St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus often seemed frustrated with those who sought signs yet were unwilling to put their faith in the power bestowed upon Him by His Father in heaven. He understood that no sign would truly inspire their faith; they would be entertained by the spectacle of the sign but would ultimately move on to something else, completely missing the power and authority behind it.

Jesus referenced the sign of Jonah, explaining how, as a "mere" prophet, Jonah led the Ninevites to repentance. He emphasized that someone far greater than Jonah was among them, but they couldn't recognize Him for who He truly was or comprehend His purpose because He appeared too ordinary.

Let us earnestly pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance to help us discern when Jesus's power and presence are at work in the seemingly ordinary moments of our lives. This recognition can open the door to a deeper faith in God's boundless love, unending mercy, and His active presence in our daily lives.

Homily for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the story of the ten lepers, St. Luke notes that only one of them realized he had been made “clean.” There is no mention of the other nine being aware of their healing.

At what moment did the Samaritan leper come to this realization? Did part of the rag covering him slip, allowing him to see a patch of healthy skin? Did he feel a surge of energy he hadn’t experienced in years? Did he suddenly discover that his arms, hands, legs, and feet were whole again, enabling him to stand straight, walk, run, or grab his walking stick or bag? Did he sense the ugly wounds drying up, the constant stinging subsiding, and the persistent stench disappearing? Or perhaps he noticed that no one was staring at him anymore, that he was no longer the object of scorn or ridicule, and that passersby no longer avoided him. Maybe someone even smiled at him!

For the first time in many years, the leper felt physically well. He found himself no longer on the fringes of society but welcomed into it. The now-healed leper realized that his life was filled with possibilities, recognizing that this encounter with Jesus had given him a new lease on life.

The moment he realized he was “clean” or healed must have been an extraordinary experience of joy and gratitude.

Some people never experience that moment of realization that the grateful leper did; they remain unaware of how much they have received from God. Instead, they mourn what they lack, consumed by disappointment and cynicism. Their self-absorption isolates them from others, trapping them in a cycle of fear, distrust, and hopelessness.

However, if we approach life with a sense of faith, there will be many moments when we realize just how much God loves us, even when life is not easy or does not meet our expectations. Each person’s moments of realization will be different, but they are there; we simply need to open our hearts and surrender our wants and desires to the mercy and goodness of God.

We pray that our lives may be illuminated by the realization that we have been made “whole” by our loving God—created in God’s image, sustained by God’s forgiveness, and transformed by God’s grace.

Homily for Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel reading is the shortest in the Lectionary, consisting of only two verses. In this passage, we see a brief exchange between Jesus and a woman who was so moved by His teaching that she spontaneously called Jesus' mother blessed for being His mother. However, Jesus expanded the blessing to a larger group, saying, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."

In this larger group, Jesus' mother plays a significant role. Mary, a shining example of devotion, heard the word of God and kept it better than anyone else. Her attitude was always, "Let it be done to me according to your word." Mary is blessed not only because of her motherhood but also because she dedicated herself to hearing and doing God's word. Her unwavering commitment to God's teachings inspires us all, encouraging us to follow in her footsteps.

Homily for Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary time

Some people tried to test Jesus by asking Him to show a miracle from heaven to prove that He was working on God's behalf. They didn't realize how God was already present and at work in Jesus' ministry. Jesus said that if He was able to drive out demons by God's power, then it was clear that God was helping Him, even if people didn't understand it. He didn't need to perform a miracle to show that He had authority.

Even today, some people are still fascinated by amazing and miraculous events. It is sad to miss how God is with us through the kindness, good deeds, and prayers of others. In our daily lives, it can be easy to overlook these essential truths.

On a war memorial in Kilkenny, Ireland, the words of Irish Republican, poet, and journalist Joseph Mary Plunkett are engraved: "I see His blood upon the rose and in the stars the glory of His eyes." He recognized the presence of Jesus in nature. The finest aspects of human nature and relationships can convey the presence and action of God in our lives even more profoundly.

Homily for Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary time

Perseverance is rooted in the conviction that we will ultimately achieve our objectives. In today's Gospel, St. Luke employs the term "persistence" instead of "perseverance," which implies a kind of determined resilience. 

This idea resonates with the Jewish cultural value of hospitality, even to those who arrive at inconvenient times. While it may seem unusual to disturb a neighbor at midnight for assistance, Jesus' parable emphasizes that if we are persistent, the door will be opened to us. 

This imagery reflects God's willingness to care for us, much like parents provide for their children. According to Jesus, the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask, which the Gospel writers, especially St. Luke, regard as the greatest gift from God.

Homily for Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus was committed to prayer, even during the busy and stressful times of His life. His dedication to prayer inspired His disciples to seek guidance, prompting them to say, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." They understood that to pray effectively, they would need significant help. Prayer is not merely a human activity; it is an expression of God's work within us, guided by the Holy Spirit.

The disciples' request, "Lord, teach us to pray," is itself a form of prayer. In response, Jesus provided them with the Lord's Prayer, which introduces essential principles of prayer. It begins with an act of worship, focusing on God's glory and will before making any requests for our needs. This serves as a model for all our prayers. We begin by honoring God and then entrusting our needs to Him, cultivating in ourselves a sense of reverence and humility.

Homily for the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

As we celebrate the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, we are reminded that the Rosary invites us to reflect on the significant mysteries of Jesus' life, death, and Resurrection, thereby deepening our relationship with Him. Additionally, the Joyful Mysteries highlight the life and faith of Mary.

St. Luke portrays Mary as a contemplative figure who thoughtfully considers all that occurs in the life of her Son. She exemplifies the mindset and heart we are encouraged to bring to our prayers of the Rosary.

In praying the Rosary, we cherish and meditate on the key moments in Jesus' life on earth and His return to God the Father, as well as those of Mary. Mary not only contemplated what God was accomplishing through Jesus' words and actions, but she also surrendered herself to His will, as demonstrated by her response to the angel Gabriel: "May it be done to me according to your word." This spirit of surrender transformed her life and has the potential to transform ours, helping us become the people God created us to be.

Homily for Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel, a lawyer asks Jesus two important questions. First, he wants to know, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus encourages him to think about the command to love God and love your neighbor.

Next, the lawyer asks, “And who is my neighbor?” He may be asking this to justify why he doesn’t treat everyone as his neighbor. In response, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.

When we look closely at the parable, we see that it does not directly answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Instead, it answers a different question: “Which of these three people acted like a neighbor?” The parable shows what it means to be a true neighbor. Jesus implies that being a neighbor is more important than simply defining who a neighbor is. The main lesson is that everyone is our neighbor.

We could also say that the answer to the lawyer’s first question—“What must I do to inherit eternal life?”—is to be a good neighbor. If you want to understand what it means to be a neighbor, look at the Samaritan’s actions. The priest, the Levite, and the Samaritan all see the wounded man on the road. What sets the Samaritan apart is that he chooses to help.

The priest and the Levite likely saw the wounded man but focused only on their religious laws, which they thought were more important than showing kindness. Their way of thinking stopped them from helping. In contrast, the Samaritan’s point of view was filled with compassion and mercy. This perspective is similar to how Jesus views others. So, His answer to the lawyer’s first question is: “Be a good neighbor, just like I am.”

Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Technology brings news to our attention in ways that it was never able to do in the past. With cable TV, the internet, and news alerts on our mobile phones and tablets, we receive news as it happens, literally. Unfortunately, so much of that news is “bad news.” There are times when it seems like we never hear any good news, and our awareness of all the turmoil in our world can cause us to start feeling despair.

Sometimes, the response to all the bad news is to simply look to civil authorities to take responsibility for everything that needs to be done. Sometimes, the reaction to all the bad news is to seek only a rational response, instead of a prayerful one.

People of faith come in many different varieties: some people simply pray for miracles. Then there are those who “go into the trenches,” so to speak, to get things done, but who do so with a sense of prayer. They pray to God for the strength and wisdom to deal with the problems they are trying to tackle, and they also make their work a prayer.

Our Scripture readings today all point to the unity of prayer and service. People like St. Vincent de Paul, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and Dorothy Day, who began the Catholic Worker Movement, were people who believed in the power of God but also believed that God gave them specific gifts, talents, and abilities to bring the grace of God into some severe problems in our world; people who used these gifts to make better the lives of the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed. Their prayers and their actions were tightly interwoven.

Indeed, we cannot go through the world as people who right every wrong. But, we can go through life praying for every suffering person and taking action in the part of the world where we live.

This week, some of the young people of our parish will begin their final preparation for the Sacrament of Confirmation. In a few months, when they celebrate their Confirmation, it will be the culmination of their formal catechetical training for the past several years and the beginning of a new commitment to practicing their faith in worship, word, and action.

Part of the final preparation for Confirmation always involves service to those in need and a reflection on how this service to the needy is an integral part of the faith life of every Christian. Every Christian needs to make this connection and live it out as much as possible, especially for the teens of our Church.

The young people of our Church are not just the future of the Church; they are also the Church of the present time. At every stage of our lives, we are not only called but also given the gifts to bring our lives to prayer and then to go back and make a positive impact on the lives of those with whom we come into contact, especially those most in need. We’re never too young and never too old to answer that call in some way. And God is with us, every step of the way, to guide us, to be with us, and to work through us.This week, let us take at least one opportunity to pray for someone we know who is struggling or suffering and then to reach out, even in a small way, to let them know that we care.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi

It is natural for us to feel proud of our work, especially when we do it well. The disciples come back happy after a successful mission, excitedly telling Jesus that they were able to cast out demons. Jesus appreciates their success but tells them to focus on something more important. What matters most is that their names are written in heaven. 

The greatest joy for them—and for us—is our relationship with God. It is this connection with God that makes our work meaningful. Jesus said, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see." The disciples recognized that God is present in Jesus and believed in His special connection with the Father, feeling part of that relationship. This connection is the true source of their joy after they have done their best. 

Sharing in Jesus' relationship with God is our greatest treasure, more valuable than any accomplishments we may have in life. This relationship is what "many prophets and kings wanted to see and hear," and it is the deepest reason we feel joy and gratitude. Even when our working lives end, our connection with God through Jesus continues.