment of our grief over our separation from God. Simply tearing our exterior garments, a traditional expression of mourning, is not enough.

Scripture also warns against allowing our hearts to grow hard, as happened to many who wandered through the desert with Moses. Their faith and trust eroded in the face of difficult circumstances. The danger to our faith and spiritual lives is that a hardened heart fails to feel its grief, recognize its separation, or experience a desire to return to God.

We should offer a prayer of repentance, as echoed in today’s psalm: “A clean heart create in me, O God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.” Anyone who has experienced separation from a loved one—be it a spouse, family member, or friend—knows how challenging it can be to decide to return to the relationship, to reconcile, and to seek forgiveness for the wrongs that have strained it. “I’m not going to be the one to make the first move,” we often find ourselves saying. And, filled with the pride that has hardened our hearts, we deny ourselves the true treasure of returning: reconciliation.

When God is the loved one, though, the situation is different. With God, there is always an invitation for reconciliation because God’s principal desire is for our love. With boundless grace and mercy, God continually invites us to return to relationship, telling us, “Now is the acceptable time.” God doesn’t want us to wait. “Yet even now,” God says, “return to me with your whole heart.”

In truth, any separation in a relationship provides an opportunity for self-examination, fostering absolute honesty about our intentions when making decisions, and acknowledging our tendency to prioritize our needs above those of others. With hearts open to God, we must ask ourselves, “What aspects of my life and my attitude need to be recreated in line with gospel values?”

For each of us—especially those whose hearts have been hardened by pain, suffering, grief, loss, or deep disappointment—the liturgical year offers a time when we, as a community and as individuals, can reflect on our lives and our hearts and accept God’s loving invitation to be created anew. The symbolism of ashes is especially significant in this process of new creation. The ancient Jewish tradition noted in Scripture regarded ashes as a sign of repentance, a symbol of what once was, now being no more.

Today, with the symbol of ashes prominently displayed on our foreheads, we are visibly reminded that, by returning our hearts to God through repentance and God’s generous forgiveness, we can be reconciled to the God who loves us. So on this Ash Wednesday, as we enter the season of Lent—a period of spiritual recovery through returning and repentance—it is also important to reflect on the words of the prophet Isaiah: “For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength.’”

Homily for Tuesday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus appears annoyed and frustrated with His disciples. Despite everything they have witnessed during their time with Him, they do not seem to grasp who He is. Moreover, He realizes that not only do they fail to understand Him, but they will also eventually abandon Him. Yet, these very disciples will begin what is, so far, a 2,000-year tradition of passing on the faith.

 

In the closing chapter of Mark’s Gospel, a young man sitting in the tomb tells Mary Magdalene and Salome, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; He is not here. Behold the place where they laid Him. But go and tell His disciples and Peter, He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see Him, as He told you.”

 

Despite their shortcomings, Jesus meets with them again in Galilee to renew their calling. The Gospel shows that Jesus remains faithful to us, even when we struggle to be faithful to Him. He goes ahead of us into every situation we face, calling us from our failures back to begin again.

Homily for Monday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time

In today's Gospel passage, St. Mark shows Jesus responding with a deep sigh to the Pharisees' arguments and their request for a sign. He asks, "Why does this generation seek a sign?"

 

As we listen to this story unfold, it's hard to miss the frustration in the Lord's sigh, which comes from "the depths of His spirit." We've all experienced similar sighs of frustration in ourselves and others, and we recognize the emotion they convey. But why was Jesus sighing? What caused His frustration with the Pharisees?

 

Many religious people have been tempted throughout history to seek extraordinary signs and visions from heaven. However, Jesus constantly directs our attention to the ordinary moments where we can find the divine. He uses examples like the sower who goes out to plant seeds, the woman who searches for a lost coin, the Samaritan who helps a stranger on the road, and the man who unexpectedly discovers treasure in his field. The list goes on.

 

When we only look for God in miraculous events, we risk missing His presence in the everyday moments of our lives, where He is always present. Often, in these ordinary experiences, we find the mystery of God's kingdom, since Creation is filled with His glory.

Homily for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Several years ago, the late actor Michael Landon was driving on the freeway in LA. It was hot. Traffic was congested. Horns were honking, tempers were flaring, and drivers were exchanging assorted gestures with one another.

As he sat in his car watching all of this, he asked, “Why is so much energy wasted on anger? What would happen if we used that energy on kindness instead?”

It was then that he began to think about creating a television series dedicated to the idea that kindness, and not anger, will best address the problems of our world. That idea spawned the television series, “Highway to Heaven.”

The theme of the show was the same point Jesus makes: to show kindness to others, even when we are treated unkindly.

Kindness blesses the person to whom we are kind, and it also blesses us.

When he was 19, Landon was paid $260 for his first TV acting job. He felt so rich that he went to Beverly Hills to look in the store windows.

As he passed by a toy store, he saw two boys looking through the window at the toys inside. He stopped and asked them which toys they liked best. One boy pointed to a wagon, the other to a model airplane. He took them inside and bought the wagon and the model airplane for them.

The boys were filled with great excitement and joy. What surprised Landon most was the thrill that he got from his act of kindness. It was more satisfying than anything he had experienced before. And more lasting, he would remember it for the rest of his life.

Today’s readings invite us to ask ourselves how much kindness is present in our lives; to look at our own lives and our love, and to ask how they compare to the life and love Jesus describes in His Sermon on the Mount; to ask what would happen if we took the energy we now expend on anger and expend it on kindness. How would our lives and the lives of others change and become happier?

Kindness is a tremendous power, and our supply of it is unlimited. The more we give of it, the more there is to give, much like the loaves and fish Jesus gave to the hungry crowd.

Let us pray, then, that God will help us to appreciate the power of kindness and that He will help us to use this power to bring happiness, peace, and joy to those around us.

Homily for the Memorial of Sts. Cyril & Methodius

In today's Gospel passage, we hear the well-known story of Jesus feeding a hungry crowd. He did so with only seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Interestingly, even though He could have, Jesus didn’t create the bread or fish out of nothing. Instead, He used what the people offered, emphasizing the value of our gifts—even those that may seem small—and encouraging us to trust that God will do great things with them.

 

During His ministry, Jesus didn’t use magic words or wave a wand to make things happen instantly. Instead, He relied on the gifts, talents, words, and actions of the people around Him. From the very beginning, the Lord didn’t just make us beneficiaries of His grace; He made us coworkers and partners in His mission, and we continue that mission today.

 

May we always remember that we can and should offer our gifts, talents, and commitment to the mission of our Lord, and may we trust that He will bring our efforts to fulfillment.

Homily for Friday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time

In our Gospel reading, we come across the uncommon word "ephphatha," which means "be opened." This phrase encourages us to recognize the many opportunities we have to invite God's friendship and forgiveness into our lives and those of the people we love and meet.

 

"Ephphatha" calls us to appreciate and be thankful for our identity and for everything we have received from God. It urges us to listen for God's voice amid the constant noise and distractions around us and to seek His presence when we feel overwhelmed by anger, jealousy, or disappointment.

 

Let "ephphatha" be our prayer as we strive to stay open to God's presence in both joyful and difficult times. This openness will help us share God's compassion, mercy, and love with our families, friends, and everyone we meet.

 

Homily for Thursday of the 5th Week in Ordinary Time

Focusing on one thing can often cause us to overlook something else. Even Jesus seems hesitant to shift His attention from His chosen people, Israel, to the Gentile woman. There’s no clear way to soften Jesus’ seemingly harsh reply except to suggest that He did not want to repeat the mistakes of Solomon, who allowed himself to be led astray by foreign women.

 

The woman’s humility, perseverance, and love for her child soften the impact of Jesus’ initial refusal. She does not seek personal gain or selfish pleasure; instead, her plea is for her daughter’s well-being. She responds to Jesus’ difficult words by saying, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” This clever reply addresses His first objections and leads to her daughter’s healing. It stands as a strong example of how gentle perseverance can be rewarded.

Homily for the Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes

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

 

The heart represents a person's inner core, encompassing both light and darkness. It can be a reservoir for goodness or become a channel for evil. One powerful image in our faith is the Sacred Heart of Jesus—a figure that was prominent in my home while I was growing up and still holds significance today. This image represents God's inner core, which embodies completely selfless love. This love was fully revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, showing a love that is deeply creative and life-giving.

 

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