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.

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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

Originally delivered on October 30, 1989

Readings: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Paul to Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18; and Luke 18:9-14

Fr. Healy begins this homily by discussing the death of his beloved sister, Sally.  Through the experience of Sally’s death, the Healy family gatthered to share favorite family stories, including who among the many Healy children, was the favorite. In today’s gospel we are reminded that the least among us are loved most by God. Furthermore, Fr. Healy reminds us that we are to be the one that shows the marginalized that God loves them.  We must be God’s presence in this world to our brothers and sisters. Indeed, God demands this of us in our acts and deeds and we must lay aside our comparisons with others.

https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/c30ot-10-30-89.mp3

Originally delivered on March 12, 1989

Readings: Isaiah 43: 16-21; Philippians 3: 8-14; John 8:1-11

As a follow-up to last week’s parable of the Prodigal Son, this week’s Gospel is the story of Jesus’ forgiveness of the woman about to be stoned for adultery.  He asks those that are without sin to cast the first stone.  In this homily, we are reminded first of God’s all encompassing love and forgiveness for us, and second that the ultimate norm of morality is the individual conscience reflecting, as best that person can, the will of God. Jesus’ example in this Gospel story is that we must have love and compassion to bring personal forgiveness and understanding of others.

https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/c5l-3-12-89.mp3

Originally delivered on March, 29, 1992

Readings: Joshua 5:9, 10-12; Corinthians 5:17-21; Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

In this homily, Fr. Healy reminds us that the parable of the Prodigal Son allows us to be with God, despite our shortcomings. Through a powerful story of his own, Fr. Healy reminds us that God is love. Indeed, Jesus is our older brother that petitions His Father for our forgiveness because of His love for us, despite our imperfections.

https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/c4l-3-29-92.mp3

Originally delivered on March 15, 1992

Readings: Genesis: 15:5-12, 17-18; Letter of Paul to Philippians 3:17-4:1 or 3:20-4:1: Luke 9:28-36

In this homily, Fr. Healy reminds us that our perspective is important in understanding events.  In this week’s Gospel, Jesus takes the apostles up the mountain to see a glimpse of the Glory of God.  Fr. Healy points out that rather than stay on that mountain, Jesus leads Peter, James, and John back down the mountain to be with and to care for those living below.

https://fatherhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/c2l-3-15-92.mp3