21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 66: 18-21; Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13; Luke 13: 22-30

Originally delivered on August 27, 1989

Fr. Healy begins his homily with a funny story about the Holy Ghost Fathers. He reminds us that in today’s gospel, we are called to see everyone as part of the family of God.  This is the vision of Jesus.  Everyone is in, especially those that perhaps we would want to count out. Fr. Healy then brings the message to the current time by discussing the issues and laws that seem to count some people out.  As followers of Jesus, therefore, we must stand up against those things that hurt our brothers and sisters.

Readings: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53 

Originally delivered on August 16, 1992

In this week’s gospel, we hear the anger of God who proclaims, “I have come to light a fire on the earth.”  What have we done with God’s marvelous plan?  We are invited to reflect on the fact that Jesus’s crucifixion was legal.  Fr. Healy reflects on the writings of James Baldwin and the work of Mickey Leland.  He goes on to further share a poignant story of his experience in Africa leading a seminary and invites us to reflect on our likely sin of silence in the face of injustice in order to preserve ourselves and our own interests.  

Readings: Wisdom 18:6-9; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48

Originally delivered on August 13, 1989

In today’s homily, we hear about the family story of Abraham and Sarah and their son, Isaac. Through this story, we learn more about faith and are challenged to be like Abraham in listening to God, going to a place we don’t know, but are called to by God.  Then, in the gospel, we are told to let go, stop being so materialistic, and worried only about material things.  That is, we are to trust in God. We must ask ourselves if we truly trust in Jesus’s promise? Are we children of Abraham and Sarah in our actions? Finally, the gospel reminds us that “when much has been given a man, much will be required. More will be asked of a man to whom more has been entrusted.”

Originally delivered on January 5, 1992

Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12

In today’s Gospel we hear of the three foreigners coming to welcome the baby Jesus.  We too are called to welcome the foreigners, refugees, or aliens in our lives.  We also hear of Herod’s attempt to thwart God’s plan.  May we each hear this week’s Gospel and look at how we, like Herod, might be acting to thwart God’s plan here on earth. We are challenged, as Christians, to welcome all as our sisters and brothers by raising our voices in protest when some are excluded. 

https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/cepiphany-1-5-92.mp3

Originally delivered on December 18, 1988

Readings: Micah 5:1-4; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45

Elizabeth greets Mary as “the mother of my Lord.”  This Gospel reminds us that perhaps few of us are prophetic, like John the Baptist in last week’s reading, but many more are like Elizabeth. By accepting ourselves, as God has created us, we have the opportunity to bring God’s Grace to the world.  Through the simplicity of our roles and actions, we can make a difference in the world. By choosing life rather than death, light rather than darkness, and by caring for others rather than being judgmental, God’s presence is felt by others through us.

https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/c4a-12-18-88.mp3

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In anticipation of the coming of Jesus, a herald’s voice cries “Make ready the way of the Lord.” While recognizing that we live within an increasingly global village, we must start preparing the way by transforming our own neighborhoods. But we mustn’t stop there.  To “topple the mountains and fill in every valley,” we must look at the economic and political arrangements in our world that keep some poor and others wealthy, even if it makes us uncomfortable.

Originally delivered on November 27, 1988

Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Thessalonians 3:12-4:2; Luke 21:25-28,34-36

Advent is a time of waiting for the birth of Jesus. What we do while waiting is worth examining. Do we seize the opportunity to improve our current condition and the quality of tomorrow? If we don’t take action to make tomorrow better, how will we ever explain this to ourselves and to God?

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Originally delivered on November 15, 1992

Readings: Malachi 3:19-20; Thessalonians 3:7-12; Luke 21: 5-19

We live with earthquakes, famine, war, and all sorts of tragedies.  We needn’t fear the future because we are living in hell already. We also have the ability to bring the Risen Lord into our lives right now. We are not being scared by God by the darkness in our society or lives, but rather, we are told that we, each and every one of us, can bring lightness to the world.  We are reminded that life is indeed short, no matter how long we are here on Earth.  Time is precious.  We must act now to make our lives meaningful, by helping others and bringing God’s light to the world.  We are called to bring our deepest passion to the struggle, the struggle for justice and truth in a very cruel and unjust world, without nurturing a personal need for a tangible success.  We must trust in God to triumph and to give it meaning.  Each moment of our lives is a sacred grace.  Our witness counts.

Originally delivered on November 8, 1992

Readings: Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; Thessalonians 2:16 -3:5; Luke 20:27-38 or 20-27 , 34-38

How does our conscience shape our actions? Are we, like the seven sons and their mother from the Book of Maccabees, willing to die for what we believe?  In today’s homily, we are reminded that we may have to take a stand for something which will become irrelevant at a later date.  Nonetheless, in the moment, we are called to follow our conscience.  We should pray dearly and act sincerely based on what our conscience tells us. On the issues of women priests, abortion, sexual orientation, divorce, and our economic systems, we must pray and ultimately follow our conscience.

https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/c32ot-11-8-92.mp3

Originally delivered on November 5, 1989

Readings: Wisdom 11:22 – 12:1; Thessalonians 1:11 -2:2; Luke 19: 1-10

The story of Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector and a short man, teaches us that we needn’t worry about things we cannot change, but rather change the things we can.  We can waste time and energy trying to change things that we might view as a challenge or problem rather than seeing those challenges as gifts from God to be used to bring justice and dignity to all God’s people.  In our collective diversity, God’s glory is made manifest. 

 https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/c31ot-11-5-89.mp3