Sunday-Solemnity Homilies: Preaching the Gospel

Readings: Am 6:1,4-7; Ps 146; 1 Tim 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31 It’s not always what we do, is it? It’s often what we fail to do. It’s our sins of omission that create that “great chasm” that can separate you and me from the salvation God desires for us.

Readings: Sir 3:17-18,20,28-29; Ps 68; Heb 12:18-19,22-24; Lk 14:1,7-14 "For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted" [Lk 14:11]. Because we are all completely dependent on God's grace, in His eyes, none of us is greater than another. Jesus invites us join those God has specially chosen, the poor, the ill, the forgotten, the dying.

Readings: Jer 38:4-6,8-10; Ps 40; Heb 12:1-4, 8-19; Lk 12:49-53 "I have come to bring fire to the earth" [Lk 12:49]. Yes, Jesus calls for fire, but it's a fire of purification. It's a fire of a new creation, the fire that brings the Church into being and continues to cleanse and purify her, always calling her back to her holy beginnings.

Readings: Wis 18:6-9; Ps 33; Heb 11:1-2, 8-19; Lk 12:32-48 As Christians we're called to make the love of Christ real in other people, to reach out with the love of Jesus Christ, helping others realize they are loved, not just by you, but also by a God whose love knows no bounds. We have all been entrusted with much, and some of us with even more, and so let's trust in the Lord and keep busy doing His work in the world.

Readings Gn 18:1-10a; Ps 15; Col 1:24-28; Lk 10:38-42 If our lives are spent solely in activity - only in the serving - we can't take the time to know our God through prayer and attentiveness to His Word. It's through prayer, listening to His Word, and the grace of the sacraments, that we can come to know God, and develop the kind of personal relationship that Jesus wants with us. It's only through that relationship that we can continue to deepen our love for God.

Readings: Is 55:10-11 • Ps 65 • Rom 8:18-23 • Mt 13:1-23 Jesus is the Word, the Incarnate Word of God, and so He teaches, and heals, and forgives through His Word and His Work. God expects us, His disciples, to join Him in this work of sowing. Each time you open your Bible, or take time to pray together, or carry God's love to another, or gather together at Mass, or feed the hungry, or visit the sick or imprisoned, more seeds are scattered, more risks are taken!

Readings: Gn 14:18-20; Ps 110; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Lk 9:11-17 On the Cross Jesus gave all of humanity its greatest gift. Through His death, and the shedding of that precious Blood, he redeemed us from our sins and opened the gates of eternal life. At the Last Supper Jesus anticipated His sacrificial death on the cross the following day. And by doing so, He gave us another gift, the Eucharist.

Readings: Prv 8:22-31; Ps 8; Rom 5:1-5; Jn 16:12-15 "The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity" -- the day we celebrate what must be considered the key tenet of our faith as Christians. The Trinity. The Trinity is Love. In the Trinity we see the same kind of love that God demands of us; for we are called to love God and love each other.

Readings: Acts 2:1-11; 1Cor 12:3b-7,12-13; Ps 104; John 20:19-23 What power the Spirit has! Suddenly, 120 men and women, a fearful band of followers, were transformed into something very different. The mighty breath of God and the fire of the Spirit's presence engulfed them. They were forever changed.

Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33; 1 Pet 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12 The first deacons, "filled with spirit and wisdom" [Acts 6:3], weren't ordained to hold high office. They were ordained to do little things, in some ways the littlest of things. We're a chosen race. Chosen by God Himself we are related, not by blood, but by faith. A royal priesthood with direct access to God and the responsibility to bring others to Him as well. A holy (not a political) nation, a nation set apart and consecrated to God's service.

Readings: Is 7:10-14; 8:10; Ps 40; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38 "Mary, full of grace" [Lk 1:28] the angel exclaimed, and that's exactly what he meant. Here Mary reminds us how to celebrate Lent. She's the perfect Lenten figure because on this day she anticipates the Paschal Mystery. Mary, the perfect disciple, follows Jesus. She is blessed, not only because she bore God's Son, but also because she is the prime example of those who listen to the word of God and keep it.

Readings: Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15; Ps 103; 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12; Lk 13:1-9 "He pardons all your sins, heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion" [Ps 103:3-4]. We're called to thank God for His patience, to thank God for a life measured by all those Lents where we ended up no better than when we started.

Readings: Dt 26:4-10; Ps 91; Rom 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13 Lent is a time of optimism and renewal; a time to turn away from yesterday, focus on today, and look forward expectantly to tomorrow. During these 40 days, Jesus calls us to let the Holy Spirit lead us, to confront our own personal deserts.

Readings: 1 Sam 26:2,7-9,12-13,22-23; Ps 19; 1Cor 15:47-49; Lk 6:27-38 "...love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you" [Lk 6:27-28]. Open yourself to God in free obedience, open yourself to others in uncompelled love.

Readings: Lev 9:1-2, 17-18; Ps 103; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Mt 5:38-48 Jesus instructs us to offer no resistance to one who is evil. Forget about man's justice, He tells us. Don't worry about just compensation. We are instead called to overwhelm the wrongdoer with incredible generosity. We hear all this and are almost overwhelmed, but then Jesus adds: "So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” [Mt 5:48] He calls us to the perfection of the Beatitudes: to be poor in spirit; to hunger and thirst for righteousness, for justice; to seek meekness and purity of heart; to be merciful, a peacemaker…

Readings: Is 8:23-9:3; Ps 27; 1 Cor 1:10-13,17; Mt 4:12-23 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [Mt 4:17] Without conversion, without repentance, the Gospel really makes no sense. after all, the Gospel tells us to do all kinds of things that the world rejects. Only after we’ve changed, only after we’ve invited God into our lives and our hearts, only after we accept our sinfulness and repent, only then can we accept the Good News as Good News.

Readings: Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21 Mary is the God-bearer who brought Our Lord into the world and presented Him as the Father’s gift to all of humanity. It’s a gift of love, arising from God’s hope that we will turn from our sinfulness and accept Him into our hearts. It’s a gift of divine forgiveness, of His outrageous mercy, a gift that will trump the power of sin and overcome all hatred, violence, revenge, addiction…all the evils of the world. It’s a gift of Jesus Christ Himself, a gift we receive in a most special way in the Eucharist.

Readings: Sir 3:2-6,12-14; Ps 128; Col 3:12-21; Mt 2:13-15,19-23 With the family under attack by so many in our society today, the Holy family becomes an example, a model we must turn to. St. Jospeh should be a special model for all fathers.

Readings: Is 9:1-6; Psalm 96; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14 “…gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” [Lk 2:7]. God has not only made Himself known to us, but almost beyond imagining, He became one of us. We have a God Who has skin on, a God who took on a human body from the Virgin Mary through the power of the Spirit of God.

Readings: Is 35:1-6,10; Ps 146:6-10; Jas 5:7-10; Mt 11:2-11 “Are you the one who is to come, or do we look for another?” [Mt 11:3] Jesus is present and working through His Body, the Church, and He will come again in glory, but He must still come more fully into each of our lives.

Readings: Is 11:1-10; Ps 72; Rom 14:4-9; Mt 3:1-12 "Prepare the way of the Lord. Make Traight His paths."