Tagged: Gospel of Luke

The Two Towers: Homily for the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Once upon a time there were two towers. Both towers began to be constructed about the same time, in the late 1800s. Both were constructed in Europe and designed by European architects, and both of them were ambitious projects, with plans for multiple levels, huge arches, and decorative statues. Each structure was designed to reach high into the sky, and to be built of sturdy stone. And both of these towers are unfinished to this day. Both architects died during their construction, and neither building was ever completed....

The Spirit, the Desert, and Temptation: Homily for the First Sunday of Lent Year C

Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days, to be tempted by the devil.” Each year on the first Sunday of Lent we enter into this significant moment at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. He has just emerged from his baptism in the Jordan river only to be sent into the testing ground of the desert. As we accompany him into the wilderness, Jesus shows us how to live a life of Gospel conversion, how to begin anew. Today, as we begin the first...

The Greatest Love Letter of All Time – Homily for Word of God Sunday

About five or six years ago there was a poll to discover the world’s greatest love letter. After all the votes were tallied, the overwhelming favorite among all the love letters ever written, was a letter from country music singer Johnny Cash to his wife June Carter Cash for her 65th birthday. The letter was published in a book by their son about ten years ago, and it’s just a beautiful letter, brief, simple, and heartfelt, and it goes like this: Happy Birthday Princess, We get old and...

Sacrifice, Reconciliation, and Joy: Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family – Year C 2021

Today is the feast of the Holy Family, and as we look at the gospel reading today we might be reminded of a similar story, a more modern story. A story of a family taking a long trip during the holiday season who suddenly realize that they’ve left their young son home alone. I’m speaking of course of that 1990 movie Home Alone, where young Kevin McAllister believes he is being bullied by his older brothers and sisters, and ignored by his parents, so he wishes his family...

Strength to Face the Future: Homily for the First Sunday of Advent – Year C

In today’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples to “stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” In a bit of personal irony, I woke up this weekend unable to “stand erect” because of an excruciating pain in my back. I guess I must have tweaked something putting up the Christmas tree or carrying the box of holiday china. But it’s starting to feel better, and I have great hope that it will continue to heal. We human beings cannot live without hope. We’re unique...

Glad Tidings to the Poor: Homily for Christ the King

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, the last Sunday of our Church year. Today all of the themes of Jesus’ life and ministry come together in this one culminating feast here at the end of the year. Each liturgical year has its own particular character because of the fact that we read from one particular gospel. This year it’s been the Gospel according to Luke, and it’s good for us to look back over the year and try to see...

Stir into Flame the Gift of God: Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

It’s a beautiful October day today, and I have to admit that October is my favorite month. I love the colors of the leaves as they change, the foggy mornings that we often get, and the pumpkin spice food and beverages that show up in the stores and coffee shops. But I also love the feast days that come one after another in October: St. Teresa the Little Flower, the Guardian Angels, St. Francis of Assisi, and Our Lady of the Rosary. The month of October is also...

The Mysterious Package: Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Back around 1995 or 1996, I was teaching my 8th grade class about vocations and the different religious orders. Their assignment was to research a particular religious order and write a report to share with the class. Now this was around 1996 B.G. Before Google. There was no Internet, no search engines, no Wikipedia, no email, and so I had given them a magazine that listed addresses for all the different religious orders in the United States. They got into groups, chose a religious community, did some encyclopedia...

Ralphie from A Christmas Story

The Persistence of Ralphie: Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C

Being a parent or grandparent can be really strange. And one of the strangest things about it is when the kids start to imitate you. At first its kind of funny and cute, the way you make faces at them and they try to make faces back. They dress up as mommy or daddy, pretending to do grown up things. But it’s not so funny when they start imitating your bad habits or repeating certain words. As they get older they begin to admire other people and try...

Indiana Jones Banner

The Cup of a Carpenter: Homily for Corpus Christi

I read recently that filming is going to begin next year on the fifth Indiana Jones movie. I guess everybody knows who Indiana Jones is, the swashbuckling archaeologist, who goes in search of artifacts like the Ark of the Covenant. Well there’s a scene in the third Indiana Jones movie, The Last Crusade, that can speak to us today as we celebrate Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ. In The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones has spent the entire movie searching for the Holy Grail, the chalice...

Google Maps Rome

Navigation Apps and Repentance: Homily for the Third Sunday of Lent – Year C

One of the most useful apps on a smart phone is the Maps app. You type in an address of the place you want to go and you’re instantly given not only written directions for how to get there, but you also get a map that shows a path for how to get to your destination. You don’t even have to know the name or even the address of a place you’re trying to get to. You can simply type in “food near me” or “shopping near me.”...