Homilies from the National Shrine

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031226.cfm Father Daniel Klimek, PhD, addresses the reality of spiritual warfare, explaining that life involves a cosmic battle between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of Hell. Too often, the Gospel is watered down to a horizontal message of kindness, yet Christianity calls believers to a vertical relationship with God that...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031126.cfm Father Chris Alar, MIC, addresses a common misconception: that the Old Testament portrays God as harsh while, in contradiction, the New Testament reveals a loving Jesus. He explains that the Old Testament functions like parental guidance for children — setting boundaries to protect us — while the New Testament calls ad...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031026.cfm Father David Gunter, MIC, begins by grounding us in the context of Daniel’s prayer, addressing a people in exile who had faced the consequences of their own idolatry and disobedience. He reminds us that while the nation brought suffering upon itself through covenant violations, the core message of the reading is not Go...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030926.cfm Father Matthew Tomeny, MIC, opens with a memorable story from Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who once welcomed a drunk woman into Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Rather than turning her away, he offered her tea and promised not to ask her to go to confession — until she returned sober and ready to encou...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030826.cfm Father Chris Alar, MIC, invites you to pause, breathe, and recognize that the path back to God’s house is always present. He begins by drawing our attention to the Samaritan well, where a woman deemed an outcast encounters the Bridegroom of the universe. In the longest dialogue of the Gospel of John, Christ breaks ever...

Father Anthony Gramlich, MIC, reminds us that the Parable of the Prodigal Son remains one of the most powerful stories Jesus ever told. He used it to answer the scandal of dining with tax collectors and prostitutes — those whom the Pharisees despised. In the Gospel, the younger son demands his inheritance, abandons his father’s house, and squanders his wealth in a foreign land, even tending swine....

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030526.cfm Father Mark Baron, MIC, invites us to ask the vital question that unites today’s readings and the responsorial psalm: Where is your heart rooted? Isaiah portrays the faithful believer as a tree planted beside flowing waters, its roots drawing nourishment so that it remains green even in drought. In contrast, a heart th...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030426.cfm Father Tyler Mentzer, MIC, invites us to contemplate what it truly means to “reign with Christ.” He opens with a striking analogy: a modern “geodome” that creates a flawless, wind‑less environment for trees. In that artificial sanctuary, the trees flourish at first, but their roots remain shallow. Without needing to wi...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030326.cfm Father Matthew Tomeny, MIC, reminds us that true love begins with God and flows outward to every human soul. He explains that those who love themselves more than God impose heavy burdens on those around them, while those who love God above all seek to lift the weight from others. In this spirit, St. Katharine Drexel, b...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030226.cfm Father Chris Alar, MIC, reminds us that Jesus’ warning, “Judge not, lest you be judged” applies to condemning persons, not discerning sin. He explains that while an act may be objectively grave — abortion, theft, or any violation of God’s moral law — we often lack full knowledge of the person’s heart and circumstances,...

Father Matthew Tomeny, MIC, opens his homily by declaring that the true test of love which distinguishes Christians is the love of the enemy. He reminds us that Christ commands this love, and that it is the hallmark that sets the Church apart from both believers and non‑believers. By examining the lives of the saints, we see that genuine love is measured not by affection but by the willingness to...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022726.cfm Father Chris Alar, MIC, begins by reminding us that forgiveness is often misunderstood. He explains that we are called to let go of resentment, not to forge a friendship with the one who harms us. Forgiveness, he says, releases the heart from hatred while leaving space for justice. He then draws us into a powerful stor...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022626.cfm Father  Daniel  Klimek, PhD, challenges us to let the Golden Rule become the litmus test of every relationship. He reminds us that the command “do to others whatever you would have them do to you” is not only the law of the prophets but also a mirror of the contrasting dynamics found in the angelic and demonic hierarch...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022226.cfm Father Chris  Alar, MIC, invites us to reconsider the Genesis story in light of both tradition and modern discoveries. He notes that scientific genealogy now points to a single ancestral woman, reinforcing the plausibility that Adam and Eve were actual historical persons. He stresses that the biblical account employs s...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022426.cfm Father Mark Baron, MIC, invites us to move beyond a superficial recitation of the Our Father and let this prayer become the heartbeat of our Lenten journey. He reminds us that the season of Lent began with Ash Wednesday, calling us to the three classic practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These disciplines are...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022326.cfm Father Chris  Alar, MIC reminds us that works do not earn salvation; only God’s grace saves (CCC, 1987). Yet the Church teaches that we must co‑operate with that grace. As Fr. Chris explains, each soul faces a particular judgment at death, meeting Christ in His human nature, and later a general judgment when Christ ret...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022126.cfm Fr. Gabe  Cillo, MIC challenges us to examine the condition of our souls: “Who here wants to be healthy spiritually?” The Gospel reminds us that “those who are well need no physician, but those who are sick do” (Lc 5:31; NABRE). In this Lenten moment the priest points to the universal sickness caused by sin, emphasizin...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022026.cfm Father Tyler Mentzer, MIC, invites us to confront this penetrating question, “What are you hungry for?” On the first Friday of Lent, this inquiry becomes a mirror for our own souls, urging us to examine the cravings that dominate our hearts. The Gospel’s wedding feast imagery frames fasting, not as a punitive rite, but...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021926.cfm Father Matthew Tomeny, MIC invites us to contemplate today’s Gospel in light of the witness of St. Thomas More and St. Anthony the Great. Jesus warns, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Mt 16:24; NABRE). In the same breath He calls us to “pick up our cro...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021826.cfm The world has its “small-g gods”: sex, money, and power. In this powerful Lenten homily, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC explains how the consecrated religious counter them through poverty, chastity, and obedience—but what about the laity? The answer is the Church’s timeless Lenten call: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Fasting di...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021526.cfm Fresh from a visit to the Holy Land, Fr. Chris Alar, MIC reflects on standing atop the Mount of Olives, praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, walking the Via Dolorosa, and entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—the very places where Christ taught, suffered, and redeemed us. Looking out over Jerusalem from the Mount o...

The readings for this homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021626.cfm Father Chris Alar, MIC, reminds us of a truth the world constantly tries to obscure: Your soul is immortal — and it matters more than anything you own, achieve, or experience in this life. Jesus asks a question that cuts through every distraction: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” W...