Ad Jesum per Mariam

Jesus Tells Us Do Not Be Afraid: Discipleship in a Challenging World Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Matthew, which explores Jesus’ call to discipleship, . . . . . . emphasizing that to follow Christ means not only learning from Him but being formed into His likeness. The Homily begins by reflecting on the ritual of kissing the Gospel . . . whether its message is comforting or challenging ....

The Danger of Presumption: When Grace and God Demands a Response This Homily emphasizes that the goodness and blessings of God are not ends in themselves, . . . . . . but invitations to transformation and repentance. Jesus expresses frustration at communities like Capernaum that witnessed his miracles and heard his teachings yet remained unchanged. The Homily draws a parallel between modern believ...

Let This Mystery Change You: The Self-Giving of Christ and the Call of the Priest This Homily, delivered on the anniversary of Father Bernard’s ordination, . . . . . . reflects on the deep theological and spiritual meaning of the priesthood, particularly through the lens of the Passion narrative in the Gospel of John. The Homily highlights the moment at the cross where Jesus entrusts Mary to the b...

Wrestling with God: The Struggle That Forms Disciples Today’s reading reflects on Jesus’ words, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few,” . . . . . . emphasizing that the “harvest” refers not to the perfect or righteous, but to the broken, wounded, and lost . . . a world in desperate need of salvation. The Homily challenges the common, passive prayer for vocations, asserting that vocati...

From Disappointment to Trust: Finding God in Life’s Losses The Homily begins with a reflection on a meaningful encounter . . . . . . with a young man who plays soccer with their group but avoids communal prayer due to a personal crisis of faith following his mother’s death. The young man had prayed fervently for her healing, but when she died, he lost faith. Joseph’s Trials As Part of a Larger Pla...

Rich in What Matters to God: A Reflection on Independence and Humility The Homily reflects on the 249th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, . . . . . . acknowledging the progress the U.S. has made since 1776, while emphasizing that the nation is still a work in progress. The original declaration stated that “all men are created equal,” but in practice, equality was historically denied...

If I Can Just Touch Him: Resting in the Presence of God Today’s Homily reflects on two Scripture passages . . . . . . a vision of Jacob at Bethel and the Gospel story of the raising of the official’s daughter and the healing of the woman with the hemorrhage. The Homily begins by exploring the nature of a shrine, emphasizing Jacob’s recognition of God’s presence and the spiritual importance of rest...

Peace Is the Presence of Christ: A Mission for Every Christian This Homily begins with a personal story: . . . . . . the speaker’s first funeral as a newly ordained priest, which was for an only daughter lost in a tragic accident. The grieving family’s heartfelt request was for peace . . . peace for their daughter and peace for themselves. This sets the stage for a broader meditation on the Gospel...

Clothed in Christ: How Our Lady Shapes Us for God’s Blessing Today’s readings centers on the tension between the old and the new, . . . . . . especially in the spiritual life. Using Jesus’ parables about wineskins and unshrunk cloth, the message underscores that the Gospel cannot be contained or constrained by old patterns, structures, or attitudes. Jesus brings something fundamentally new . . . t...

From Stranger to Citizen: The Spiritual Bond of Believers The Homily begins by reflecting on the deep bond felt when encountering someone from one’s home country while abroad, . . . . . . likening it to the spiritual connection shared by Christians as fellow citizens of God’s kingdom. Drawing from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the Homily highlights that believers are no longer strangers, but...

Hearts That Expand: Learning Compassion from Abraham and Jesus Today’s readings focus on two powerful biblical stories . . . . . . the first from the life of Abraham, Sarah, and Ishmael, and the second from the Gospel account of Jesus healing two possessed men. In the first story, Sarah’s jealousy over Hagar and Ishmael leads her to demand their banishment, despite Ishmael being Abraham’s son. Abr...

Losing and Finding Jesus: Lessons from a Parent’s Panic and a Divine Mission The Homily shares a personal story about briefly losing a child in a public place, . . . . . . using it as a parallel to Mary and Joseph losing the twelve-year-old Jesus in Jerusalem during Passover. Their search for Jesus and eventual discovery of him in the temple highlights Christ’s early understanding of his divine mi...

Look to the Heavens: Faith in God’s Promise Today’s Homily centers on the dramatic and symbolic covenant scene between God and Abraham, . . . . . . emphasizing Abraham’s deep faith despite his childlessness. God showed Abraham the stars in the sky and made a covenant with him. This faith was counted as righteousness. The Homily draws a parallel between this Old Testament covenant and the new coven...

Peace in the Storm: When Christ is in the Boat Today’s readings highlight the theme of salvation as a dynamic, ongoing journey. The first reading recalls the story of Lot’s rescue from Sodom, emphasizing that Abraham’s persistent prayer played a key role in God’s decision to save Lot’s family. This teaches us that our prayers for others are powerful and never wasted. However, salvation also requir...

Where Is Your Treasure? Lessons from Saint Aloysius Gonzaga Today’s readings are delivered on the Feast of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. The Homily connects Jesus’ teaching . . . “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” . . . to the saint’s life and our own spiritual priorities. Saint Aloysius, born into immense wealth and nobility in 16th-century Italy, renounced his inheritance as a you...

The Two Most Important Days in Our Lives: Birth and Purpose The Homily focuses on the significance of the Nativity of John the Baptist, . . . . . . one of only three birthdays celebrated in the Catholic liturgical calendar (the others being Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary). The Homily highlights John’s miraculous birth through the prayers of his elderly parents, his divine calling from th...

Hidden Glory: Seeking God’s Eyes, Not Man’s Praise Today’s reading focuses on St. Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians, exploring the theme of abundance in self-giving within the Christian life. Using the metaphor of sowing and harvesting, the Homily critiques a minimalist attitude in spirituality, where individuals do just enough to “check the box” rather than joyfully offering their best. St. P...

Through Weakness, Grace: The Journey Toward God and Heaven This Homily begins with Jesus’ saying, “The eye is the lamp of the body,” . . . . . . and uses it to explore how physical sight symbolizes spiritual vision. A personal story about a blind woman illustrates the value of physical sight, but the message moves beyond the literal to focus on spiritual sight . . . our inner vision or life’s goal...

Take, Bless, Break, Give: Living the Pattern of the Eucharist as a Way of Life This Homily, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, begins by recounting a moving experience from a visit to war-torn Mozambique, . . . . . . where people witnessed the devastating effects of civil war and landmines on the people . . . many of whom were maimed and starving. The Homily continues by describing the compassionate...

Beyond Worldly Standards: Measuring Life by God’s Measure Today’s readings urge Christians not to measure their spiritual lives by worldly standards, . . . . . . such as material success or external acts of piety, but instead by the divine standard given by Jesus: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” The world encourages selective love and reciprocity, but Christ calls His followers to...

Authentic Faith: Saying Yes Like Mary, Living Yes Like Christ Today’s Gospel centers on Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount: “Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no.” The Homily explores the simplicity and integrity behind this command, contrasting it with human tendencies toward exaggeration, performance, and overpromising . . . especially in spiritual life. Using Mary’s simple respon...

Mother and Member: Mary and the Birth of the Church Today’s Readings explore the profound mystery and significance of the Blessed Virgin Mary . . . . . . as both Mother of God and Mother of the Church, whose motherhood is unlike any other. Mary is presented by God as the answer to the fall of Eve . . . a woman who, through divine grace, gives birth to life rather than death. While Eve’s disobedien...

Unity in Truth: The Foundation of the Church Today’s Readings explore the true nature of Christian unity, . . . . . . emphasizing that unity must be founded on truth, not simply on cooperation or agreement. Drawing from both the words of Jesus in John 17 and the farewell discourse of St. Paul in Acts, the homily warns against false unity based on self-interest or worldly values. True unity is root...

As We Are One: Living the Unity of the Trinity Today's Gospel is from John 17, which emphasizes Jesus’ prayer for unity . . . . . . not a worldly unity, but a divine one, mirroring the oneness of the Trinity. The homily contrasts two kinds of unity: being “frozen together” (rigid and superficial) versus being “melted together” (softened and transformed in love). Christian unity must be rooted in t...

Leadership Rooted in Love: Jesus’ Question to Peter, Our Call Today The Homily centers on two key scripture narratives: . . . . . . Paul’s bold proclamation of the resurrection and Peter’s dialogue with Jesus after the resurrection. Paul, under arrest, uses every opportunity . . . his Jewish heritage and Roman citizenship . . . to proclaim that Jesus is risen. His unwavering faith challenges both...