Jesus loves the man who asks him, "What must I do to inherit everlasting life?" He already fulfills the commandments, so what more is there to do? Jesus, in love, gives him the one thing he can't bring himself to do: sell everything, give to the poor, and follow him. Alas...

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

Jesus responds to a trick question about divorce. Rather than fall into the trap, he points his opponents' attention to what they are not seeing: the rich image of God's love that marriage is. The ideal of married love that he poses to them is one that animates our own understanding to this day. 

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

Jesus' severe teaching in the 9th chapter of Mark's gospel is a good example of radical exaggeration to make an important point. Jesus isn't mandating the cutting off of feet, chopping off of hands, or the actual plucking out of eyes. He IS mandating that we take a hard look at our own fundamental sins and excise them from our lives. Arrogance, lying, and lack of forgiveness, these are the "big ones" and the most challenging to be free of. 

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

One of the most popular images of Jesus is when he holds a child, embracing him/her with great love and tenderness. Today's gospel reading presents us with one of those moments, but the meaning off the story is far deeper than just "Jesus loves the little children", as the popular song from the '70's reminded us. This is a story about service, humility, and striving to be the least rather than the greatest. 

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

Jesus takes some time with his disciples to talk with them about something serious. He begins by asking them who others say that he is. The he asks them who THEY say he is. Peter's response is perfect: "You are the Christ." Jesus then explains what that will mean as they go forward: persecution, injustice, death...and the resurrection. After Peter protests, Jesus explains that this is essential to the mission of the Christ. 

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

¿Nada más que un milagro más?  ¿O sea posible que en la sanación del hombre sordo y mudo estamos experimentando un encuentro intimo entre nosotros y Jesús?  

Homilia compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, EC. 

Jesus strangely uses spit to heal the deaf and mute man in the Gospel of Mark. Why spit? It is not so obvious to us in our times, but just maybe saliva had a primordial significance for Jesus. Coming from the mouth where both breath and word mingle, it may be that Jesus' spit carries with it his breath, his word, his spirit, his humanity and divinity both. In this intimate ritual of healing, Jesus gives his very being to the other. 

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

The big boys from Jerusalem come to Jesus to complain about his disciples failure to follow the ways of their forefathers, more particularly, their failure to wash their hands before meals. It sounds at first like a reasonable complaint to us, but their intervention wasn't really about proper hygiene; it had much more to do with the measures they were using to judge how faithful to God one was. These cleanliness rules were really ritual purification rules and those who followed them faithfully were faithful to God and God to them. Jesus doesn't like this one bit: the externals are not the measure of a person's holiness or closeness to God; it is what is on the inside that counts! 

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

As the 6th chapter of John's Gospel comes to an end this Sunday...as well as his lengthy teaching on the Bread of Life...there are no cheers nor gusty rounds of applause. To the contrary, most of his own disciples walk away from him, except the Twelve. It must surely have been a most discouraging moment for Jesus and a confusing one for Peter and the other eleven. At this nadir of his ministry, Jesus asks the few remaining with him, "Do you also want to leave me?" Peter's answer on behalf of the others is almost certainly deeply moving for Jesus. "Master, to whom shall we go? We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." Jesus' question is given to us as well and so each day in our prayer, we must answer. 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador. This day is also the 45th anniversary of Father Kevin Codd's ordination to the priesthood, which is reflected in his words today especially the final reflection. 

Even after three Sundays worth of quarreling over Jesus' teaching on the Bread of Life, those Galileans who have followed Jesus to Capernaum are still at it. They just cant figure out what Jesus is going on about. There is a reason: they don't underestand his foundational teaching on who God is. They are stuck within an image of God as a powerful king, a severe judge, a great general. All this is far from what Jesus shares with them and others: God is first and foremost "Father" to us. Only in receiving this teaching can Jesus' further teaching about himself being the Bread of Life make any sense. 

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