Homilies

February 19

- Fr. Justin Sheehan

In Homily 48, St Isaac the Syrian wrote: “He who accuses his brother on account of his evil deeds has God for his own Accuser. A man who corrects his brother in his private chamber cures his evil; but a man who makes accusation against another in a public gathering worsens his wounds. He who cures his brother in secret makes manifest the strength of his love; but he who puts his brother to shame in the eyes of his companions gives a proof of the strength of his envy.”

6th Sunday iin Ordinary Time

February 16

- Fr. John Denburger

After a night in prayer on a mountain Jesus selected twelve disciples as His apostles. We can imagine the wonder and joy of these men as they began to realize what had taken place. St. Luke recounts, in today’s Gospel: Jesus coming down with the Twelve stood on a stretch of level ground and although surrounded by a very large crowd, looked directly at the Twelve and began to instruct them, the first of many teachings.

The Presentation of the Lord

February 2

- Fr. Justin Sheehan

They will offer due sacrifice to the Lord, said the prophet Malachi in the first reading. Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, said St Luke in the Gospel for today. And when the parents of Jesus make their offering and present him to the Lord, Simeon sees the salvation which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles.

Funeral Mass for Dom Bernardo Bonowitz

January 25

- Fr. Isaac Slater

To find God in the midst of great suffering we have to look with faith. To look not at what can be seen, but at what cannot be seen; or, we might say, to look at what can be seen in the light of the unseen…like the centurion in the gospel who saw Jesus’ terrible dereliction and declared, “This man was God’s Son.” Even if Fr. Bernardo often found it hard to have much hope or to call to mind the Lord’s goodness, even if he felt at times forsaken, like Christ on the cross, the Lord’s steadfast love for him never ceased and his mercies have not come to an end even now. That faithfulness is seen more clearly as our outer nature wastes away since power is made perfect in weakness. In Jesus crucified God has entered right down into the furthest reaches of our misery and estrangement that we might know his love through and through, to the roots.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 19

- Fr. Justin Sheehan

In the Gospel of St John, the passage we have just heard begins with the phrase, “On the third day there was a wedding at Cana”. The fact that the wedding took place on the third day is not just a minor detail which we can ignore. It gives us a hint as to how to interpret this morning’s Gospel. The meaning of this passage seems to be the spiritual transformation of human life which Christ brought about, and the mention of the “third day” to any Christian who knows the Creed, would be a reminder that Christ “rose again on the third day”. If we look at the wedding feast in the light of the resurrection, there is a wealth of meaning to it, and the Church herself seems to suggest the connection by having this Gospel read on a Sunday, the weekly commemoration of the resurrection.

Solemnity of the Mother of God

January 1

- Fr. Gabriel Vecchi

In my opinion, one of the biggest blessings of being a Catholic is the liturgy. Catholic liturgy is not only a collection of symbolic gestures, the reenactment of a divine drama or a mere aesthetic experience. In the liturgy, two things happen: 1) the mystery of our salvation that is being celebrated is made present again, today; and 2) we are being included, with our present lives and circumstances, in this same mystery. Both things are fundamental. We are celebrating today the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. We heard in the Gospel the narrative of Jesus’ circumcision and the adoration of the shepherds. As Catholics, we believe that these facts helped to form the pathway for our salvation. The way Jesus was born, lived and died has something very important for every Christian, for every human being to learn.

4th Tuesday in Advent

December 24

- Fr. Gabriel Vecchi

In my homily last week, I mentioned how Zechariah let his fear take the place his faith should have in his heart. He doubted the words of the angel and after that, he became dumb and he entered a long and dark period in his interior life. While John the Baptist grew in Elisabeth’s womb, Christ was silent growing in Zechariah’s heart as well.