Life on the Chrism Trail

Homily for the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi – 800th Anniversary of the Death of Saint Francis

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 4, 2026
St. Francis of Assisi Church
Graford, Texas

Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80
Philippians 4:6-9
Matthew 21:33-43

Today we celebrate the 800^th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. He is the patron of your parish who intercedes on your behalf and that of your loved ones. We thank him for his intercession that has helped to deliver many from the recent fires and we ask him for his continued intercession for those who have been harmed by these fires. In no small way, he was with you spiritually in assisting the charity your parish showed to first responders in providing meals and rest to assist them in their life-saving and heroic work.

October 4, 2026

Homily for the Mass for Babies Who Died Before Baptism

October 3, 2026
Saint Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas

Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17
Psalm 119:135
Luke 10:17-24

Bishop’s homily in English begins at paragraph 7

Nuestras lecturas de esta Misa nos ofrecen tres puntos para nuestra reflexión y meditación: el silencio, el santo temor, y la revelación de Dios a los pequeños por el don de Su Hijo, el Hijo de nuestra Señora también.

October 3, 2026

Homily for the Red Mass for the Diocese of Fort Worth

September 23, 2026
Saint Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas

Isaiah 58:6-11
Psalm 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
James 2:14-18, 26
Matthew 25:31-46

We come together this evening not only as judges, attorneys, legislators, priests, and public servants. This evening, we invoke the fire of the Holy Spirit as symbolized by the red vestments of this Mass, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit upon the hearts and minds of those of us who are especially charged with administration of the law towards the preservation of justice. We do not seek God’s ratification of our political agendas or His blessing upon the ambitions for our careers. We gather to ask the Holy Spirit to purify and to illumine our reason with the fire of His Love.

September 24, 2026

Homily for the Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle

Institution of Acolytes

September 21, 2026
Saint Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church
Fort Worth, Texas

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Psalm 19:2-5
Matthew 9:9-13

Today we gather at this Mass of the Feast of Saint Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist to pray for these men who are to be instituted in the ministry of Acolyte as part of their preparation and formation on the path towards ordination to the permanent diaconate. We pray also for their wives and families. Finally, we pray for the Church, both local and universal.

September 22, 2026

Homily for the Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian

September 16, 2026
Saint Mary’s University and Seminary
Baltimore, Maryland

2 Corinthians 4:7-15
Psalm 126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6 “Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.”
John 17:11b-19

The Church offers us this liturgical memorial for these two especially important saints in the history of Church: Saint Cornelius, pope and martyr, and Saint Cyprian, his contemporary and a martyr. Our readings and prayers show us also that the intercession, the lives, and the ministries of these saints are truly relevant for our reflection in the current circumstances of the Church today in the United States and around the world.

September 16, 2026

Homily for the Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Mass for the Repose of the Souls of Deceased Basselins

September 15, 2026
Caldwell Hall Chapel, The Catholic University of America
Washington, D.C.

Genesis 3:9-15, 20
Psalm 31:2 & 3b, 3cd-4, 5-6, 15-16, 20
Hebrews 5:7-9
Luke 2:33-35

The Liturgy of the Church offers us this memorial dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Sorrows. This memorial is placed immediately after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross because the Blessed Virgin Mary, through her being preserved from the stain of all sin by the merits of her Son, shares most closely in her Son’s mission of salvation and is united with Him in His suffering. We come together on this day, here in this chapel at this university, to offer Mass and to pray for the repose of the soul of Theodore Basselin and the souls of all deceased recipients of the scholarship named in his honor.

September 15, 2026

Homily for the Twenty-fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

September 13, 2026
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Washington, D.C.

Sirach 27:30-28:7
Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12
Romans 14:7-9
Matthew 18:21-35

“Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” These words from the Book of Sirach, the first reading in our Mass, offer an instruction on anger, vengeance, and forgiveness. Wrath is a destructive force, and because of our emotions we are prone to let it overtake us and drive us farther away from reason. We remember insults and injuries we have received and feel justified in returning the same. Our irritations soon become grudges, and our irascibility frequently turns to wrath and makes us become bitter, entitled, resentful and increasingly irrational. What exactly does it mean to hug anger tight?

September 13, 2026

Homily for the Friday of the Twenty-Third Week of Ordinary Time

September 11, 2026
Theological College
Washington, D.C.

1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27
Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12
Luke 6:39-42

Today we commemorate with our solemn prayers and reflection the 25th anniversary of a day of great anger. Twenty-five years ago today, nineteen Islamic terrorists flew hijacked airliners into the World Trade Center in New York City and into the Pentagon in Northern Virginia, thereby murdering a total of 2977 innocent people including those forty passengers and crew members on United Airlines Flight 93 who fought the terrorists and, in the battle, prevented the plane from hitting the intended target of either the White House or the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

September 11, 2026