Homily from the The Resurrection of the Lord, The Mass of Easter Day

Get up and do what you can.

We know that darkness is real. And death is real. But darkness and death are not the end. There are some things that never die...Faith...Love...the Promise of eternal life.

John 20:1-9

Homily from Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

This is not the end of the Story, but it had to happen for the Story to go on.

The Passion of Christ is not the end of the Story, but we must pause and reflect on it. It is the lens through which we see: What love looks like when it costs everything, what sin looks like when we can see the wounds, and what mercy looks like when it refuses to give up.

John 18:1—19:42

Homily from Holy Thursday, Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

He loved them to the end.

One of the characteristics that marks modern man is that we find ourselves angry at God. In fact, we are so angry that we would be willing to hurt God if we could. Yet, God is invulnerable. He cannot be hurt. Still, God chose to step into this world and love us...while making Himself vulnerable.

John 13:1-15

Homily from Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion.

Thank God ahead of time.

We often put off joy and praise and peace. We are tempted to be preoccupied with wanting to be "there" or wanting to be "done" with whatever we are working on or whatever we are doing. Yet, as Catholics, we are called to be "here". We can best live "on the way" when we don't wait to thank God; when we thank God before we are "there". We can thank God right here.

Luke 22:14—23:56

Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Lent.

We run out of all hope...and then Jesus.

The Dead End is a necessary place of the way. The location where we run out of our own skill and our own strength and find ourselves completely unable to move forward on our own. In the midst of the dead end...and then Jesus.

John 8:1-11

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

To look like Jesus, we must learn how to live in the Presence of the Father.

When it comes to our relationship with the Father, too often it is marked by hiding our hearts or avoiding His gaze. But we must learn how to live like Jesus, who remained in the Father's Presence at all times and with profound trust.

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Homily from the Third Sunday of Lent.

We all want peak moments, but growth happens in the Valley.

Why do we walk through valleys? What good is life in the valley? Is it only a negative? Is it always a punishment from God? Or could the valley be necessary?

Luke 13:1-9

Homily from the Second Sunday of Lent.

A big life is a series of small crossroads.

Life happens at the crossroads. Life is also a series of small crossroads that might seem insignificant, but add up to a life of beauty and meaning...or a life potentially wasted.

Luke 9:28b-36

Homily from the First Sunday of Lent.

The only way out is through.

As we enter into the desert, the desert takes away the things we tend to trust in...the things we use as comforts and crutches...and we are led through the "training place" to the place of being able to live like Christ.

Luke 4:1-13

Homily from the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Silence reveals our hearts and silence trains our hearts.

As we enter into the place of training, we realize that there are certain things that reveal the condition of our hearts...trial, tribulation, speech, and silence. But we need to consciously enter into these if we are going to know ourselves and be trained in the way of Christ.

Luke 6:39-45