Luke 10:41

Why do the gifts, success, or blessings of other people sometimes make us sad rather than joyful?

In this homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Fr. Will reflects on the Gospel healing of the man born blind and connects it to the deadly sin of envy. Envy is not simply wanting what someone else has. More deeply, it is sorrow at another’s good — the painful sense that someone else’s blessing somehow diminishes us.

This temptation often grows in the soil of insecurity, comparison, and the false belief that God’s love is limited. But the Christian life reveals something different: God’s grace is not a zero-sum game. The gifts of others do not threaten us, and even our own weaknesses can become places where the works of God are made visible.

Drawing on the stories of David, Saul, and Jonathan, this homily shows that freedom from envy comes through confidence in God’s love. When we know we are chosen, loved, and guided by the Good Shepherd, we can rejoice in the gifts of others and trust God with our own path.

Why is the Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the day?

Fr. Will reflects on the deep wounds and spiritual thirst revealed in the Gospel of the Woman at the Well. Through the lens of the Lenten series on the deadly sins, this homily explores the destructive power of lust—not simply as a moral failure, but as a distortion of our deepest desire for love, intimacy, and communion.

Yet the story does not end with shame. Jesus meets the woman exactly where she is: wounded, isolated, and searching. There at the well, He reveals Himself as the true Bridegroom who alone can satisfy the thirst of the human heart.

In Part 4 of That They May Have Life, we continue our morality series by moving through the Fourth Commandment’s reach into civil society and then turning to the Fifth Commandment: “You shall not kill.”

We begin with Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), where the Lord deepens the commandment beyond the external act of murder to the interior roots of anger, contempt, and vengeance. From there we explore why every human life is sacred, what the Church teaches about abortion, euthanasia, suicide, and scandal, and how Catholics are called to protect life with both truth and mercy.

We also address legitimate defense, the responsibilities of civil authority, the Christian duty toward the common good, and the Church’s role in making moral judgments when fundamental human rights or the salvation of souls is at stake. The session concludes by previewing the next series on the sacraments.

Next week we begin a new series on the sacraments, starting with Baptism and Confirmation.

On the Second Sunday of Lent, the Church gives us the Transfiguration—every year—because we need what the disciples needed: hope. Fr. Will unpacks why Jesus brings Peter, James, and John up the mountain, and how this glimpse of glory strengthens them for the Passion and the “scandal of the Cross.”

From there, the homily connects the Gospel to the Lenten series on the deadly sins, focusing on sloth (acedia): not simply laziness, but a spiritual lethargy that comes from forgetting what we were made for. When we lose sight of heaven, we grow indifferent, distracted, and even frantic—pouring energy into what doesn’t last while neglecting our true mission.

The antidote is zeal: remembering that every Christian is called to holiness, and that our vocation is lived out in concrete love—prayer, conversion, and daily sacrifice, especially toward the people closest to us.

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this first installment of our Lenten series on The Seven Deadly Sins, Deacon Chris explores the spiritual roots of gluttony and greed. Through the lens of Genesis and the Temptation of Jesus in the desert, we discover that the real battle is not about food or money — it is about trust.

Temptation begins when we believe God is small. From there, we grasp for substitutes.

This episode challenges us to examine:

How we use comfort to numb deeper hunger

How we cling to control instead of trusting the Father

How Lent can enlarge our desire for God

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Hunger is not sinful — it can be holy.

Gluttony is the refusal to be empty.

Greed is the fear of dependence.

The devil tempts us to live as orphans.

Jesus overcomes temptation by remaining the Son.

Freedom begins with a pause and a simple prayer.

PRACTICAL CHALLENGE

Before reaching for your default comfort, pray:

“Jesus, what am I really hungry for?”

Wait five minutes.

Reclaim your freedom.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Genesis 3:1–7

Ash Wednesday always contains a striking tension.

Jesus tells us in the Gospel:

And yet, today, we receive ashes on our foreheads — visible to everyone.

So what is happening?

In this homily, Fr. Will explains that ashes are not a display of righteousness. They are a confession of weakness. Ashes are what remains after something has been burned. They remind us of our mortality, our dependence upon God, and our need for repentance.

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Ash Wednesday confronts us with reality: death is coming. Pride is real. Sin wounds us. And we need a Savior.

Lent is not about self-improvement or spiritual performance. It is about reconciliation. As St. Paul pleads: “Be reconciled to God.”

Through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we take up battle against pride — the root of all sin — and learn again how to receive grace rather than trying to control everything ourselves.

Now is the acceptable time.

In Part 3 of our Sermon on the Mount series, Fr. Will uses a ninth grade geometry story—an exam covered in red ink—to unpack what Jesus is doing in today’s Gospel.

Christ, the Master Teacher, tells the truth about the human heart. He fulfills the law and then presses deeper, revealing that God desires more than outward compliance—he desires interior conversion.

When we face the “reality check” of our weakness and sin, we usually fall into one of two traps: denial (“I’ll decide what’s right for me”) or despair (“I can’t do this, so why try?”). Jesus offers a third way: humility—admitting we need to change and asking him for help.

The good news is that God doesn’t demand holiness from a distance. The Lord comes close, teaches us, and gives grace to live what he commands. As Jesus promises later in the Sermon on the Mount: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened.

Readings: Sirach 15:15–20; 1 Corinthians 2:6–10; Matthew 5:17–37

In this second homily of our Sermon on the Mount series, Deacon Chris reflects on one of Jesus’ most direct and challenging teachings: “You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world.”

Jesus does not offer these words as a future goal or an abstract ideal. He speaks them as a statement of reality. Because we are baptized into Christ, this is already our identity. The question, then, is not whether we are salt and light—but whether our lives actually taste of Christ and shine with His presence.

Using a vivid and memorable image from a college geology class, Deacon Chris explores how salt can lose its savor—not by trying to fail, but by becoming diluted. In the same way, our discipleship is often weakened not by rejection of faith, but by comfort, fear, distraction, exhaustion, or the desire to stay “polite” and unnoticed.

Drawing from Isaiah, St. Paul, and the Gospel of Matthew, this homily makes the call to holiness concrete. Light breaks into the world when we feed the hungry, shelter the vulnerable, refuse to turn away from those in need, and allow our lives to make God visible—not ourselves impressive.

This episode also offers a practical spiritual response: consecration. Rather than trying to design holiness on our own, we are invited to place our lives under the care of those who already belonged completely to Christ.

St. Joseph Consecration (33 Days)

Daily prayers PDF:

Marian Consecration (33 Days to Morning Glory)

As you listen, consider praying with these questions this week:

Jesus does not name us salt and light to shame us—but to reveal who we truly are and to restore what has been hidden or weakened. May this homily help you uncover the lamp, recover the savor, and live in such a way that others glorify our Heavenly Father.

In this homily for the 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, we begin a three-part series on The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ longest and most profound teaching in the Gospel.

Jesus is not merely offering moral advice or spiritual ideals. As the Master Teacher, He invites His disciples to see reality from His perspective. In the Beatitudes, Christ overturns our assumptions about happiness, strength, and success, revealing what truly leads to human flourishing.

This first homily focuses on how Jesus teaches us to see the world as it truly is—and how learning to see through His eyes is essential for authentic discipleship.