Homily for the first Sunday of Advent
November 29, 2020
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Isaiah 63:16b-17, 19B; 64:2-7
Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Mark 13:33-37
In the reading from Isaiah today we hear a prophetic prayer of lamentation from a people who has been exiled after the destruction of the Temple. It calls God to manifest His presence and power as never before. Isaiah calls on God to redeem and to vindicate Israel as God promised that He would do. Israel feels that because God is silent, He is absent.
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Homily for Thanksgiving Day
November 26, 2020
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Sirach 50:22-24
Psalm 138:1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5
Colossians 3:12-17
Luke 1:39-55
John’s leap was no ordinary movement of an unborn child, for in the words of Saint Elizabeth to the Blessed Virgin Mary, “as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.”
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Solemnity of Christ the King
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
November 22, 2020
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Psalm 23:1-2, 2-3, 5-6
1st. Corinthians 15:20-26, 28
Matthew 25:31-46
The Netherlands is frequently associated with the reclamation of land from the sea, as its engineers are famous for developing techniques like polders to drain wetlands and make them usable for agriculture and other development. The Dutch have a saying: “God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.” Yet, every so often this land is invaded by floods and requires it to be drained again and reclaimed. I think that it is inaccurate to consider the ocean to be an invader; rather, the ocean is simply returning to what is rightfully its own. God created the Netherlands too.
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Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 15, 2020
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31
Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
1 Thessalonians 5:1-6
Matthew 25:14-30
The Book of Proverbs speaks about the value of a wife as being of an eternal character that points to the coming of Christ and the character of His relationship with His wife, the Church. This Scripture also points to the character of a sacramental marriage. Such a wife is worth more than many pearls. She provides both for her own family and for the needy and poor. She may be charming and beautiful, but more important is her fear of the Lord, or her sense of awe and reverence of God’s power in her life which is reflected in the way she graciously and selflessly treats those entrusted to her. She does not look for any reward, but recognition and honor should be given her for her loving care. Such is our supernatural vocation as the Church, the Bride of Christ. The Church is a supernatural and graced communion, not a political collective.
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Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints
November 1, 2020
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12a
Time. We change our clocks this weekend to try and save some of the light that quickly disappears this time of year. We put on warmer clothes and spend a little more time indoors. In a certain sense, the setting of our clocks back one hour as part of Daylight Savings Time is an attempt by us to stave off the darkness that inevitably comes with winter. It is as if we barter with the darkness instead of turning to the light.
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Life on the Chrism Trail 