Four minute homilies

The mustard seed             Today Jesus tries to explain the kingdom of heaven through two parables, using a comparison about seeds. He loves using natural images from the fields, from the human experience of farmers of that time. Unlike us, seeds were very important to them. We don’t normally buy seeds and plant them in the ground, unless you have a vegetable garden. But for those people seeds w...

Jesus’ relatives             It was very difficult for Jesus’ relatives to understand him, to figure out what had happened to him. For thirty years he had been the carpenter’s son, a good worker, a bit introverted, maybe shy, never married and liking going out on his own to pray in solitary places. Suddenly Jesus began his public life, preaching the Gospel, performing miracles and surrounding hims...

Corpus Christi              It took time for the early Christians to grow in their awareness of the real presence of Our Lord in the Eucharist. At the beginning of Christianity they didn’t have tabernacles; they just celebrated the Mass normally in their own homes. They didn’t have churches because of the persecutions. After Mass sometimes they kept the Blessed Sacrament for the sick and the peopl...

Holy Trinity              When Jesus came, he revealed to us the mystery of the Holy Trinity. It was his most important secret, his gift to us, which had been guarded for many centuries. In the Old Testament God didn’t want to show us this truth about himself, because he was afraid the Israelites would worship multiple gods. They did it regardless. The first time we hear about the Trinity is in th...

Pentecost             A young man was walking down the street and came across a shop with a sign that said: Happiness. He came in and saw that angels were serving the customers. He was very surprised and asked one of the angels: “What do you sell here?” He answered: “Anything that brings happiness to humans.” The young man got excited and began to ask a list of things: “Give me the end of wars, co...

Love one another             Today in the Gospel Jesus lifts the level of his message to an impossible height: love one another as I have loved you. God loves us with divine love, without measure; his love is infinite. He even gave his life for us. But how can we love others with his love, if we are not God? Precisely, when we love God, he lends us his love. God is love and any love is a participa...

The Ascension              The church that marks the place where tradition says Jesus left the earth flying up to heaven has an octogonal shape, with a circular dome. In the old days the roof was open and you could see the sky. On the floor there is a glass covering the rock where Jesus’ feet touched our ground for the last time. It is a reflection of how we should live our lives: with our feet fi...

The Vine and the Branches              Jesus loves to talk in parables. He finds us a bit slow to grasp things and tries to find comparisons for us to understand better and deeper the things of God. It is not easy for him to talk about the other life. A vineyard was very precious in the ancient world. People risked their lives to possess them. For us it is just a business. But for them it was thei...

The Good Shepherd               Today we look at Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It is a beautiful image that comes from the Old Testament. King David was a shepherd before he became a king, and Jesus called himself the son of David, because he was a direct descendant. The Gospels give us plenty of details about who the Good Shepherd is. Jesus says of himself: “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me...

Serenity             The apostles were afraid and locked themselves into the upper room for fear of the Jews. Their leader had been killed and now his opponents were going for his minions. In spite of some news about Jesus’ resurrection, they were huddled in fear behind locked doors, all together not knowing what to do. We too are afraid of the future, worried about what could happen, insecure abo...

Thomas             On Sunday morning the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, and Jesus came in through the wall. He stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his wounds, all opened in front of them. He didn’t want to hide them. There they were, naked without shame. They were healed, but still open, light shinin...

Holy Thursday              Today is an important day for the Church. We priests celebrate two Masses. In the morning all priests of the Diocese go to the Cathedral to concelebrate with the bishop what we call the Chrism Mass. Two things happen during this Mass. First we priests renew our commitments, to place Jesus first in our lives, to obey our bishop, and to look after the People of God. Second...

Easter Sunday               Saint John arrived first at the tomb because he was younger and could run faster. Saint Jerome says that the wings of celibacy allowed John arrive first. But he did not go in, out of deference to Peter. This is an indication that Peter was already regarded as the leader of the Apostles. “He saw and believed.” What did he see? The linen on the ground. John knew Jesus wel...

Palm Sunday             Today we begin Holy Week. Palm Sunday is the gate. We enter into the most holy week of the year. We need to walk slowly; we are on Holy ground. Put off your shoes and walk on tiptoes. Hit the brakes and try to follow Jesus’ footsteps. We should try to keep to Jesus’ pace, not too slow, and not too fast, not to miss him, not to overtake him; just the right speed. Once a year...

Lent 5 B The grain of wheat             In today’s Gospel some Greeks went to Phillip and told him that they wanted to see Jesus. We too ask the same; we long to see his face. We follow the responsorial psalm: “Create a clean heart in me, O God.” We need a pure heart to be able to see him, clear eyes without any obstacles. How can we see Jesus? He tells us his secret today in the Gospel in three s...

Lent 4 B Nicodemus             Today in the Gospel we see Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem, the upper class of the political elite, a teacher of Israel, an intellectual, an educated man, a ruler of the Jews. He was a lover of truth, searching for what is right, humble, and, unlike others, he acknowledged that Jesus performed miracles, therefore God was with him. We too...

Lent 3 B Cleansing of the Temple              In today’s Gospel Jesus is going to the Temple to pray, but he is going to do something completely different. It was the feast of the Passover, the most important day for the Jews and the temple was overflowing with people. They had to offer a sacrifice of an ox or a sheep, if they were wealthy, or two pigeons if they were not. Also they had to pay a h...

Lent 2 Transfiguration of Jesus             The transfiguration is an Icon of contemplation. We need to climb the mountain to become part of this body of elite souls who are contemplatives. Not many people are ready to climb up through the path of sacrifice and docility to God’s will. You need to leave many things behind and travel light. Most of us carry too much baggage, and we are constantly bo...

Lent 1 Temptations of Jesus             Every Lent we try to accompany Jesus into the desert. We don’t like it, but it is the best way for us to return to God, to have a small conversion. We go down from Jerusalem towards the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, below sea level. Jesus wanted to stoop down to our human level, surrounded by a very rough terrain. It is a place of open spaces, silence...

Ash Wednesday Today we begin Lent, a special time to grow, a time for a small conversion. Our Mother the Church opens the flood gates of its abundant graces, to shower what we need in our parched soul. It is a time to look towards how we are growing in our love of God. Maybe we have been slowing down, stopped or even went backwards. It happens in the lives of saints too; sometimes it looks like th...

The curing of a leper             The first reading of the Mass tells us about Jewish customs and leprosy. Because it was a contagious disease, the Law declared that lepers were impure and they had to leave society. They lived together and had to show that they were lepers, sounding a bell or shouting “unclean.” Leprosy was seen as a punishment from God. The healing of the disease was regarded as...

Peter’s mother in law             After leaving the synagogue in Capernaum, Jesus went to Peter’s house with Andrew, James and John, to dine together. We can imagine those meals with Jesus. Peter’s mother in law was sick and she couldn’t wait on them. Maybe she was upset with her son in law for joining Jesus and leaving his wife behind. Jesus healed her, won her over and convinced her to serve the...

The unclean spirit             Today we see Jesus teaching at the synagogue in Capernaum. Jesus centred his public ministry in this town, at the shores of the lake of Gennesaret. He didn’t want to stay in Nazareth; a prophet is not well liked in his home town. Apart from Jerusalem, there is no other place like Capernaum that contains more memories of Jesus in the Gospels. The ruins are well preser...

The calling of the first apostles             In the Gospels of these first Sundays we are at the beginning of Jesus’ public life, when he calls the apostles. Today we see Jesus calling the first four, Simon and Andrew, John and James. Last Sunday we saw the first meeting of Jesus with John and Andrew. Today Jesus is formally calling them, together with their brothers to follow him. He found them...

Two disciples of John             Today, our second Sunday of ordinary time, we begin another year with the Gospel of John telling us how he met Jesus for the first time. In the first reading of the Mass, God is calling Samuel, but he doesn’t know what to do. Eli tells him how to answer: “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” This should be our response to discover what God wants us to do t...