Weekly Homilies at St. Joseph Parish

Fr. Jacob Charalel from the Diocese of Kohima visited our parish this weekend to share his mission for the northeast part of India bordering Myanmar. In the gospel, Jesus reassures his flock. Our lives are often marred by the many experiences that make us tired and want to give up. This week, Jesus reminds us that God doesn't abandon us, but is there to hold us during our troubled times. We ne...

Enduring pain and suffering is not a slogan that will attract many people today. But Christians have a different view. Jesus isn't interested in catchy slogans or making false promises. He is interested in saving souls. We all have crosses; how do we accept them? Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42 #Catholic #Homily #Cross #Pain #Suffering #Christian #Jesus #SavingSouls

The Gospel today speaks about fear. Our own fear of man, their thoughts and opinions, can take over our focus. We read in the First Reading about the prophet Jeremiah, who was attacked by his own people as he spoke the Lord's words given to him. This wasn't the first or the last time people have been persecuted and martyred by others for the faith. Pick up your cross every day and follow H...

We have been in Ordinary Time for a while, though we had many solemnities and feast days in May and early June. We are now firmly in this season, where green is the color de jour. Green is a symbol of hope and life, the promise of eternal life with Jesus, who came and conquered death so we can live in heaven with Him forever. While Jesus was here on Earth, he sent the 12 Apostles out to proclaim t...

When we come forward for Communion, we enter more deeply into the Body of Christ. Our Lord purifies our souls, granting us the even greater unity with Him, becoming what we consume. This is not just so we can fulfill the command He gave us, but so we can go out on mission, to bring all to Christ. "Sweet Jesus in the Eucharist, my little visitor, my eyes cannot see your loving face, but my hea...

Though the word "Trinity" isn't present in the Bible, there are examples in both the Old and New Testaments that prove the Three Persons in One God. While this is one of the greatest mysteries of our faith, we are not to ignore it. Though it is hard to fathom the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, they existed from all eternity. By the grace of our Baptism, we are called to share in the life of...

Through human pride at Babel, man sought to take on God, and as punishment, God scattered them among the land and confused their language (Genesis 11). But now at Pentecost, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that confusion is gone. They are drawn and gathered among the nations, here to this place. They hear the teaching clearly. Let us take the gifts of the Holy Spirit, given to every one of u...

Waiting is an important aspect of the spiritual life. This time allows God to change the hardness of our hearts. Waiting is not pointless, but time to prepare and pray. We must call upon Jesus to help us discern without fear and anxiety, and He will open every door, but it will also call on us to wait. Gospel: John 17:1-11a #homilyhighlights #ascension #waiting #anticipation #discern #catholic #Je...

The Pascal joy that we have been talking about for weeks now sometimes doesn't have outward signs or immediate recognition. Our lives on the outside might look a mess, but inside the soul, we can give ourselves up to the will of our God. Let us have this union with God, the Trinitarian submission to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Gospel: John 14:15-21 #Pascaljoy #Joy #Trinitarian #F...

St. Thomas in today's Gospel is fearful and anxious. He wants everything to be explained. How does Jesus respond? "Do not let your hearts be troubled." Jesus is pointing his apostles - and us - toward a peace to free us from carrying our anxieties. Gospel: John 14:1-12 #trust #faith #anxiety #Jesus #Catholic

We must train our ears for the voice of the Good Shepherd. It is here that prayer is so fundamental, to cast all over voices and to recognize and hear His Voice. The best place to hear His voice is in the Most Blessed Sacrament, where He gives His life for us. We need good and holy priests to give us the Eucharist, to bring the Life of Christ into our world. May we cultivate within our families an...

What is mercy? It is God's unmerited favor. There is next to nothing you have to do to receive it, but you do have to ask for it. In today's Gospel reading, we hear how the Lord establishes what we know as the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Come to the Lord with all going on in your life: the ups and downs, the struggles and triumphs. Ask for forgiveness of your sins, and savor the grace of...

Jesus Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed! The joy we have today is not an emotion. It is an abiding presence that Christ is our Savior. We have the opportunity for eternal life because Jesus died on the Cross and, three days later, He rose from the grave. Alleluia. Gospel: John 20:1-9 #Easter #Resurrection #Jesus #Catholic #joy #hope #eternallife

As baptized Catholics, we follow Christ in His joys, sufferings, passion, and death. We are also united with His resurrection. As such, we are called to unite our joys and our sorrows to Christ on the Cross. This is how we see our redemption. Gospels: Matthew 21:1-11; Matthew 26:14—27:66 #PalmSunday #HolyWeek #Lent #Jesus #Catholic

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?" Romans 6:3 This image of Lazarus in the tomb is an image of each and every one of us who have entered these waters of baptism, have entered into the tomb along with Christ, only to come out in the resurrection, the new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Gospel: John 11:1-45 #homily #homily...

A question we might often have is "Why is this bad thing happening to me? Is it from my sin or someone else's?" Go to the Lord, have your sins cleansed from your heart so you can see His answer. And whatever the answer may be, it is also so that the works of God can be made visible through you, just like the blind man in today's Gospel. Gospel: John 9:1-4 #homily #homilyhighlights #sin #forgivenes...

"Get down on your knees and pray. Ask God for the gift, open your heart to receive it. If you feel as though you have grown distant from God, I wonder which one of you has moved." ~ Famous football coach Lou Holtz We often stop short of coming to Christ because of shame, fear, guilt, pride, or whatever is holding us back. Let us today fall to our knees, asking God for the gifts we so des...

Peter shows us in this Gospel reading that he wishes to bask in the riches of the Glorified Christ and forget about His Passion. In that moment, Jesus was allowed to be transfigured to the apostles to give them some encouragement to follow the difficulty of the Passion and Death of Christ, to see that this is not the end; that the Resurrection -- eternal life -- is the end. We may want to bypass t...

"Behold, the Virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name Him Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) It happened. "Out of Egypt I will call my son." (Hosea 11:1) It happened. "He shall be called a Nazarene." (Isaiah 11:1) It happened. What God says will happen happens. "Take eat this is my body. Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, w...

God the Father entrusted His only Son to St. Joseph, who ultimately saved Jesus' life so the Lord could save us. St. Joseph listened and trusted God the Father's messages, despite it leading to exile, poverty, fatigue, ridicule, and so many other hardships. Without the sufferings of St. Joseph, we would not have the Savior to set us free from sin and death. Welcome to a special presentatio...

Welcome to a special presentation of our annual 40 Hours Devotion, with a homily reflection from Fr. Clark Stiteler, Parochial Vicar at St. John Neumann in Lancaster. St Joseph is the perfect person to guide us during our 40 Hours Devotion. In this homily, Fr. Stiteler shares how St. Joseph is a quiet and strong figure, as he was the guide and protector of our Mother Mary and our Blessed Lord duri...

Temptation is an invitation to sin. We can often be tempted to sin (as Jesus was as we heard in the Gospel), but it is not sin itself. We often think there is something wrong with us when we are tempted, but it is a result of our human nature. It is a trial to be endured. With patience, true humility, and following Christ every day, we can resist the temptations that come our way. Gospel: Matthew...

"Nothing ever happens in the world that does not happen first inside human hearts." ~ Venerable Fulton J. Sheen Jesus reminds us this week that if we follow the least of the commandments, we will be "called greatest in the kingdom of heaven." God isn't looking for perfection but obedience, and through that obedience, we see how much He truly loves us, because each of the co...

We are salt of the Earth. We might think salt is just a common spice nowadays, but it was an essential and necessary item for survival in ancient times. This means that Jesus is telling us we are essential, and we are intimately connected to Christ in His life, death and resurrection. Jesus speaks to us today, not just the apostles 2,000 years ago. Let us be filled with the sacraments He gave us,...

"Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted." Jesus is speaking of those who are mourning a loss of someone acutely, but also those who lament the present state of our lives, for our sins and what is happening in our world. Comfort will come, fully and fulfilled, in the life to come in heaven. In this present time, we can come to the Lord with our mourning and our pain. Gospel: Matthew...