Fr. David Hogan

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time  Imagine, with your restless hearts and minds, are in the boat with the disciples in today's Gospel. You are surrounded by a violent storm with waves breaking over the boat, you are filled with fear as the boat fills with water. Picture these waves as the worries, problems, concerns, and stressful issues that are overwhelming your peace.  You have now reached the po...

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Sometimes we fail to appreciate the glory that God has in store for us. We can become overwhelmed with the daily struggles of our lives and be stunned at the way of the world with all its problems. But the Scriptures this week remind us that great things can happen when we let go and let God’s power transform us. Jesus uses images of the sower and the mustard seed...

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Kintsugi, also known as "golden repair", is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. As we age and mature, we continue to identify areas of personal brokenness. An important area to pay attention to is unforgiveness. Jesus is quite clear in speaking with t...

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ          St. Maximilian Kolbe once said, “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.” This Sunday we celebrate Corpus Christi. From the Catechism, the Eucharist assists Catholics in many ways: an increase of union with Christ; forgiveness of venial sins; preservation from future mortal sins; strengthen...

Holy Trinity Sunday On this great solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we boldly celebrate and affirm the Mystery of our God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one of our most basic, core beliefs as Catholics that we fail to grasp completely.  Men and women mirror God's image and likeness, whose core purpose, identity, and mission is to live as God's beloved sons and daughters. Given our culture this...

Pentecost Sunday With today’s feast the Easter Season now draws to a close, and the Easter candle will be extinguished, but we should not think of Pentecost as simply marking an end to our extended Easter festivities. It is also the beginning of something new for us.  May Jesus Christ continue to lead His holy people toward a deeper encounter with Him. Scripture Readings for May 19, 2024 Acts 2:1-...

The Ascension of the Lord The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven is not Jesus simply going up into the clouds somewhere to distance Himself from his holy people. Rather Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father to lead, guide, judge, and encourage people of faith in their journey. Given much of the world is mission territory, Christ is calling all people of faith to preach, teach, and sanctify...

Sixth Sunday in Easter Jesus, looking at his disciples, pronounces one of the most revealing and empathic statements in all of sacred scripture: “ You are my friends ”. It is much easier to think of Jesus as a rabbi, political leader, or military leader. These types of relationships are rooted in authority.  Incredibly, Jesus does not want to simply rule over our lives, but commune with us at the...

Fifth Sunday in Easter "You are already pruned because of the Word that I spoke to you." -John 15:3 As Christians, we were first pruned at our baptism in which we were not only welcomed into the life of God, but also into Christ's death. Therefore, much pruning needs to take place throughout one's life in order to bear much fruit and become Christ's disciples. Scripture Readings for April 28, 2024...

Fourth Sunday in Easter Jesus is the model shepherd and guardian of our souls. He makes it clear that a good shepherd lays down his life for the protection and guidance of the sheep. The bad or hired shepherd, is merely utilitarian. When trouble (wolves) arrive, this shepherd flees as he is only interested in the self and self-preservation. St. Peter, unfortunately, was like the hired shepherd at...

Third Sunday in Easter "You are witnesses to these things." -Luke 24:48 As human beings we witness many things ranging from good to evil. To witness means that one sees, hears, and knows by personal presence and or perception. It is the ability to testify to; to give or afford evidence of something or someone.  The twelve apostles were witnesses of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Particularl...

Divine Mercy Sunday Blessed John Henry Newman once said, " 10,000 difficulties do not equal 1 doubt. To Blessed Newman's point, we face difficulties every day which can lead to pain and suffering. Suffering, if seen in light of faith, has the ability to purify the mind, intellect, and will.  In today's Gospel, Thomas was not with the disciples when Jesus appeared to the disciples. When Thomas did...

Holy Saturday At the Easter Vigil in the Holy Night of Easter (Homily Taken from Easter Vigil) The Lord is Risen! He has Truly Risen! Blessed Easter to you! We do not hear much about Holy Saturday as we move from the tragic events of Good Friday to the Glory of Easter Sunday. Nonetheless, the stillness and great calm of Holy Saturday helps prepare the Church for a most glorious day!!! "W hat is ha...

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion James Allen Francis' poem entitled One Solitary Life, summarizes quite well the life and death of Jesus Christ and His impact on the world. Our focus has been and always will be Jesus. Palm Sunday invites the Universal Church to walk with Him as He endures His passion. Jesus' walk toward Golgotha can provide encouragement to humanity as well. When we humbly submit...

Fifth Sunday in Lent The Scripture readings for this weekend remind us that God has formed an alliance or covenant with His people just as He has done throughout all generations. A covenant requires humanity to abide by God's established rules. Moses reminded the people about the covenant God established with Israel. Jeremiah reminded the Israelite people to stay faithful to the covenant. Jesus no...

Fourth Sunday in Lent The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called Laetare Sunday. Laetare is a Latin word that means “rejoice.” Today's Gospel describes the reason for our joy: God's great love for us has been revealed in Jesus. Jesus' powerful conversation with Nicodemus, a man of the law, reveals God's plan for the world. May we have eyes to see and hearts to believe Jesus' invitation for conversion and...

Third Sunday in Lent St. Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, calls people to remember the heart of faith: "proclaiming Christ crucified.” Though we may focus on Jesus' teaching or his miracles, the core of our faith is rooted in this reality.  From the cross Jesus reveals God’s love to all people no matter who they are. Jesus proclaims God’s forgiveness to all. Therefore, our lives are i...

Second Sunday in Lent Mother Teresa, was once asked by a reporter in Calcutta, India whether she believed her work with the poor and marginalized was successful. Mother Teresa lovingly responded, "God does not call us to be successful, He calls us to be faithful." The demonstration of Abraham's faithfulness in the book of Genesis, when he was on the verge of sacrificing his own beloved son Isaac,...

First Sunday in Lent This Lent we are once again invited to pay attention to our own desert. We investigate the desert of a society divided morally, politically, and in so many other ways. But we are also aware of a desert which we are called to enter willingly which helps us to open our hearts and our ears to the words of the Lord: “Repent and believe in the gospel.” We are invited once again int...

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time The wedding feast at Cana, in which Jesus turned water into wine, marked the end of his quiet life with Mary his mother, and the beginning of his public ministry in Galilee. Today's Gospel is a beautiful reminder God losing himself for humanity. It is Jesus Christ' thirst for souls that moves him toward fulfilling the will of his Father in heaven. What areas of our li...

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Today's Gospel is quite eventful in the early public ministry of Jesus. The day can be divided into three periods of time in three different places going back to last Sunday's Gospel. Using these events we can translate them to our own environment where Jesus wants to use His love and power to heal and make us whole via our Churches, homes, families, and neighborhoods...

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time New Year's resolutions and the time before lent begins ought to be a time of preparation for change. We seek change because as beings in motion, God willing we are moving towards virtue and away from vice. To achieve our goals though, requires courage and an understanding of resistance.  In today's Gospel Jesus' authority to remove the demon from a man takes center s...

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Our readings today remind us of something that is central in our life of faith, and that is the necessity for conversion. Repentance was preached by Jonah to the people of Nineveh when their actions and lives were displeasing to God. Jesus proclaimed this message as well at the beginning of his ministry according to the gospel of Mark. “This is the time of fulfillment...

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Common wisdom suggests that words are unimportant, that deeds are what really matter. Actions are important, but our experience teaches us that words are, too.  After spending some time with Jesus, Andrew goes and finds his brother, Peter, and tells him, “We have found the Messiah.” And because of Andrew’s words, Peter leaves everything behind and follows Christ.  Be...

The Epiphany of the Lord The Magi evoke the importance of alertness in the spiritual life. We must keep our eyes open to God's hand in the world and respond. The Magi come bearing three gifts: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Gold is symbolic of Christ the King. Frankincense is used for worship in the Temple, and Myrrh a perfume, was used to anoint dead bodies. Whether the Magi were wise men from th...