Last fall, I told you the story of Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian missionary in Turkey, assassinated while praying in his church in 2006. Father Santoro was an example of someone who “counted the cost” by going to a dangerous country full of anti-Christianity to care for a small Catholic community and witness to […]

Read more "“Counting the Cost” — Sermon for the XXIII Sunday through the Year, C"

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”           Two thousand years later, many of us have the same question. Whenever I teach on the necessity of Baptism for salvation, or the other means established by Christ to help us get to Heaven like Confession and the Eucharist, and the necessity of using those means, […]

Read more "“Real Friends” — Sermon for the XXI Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"

            When I was in college, I heard a homily in which the priest challenged us to come up with a political philosophy using only the words of Christ from the Gospels. Later that week in my political science class, the cheeky professor who was also at that Mass told us what the priest had […]

Read more "“Being Set Ablaze” — Sermon for the XX Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"

“For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death for ‘he subjected everything under his feet.’”           There are two ways to defeat death. For most people, defeating death just means prolonging life. Many take this approach to medical care, prolonging life […]

Read more "“To Defeat Death” — Sermon for the Assumption of the B.V.M., A.D. MMXXV"

“You have to make a leap of faith.” Faith, to most of us, is what you do when you just cannot understand something that you’re supposed to believe. It seems a blind leap in the dark. This idea of faith is what leads many people to think of religious faith as a place of refuge […]

Read more "“Blind Faith?” — Sermon for the XIX Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"

          Money can’t buy happiness. If we took a poll here at church, or even from the general public, a solid majority of people would surely agree. Yet, if we believe the social scientists, it seems that at least some money is able to buy a good deal of happiness.           You’ve heard the horror […]

Read more "Bigger Hearts, not Bigger Barns — Sermon for the XVIII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXV"

          It feels good to be asked for things. We might grow impatient with people who are constantly asking for something from us, it’s good to know that someone else needs you. We all have a psychological need to be relied upon. This is why parents delight in giving gifts to their children, especially the […]

Read more "“Unanswered Prayers” — Sermon for the XVII Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"

          In most cultures, it is out of the ordinary to address someone by his or her name. Instead of emphasizing the distinct individuality of each person, they emphasize the rich web of relationships that holds people together. In Spanish, we have words for relationships that we don’t even name in English. The wife of […]

Read more "“The Power of a Name” — Sermon for the XVI Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"

          We are used to hearing the Good Samaritan story as a moral exhortation to be good neighbors. That’s a fruitful way to read our Lord’s parable, but it’s not the only way.           The man is nameless. He reminds us of Adam, whose name means “earthling.” The story of what happens to this man […]

Read more "“Trusting the Divine Physician” — Sermon for the XV Sunday through the Year, A.D. MMXXV"