Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
May 30, 2021
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40
Psalm 33:4-5, 6, 9, 18-19, 20, 22
Romans 8:14-17
Matthew 28:16-20
Walker Percy, a doctor turned novelist and a Catholic convert, wrote what he called the last self-help book, and entitled it Lost in the Cosmos. In it he muses about us who spend huge amounts of money to attempt to communicate with animals and who spend even more money on equipment to attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial beings. Meanwhile, we spend little or no time communicating with God or with each other, even if we consider ourselves faithful believers. We might even ask if we have anything meaningful to say to one another. Our relationships with each other, not to mention God, are impoverished.
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Homily for Pentecost Sunday
May 23, 2021
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 2:1-11
Psalm 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles begins with the words, “When the time of Pentecost was fulfilled.” Pentecost was the second of three major feasts in Israel. The first was Passover or the feast of Unleavened Bread, recalling God’s rescue of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt; and the third was the feast of tents and booths on the occasion of the harvesting of grapes and olives. Pentecost, or the feast of weeks, celebrated the first cutting of the grain harvest, thanking God for His abundant generosity in providing food for His people.
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Homily for the Priestly Ordination of Rev. Joseph Moreno, Rev. Thomas Jones, Rev. Brett J. Metzler, Rev. Samuel Maul, Rev. Jason Allan, Rev. Linh Nguyen
May 22, 2021
Vietnamese Martyrs Church
Arlington, Texas
Jeremiah 1:4-9
Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3
Acts 20:17-18a, 28-32, 36
John 15:9-17
Prophecy. Pastoral leadership. Sacrificial love. These are three points that the readings and liturgy offer us today for our reflection as we are called together as the Church to celebrate the ordination of these six men, our relatives and friends, to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.
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Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ
May 16, 2021
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9
Ephesians 4:1-13
Mark 16:15-20
As we liturgically celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord today, we hear the proclamation of the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel. In our Gospel reading, Jesus makes an unusual claim for those who believe: they will be able to drive out demons; they will speak new languages; they will handle serpents without harm; they will drink deadly poison without effect; and they will heal the sick. It seems strange that Mark would report these predictions of Jesus since we might be tempted to misunderstand our religion as if it were our introduction to powers.
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Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 9, 2021
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
1 John 4:7-10
John 15:9-17
The readings that the Church offers us in today’s liturgy involve call and command, transparency and friendship, love and sacrifice. Our second reading is a passage from the first Epistle of John that encourages us to love one another because that unites us with God. He goes on to tell us that love consists not in any activity on our part, but in the fact that God first loves us. This love consists in the gift of His Son who brings us forgiveness of our sins. God is the primary agent in love, and we are the recipients. Jesus says, “it was not you who chose Me but I who chose you and appointed you.”
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Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 2, 2021
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 9:26-31
Psalm 22:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32
I John 3:18-24
John 15:1-8
The Acts of the Apostles tells us today about Saint Paul’s entry into the Church. Three years after the Lord had appeared to him on the road to Damascus, Paul presented himself to the disciples in Jerusalem. But his reputation as Saul the Pharisee had preceded him, and the leaders had trouble believing that he had changed from persecuting the Church to be its defender.
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Life on the Chrism Trail 