What at first seems like a very nice story of a very nice Jesus becomes something far more challenging once various translations of just one word are taken into consideration. Does Jesus feel "pity", "compassion", or "anger" once approached by the leper in Mark's gospel? Perhaps both compassion and anger spring from the same passionate confrontation with evil in this story. 

Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC. 

Mark gives us a sort of documentary of one day in the life of Jesus in four episodes, each one particular to a place and ministry in his daily life. He moves from (1)Synagogue to (2)Home to (3)Public Street to (4)Deserted Place. 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador. 

As follower of Jesus even these many centuries later, we want to know him; we want to know his heart. Today's story from the first chapter of Mark's Gospel of Jesus' first encounter with a person possessed by an evil spirit gives us a first look into Jesus' heart. 

The theme of Jesus' heart was suggested by the Ecuadorian Church's reconsecration today to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first such consecration and as it prepares for the International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Quito in September of this year. 

Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Jonah is a rather reluctant prophet. He avoids God when he can and when he can't he proclaims God's call to repent with plenty of grumbling. Yet Nineveh does repent out of fear of God's retribution. Jesus also calls the people of Galilee to repent, but there is a big difference between Jonah and Jesus and the character of their call to repent. 

Homily delivered to the Catholic Community of Saint Francis, Cuenca, Ecuador

What might Jesus' time with Andrew and the other disciple, alone and at his place, been like? Jesus doing all the talking? Or Jesus posing ever more deeply the question already asked, "For what are you looking?" Jesus may well have been not the talker here, but the listener, the attender. If so for Andrew and the other disciple, then perhaps also for us as we live out the stories of our lives. 

Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador. 

It is curious how many names the central characters of today's feast bear: are they kings, astrologers, wise men, or magi? Each gives a different feel to the story of their visit to Bethlehem. Yet it is also curious the name that is missing: "The Three Strangers...or Outsiders...or Unbelievers", yet that is what they are and that is good news for us! 

Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. This homily is a revision of one delivered in Sacred Heart Church in Spokane in January 2018. 

The remarkable story of Abraham and Sarah found in Genesis teaches us that out of "irregular" or "shameful" families, God brings blessings and great fruit. The pattern is found often in the Scriptures: a barren or aged woman is blessed by God with a child who will in turn be a great blessing to Israel. The same happens in the Gospel's Nativity stories with Elizabeth and Mary. In our times, it is a vitally important lesson: God takes imperfect families, blesses them, and brings great blessings to others through them. 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador

The grand Pesebre or Nativity scene set up in our church of San Francisco in Cuenca is lovely, soft, and sweet. There is, however, a darker side to these Nativity images, that is made clear in Luke's Gospel. They point directly forward to Jesus' ministry, his death, and his resurrection. 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.

What does it take to make a house a home? In today's readings, both houses and homes become the center of our spiritual attention. God's work of making himself a home among us over millennia, with David, and especially in the story of Mary is one that invites us to welcome God into our own spiritual homes. 

Homily shared wth the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador

John the Evangelist begins his Gospel account of Jesus with a mystical hymn to the Creator and the Word, echoing the opening words of Genesis: "In the beginning...." But then he interrupts it twice with the story of John the Baptist. What is he up to here? Is this just a case of bad editing or does the Fourth Evangelist see something essential in weaving together this cosmic hymn and the prosaic story of the Baptist?

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.