Catholic Homilies 2010

Current Homilies

The Flight from Bethlehem "Some early legends have come down to us about the flight from Bethlehem...'" (December 26, 2010 - Holy Family Sunday)

Let Him Come In "A Catholic priest had the custom of visiting his parishioners on Saturday afternoon. He came to one home and knocked on the door. No one answered, but he could hear the radio playing and even some footsteps so he knew someone had to be inside...'" (December 25, 2010 - Christmas Homily)

Why Honor Mary? "The story is told about a man who asked, 'I don't understand why you Catholics make such a big deal about Mary. I don't see much difference between her and my mom...'" (December 19, 2010 - Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year A)

From Despair to Joy "'Why do you want to end your pregancy?' he asked. She replied that when she told her boyfriend, he said he was going to leave her..." (December 12, 2010 - Third Sunday of Advent - Year A)

Silence, Sin, Spirit "When he went to gaming rooms, time stood still. Hours passed quickly. Pascal got home late and the next day felt miserable and exhausted. But he knew what would make him feel better..." (December 5, 2010 - Second Sunday of Advent - Year A)

Please Hold the Applause "As Pope Benedict observed, applause indicates that have strayed from the basic purpose of the Mass..." (November 28, 2010 - First Sunday of Advent - Year A)

The King Over All Kings "Unlike Mexico in the twenties (or the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany) we enjoy religious freedom. At the same time we must be vigilant. Government can infringe on what ultimately belongs to God. Let me give three examples..." (November 21, 2010 - Christ the King Sunday - Year C)

The Virtue of Hope "Bishop Sheen distinguished between the virtue and the emotion of hope. 'The emotion of hope,' he said, 'centers on the body and is a kind of dreamy desire that we can be saved without much effort...'" (November 14, 2010 - Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob "He wrote these words on a piece of parchment: 'The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' He sewed those words on the inside of his vest and each time they wore away, he replaced them - right up to the time of his death..." (November 7, 2010 - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Salvation "At a Catholic Stewardship Conference one of the speakers said, 'Stewardship is another word for salvation.' At first his statement seemed exaggerated, even self-serving..." (October 31, 2010 - Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Posture at Mass "In a little over a year, we will have a revised translation of the Mass prayers. I believe this new translation will help us have the correct posture during Mass..." (October 24, 2010 - Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Persistent Prayer - The Eucharist "Francis wrote a short letter to his fellow clerics (he was a deacon himself). In the letter he says, ´In this world we have and see nothing corporally of the Most High except his Body and Blood.´..." (October 17, 2010 - Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

The New Copernican Revolution "This Sunday's readings call us to a New Copernican Revolution. The first Copernican Revolution takes its name from a Polish clergyman named Nicolas Copernicus..." (October 10, 2010 - Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Questions That Lead to Faith "Habakkuk teaches us that - in the face of human suffering - it is not wrong to question God. He shows that honest questions can lead to faith..." (October 3, 2010 - Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

The Choice: Heaven or Hell "Most of the references to hell in the New Testament come from one person - Jesus himself. It would be comforting if I could tell you that Jesus taught that hell is only a temporary state, that someday we will all get to heaven..." (September 26, 2010 - Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

That Dishonest Steward "A man I know suffered a public disgrace. It cost him his job and even merited an article in the local newspaper..." (September 19, 2010 - Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

God's Persepective "To understand how God seeks the lost human soul, C.S. Lewis proposed this image..." (September 12, 2010 - Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

What the Key Costs "If you want the key to a car, it will cost quite a bit. If you want the key to a home, be prepared to make an even greater expense. If you want the key to heaven, you will have to make the greatest sacrifice..." (September 5, 2010 - Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

The Key to the Narrow Gate "Many people feel guilty about certain behaviors, but instead of facing up to what they are doing, they want to change the definition of marriage. Now, I am not bringing this up because I think many in our congregation are tempted to that particular sin...'" (August 29, 2010 - Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

More Important Than Life Or Death "When he was a young man, he went through a time of terrible anguish. He had the strong impression of being excluded from the saved, of being destined for eternal damnation...'" (August 22, 2010 - Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

I Am In Love "Sometimes people ask why I don't get more emotional or dramatic in my homilies..." (August 15, 2010 - Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary)

Hour Least Expected "A number of years back, a burglar broke into the rectory where I lived. He didn't send a note...'" (August 8, 2010 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

This Very Night "His life preserver had a small red light, which a life boat saw and hauled him aboard. He told about looking back at the sinking ship and seeing tiny red lights 'like a Christmas tree...'" (August 1, 2010 - Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Try God "You have tried everything else. This Sunday Jesus invites you to try God...'" (July 25, 2010 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

The Difference Between Martha and Mary "Martha wanted Jesus to listen to her, while Mary wanted to listen to Jesus...'" (July 18, 2010 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Go and Do Likewise "When I opened the box, it contained three eggs and ten one-dollar-bills. I asked Sr. Barbara about it. She seemed a little embarrassed, but then told me that every time I gave a bad homily, she put an egg into the box...'" (July 11, 2010 - Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Healing the Family Tree "We know from medicine that we all inherit genetic predispositions - for example to diabetes or hypertension or certain kinds of cancer. Something similar happens in the spiritual life...'" (July 4, 2010 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Celibacy vs. Not Getting Married "Pope Benedict noted that many people today criticize celibacy. 'In a certain sense,' he observed, 'this continuous criticism against celibacy may surprise, in a time when it is becoming increasingly fashionable not to get married...'" (June 27, 2010 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Why Go to Mass - Part 2 "At Mass we look upon the one who was pierced for us. In doing so, we participate in the mystery of his suffering, death and resurrection. To illustrate how this happens, I would like to tell a story..." (June 20, 2010 - Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Who Even Forgives Sins "Once Bishop Sheen told about a priest who visited a mining community. When he arrived, the miners lined up for confession..." (June 13, 2010 - Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C)

Why Do I Have To Go To Mass? "So, to return to our original question: Why do I have to go to Mass? The answer is simple..." (June 6, 2010 - Corpus Christi Feast of Body and Blood of Christ

I Have Much More to Tell You "To illustrate misconceptions about happiness in heaven, I begin with a humorous story. It happened that a cat died and since it was a good cat, it went to heaven..." (May 30, 2010 - Trinity Sunday)

The Power of the Holy Spirit "In the days of Robin Hood, lived a man who opened himself to the power of the Holy Spirit..." (May 23, 2010 - Pentecost Sunday)

That the World May Believe "It takes work to communicate and develop a common vision. I received a good testimony this week at the National Day of Prayer here in Monroe..." (May 16, 2010 - Seventh Sunday of Easter)

Disappear vs. Leave "There is a difference between 'leaving' and 'disappearing.' At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we are in a better position to understand how someone can disappear from sight - and still be very close..." (May 13 or 16, 2010 - Ascension of the Lord)

Some Say Love "the journalist said, 'I wouldn't do that for all the gold in the world.' Mother Teresa replied, 'Neither would I...'" (May 2, 2010 - Fifth Sunday of Easter)

One With The Father "Jesus is not talking here about something that kicks in after we die. No, that new life ("eternal life") begins now - or it does not begin at all..." (April 25, 2010 - Fourth Sunday of Easter)

The Readiness is All "To bring souls to Jesus, we must spend time - daily - in prayer and also do our part to keep the boat and nets in good repair. The readiness is all..." (April 18, 2010 - Third Sunday of Easter)

Believing is Seeing "There is no way you can prove that someone should do good and avoid evil. You simply have to accept that principle - and get on with it. It may cause surprise, but doing scientific research also involves a leap of faith..." (April 11, 2010 - Second Sunday of Easter)

Forgiven "At the end of the day, our salvation does not depend on what the pope has or has not done..." (April 4, 2010 - Easter Sunday)

Do Not Waste Your Suffering "The pope held him by the shoulders - and looking into his eyes - said, 'Do not waste your suffering...'" (April 2, 2010 - Good Friday)

Foot Washing & Celibacy "By washing the Apostles' feet, Jesus underscores an essential dimension of the prieshood - humble service, at the disposition to all. We see that service and availability in the charism of celibacy - that from the beginning has been associated with the priesthood. Yes, the priest is a married man with children. My bride is the Church - and you are my sons and daughters..." (April 1, 2010 - Holy Thursday)

The Good Thief "As a help to meditating on the Passion, I would like to tell you about a man identified with the good thief. It is a true story and it contains an element of humor..." (March 28, 2010 - Palm Sunday)

From Misery to Joy "St. Thomas Aquinas said, 'No man can live without joy. That is why one deprived of spiritual joy goes over to carnal pleasures.'...In today's Gospel, we see a woman who sought joy in a desperate way..." (March 21, 2010 - Fifth Sunday of Lent)

A New Creation "People today tend to look at heaven as one more entitlement program - like Social Security. You pay something into it and when you retire, you get the benefits.** Heaven does not work that way. The younger son, he understood what heaven means..." (March 14, 2010 - Fourth Sunday of Lent)

Purpose of the Church "Today's Gospel brings to mind a conversation between two young men. One was a cradle Catholic, who later left the Church. The other had been brought up in no religion, but joined the Catholic Church when he was in college..." (March 7, 2010 - Third Sunday of Lent)

Freedom from False Gods "Some have become enemies of the cross - 'their god is their stomach.' Rather than eating to live, they live to eat. Here are some signs that food has become a false god..." (February 28, 2010 - Second Sunday of Lent)

Who Is Like God? "The devil cannot stand it when we exalt God. Like an immature Hollywood star, he hates it if someone praises his rival. When the devil tempts you, do not speak directly to him..." (February 21, 2010 - First Sunday of Lent)

Two Cheers for Catholic Guilt "Compared to that kind of guilt, I'll take 'Catholic guilt' any day..." (February 17, 2010 - Ash Wednesday )

Trust "I'd like to tell you about a man who had a beautiful trust in God. It is Valentine story because it's about how he found his wife..." (February 14, 2010 - Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C)

Cleanse My Lips "I mentioned that I had just read an interesting study. Evidently, scientists had discovered that if two people kiss in a certain way some strands of DNA remain in each other's saliva - forever. My niece began making spitting gestures..." (February 7, 2010 - Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C)

Three Levels of Love "Love is not a feeling; love is a decision. That is the second level of love - to make a decision and follow through. Dr. Martin Luther King described this second level of love..." (January 31, 2010 - Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C)

Certainty of the Teachings "When people pick up a Bible, they sometimes ask, 'What if somebody just made up these stories? How do I know the Bible is true?' I'd like to give you some reasons this Sunday..." (January 24, 2010 - Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C)

Each Holding Twenty to Thirty Gallons "Those who follow God's path can expect visible blessings. A recent best-selling book measured the blessings that come to those who believe in God and practice their faith... (January 17, 2010 - Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C)

Saved Through the Bath of Rebirth "It seems extraordinary that so much can depend on something so small: a bit of flowing water and a small piece of bread. But when you think about it, it is not so strange. Matters of great moment often depend on something very small. Physicists speculate..." (January 10, 2010 - Baptism of the Lord)

Three Types of People "There are only three types of people; those who have found God and serve him; those who have not found God and seek him, and those who live not seeking, or finding him. The first are rational and happy; the second unhappy and rational, and the third foolish and unhappy..." (January 3, 2010 - Epiphany Sunday)

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