Homily for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)
The Midnight Mass
December 25, 2022
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, TX
Isaiah 49:2, 8-10
Psalm 96:1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone.” Into this land of gloom, a gloom which so many eyes have grown accustomed to mistaking for light, the gloom of selfishness and sin, the gloom of indifference and ignorance, the gloom of violence and vengeance, the true Light of the World is born and lay in a manger in Bethlehem and shines among the poor shepherds and between the ox and the donkey.
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Homily for the Third Saturday of Advent
St. John Paul II Shepherd’s Guild
December 17, 2022
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church
Keller, TX
Genesis 49:2, 8-10
Psalm 72:1-2, 3, 4ab, 7-8, 17
Matthew 1:1-17
“Justice shall flourish in His time, and fullness of peace forever.” When we look closely at the character and the behavior of the individuals listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David and the son of Abraham, we can see that this Psalm is not prayed because of the human excellence of an historical dynasty. In fact, each of these figures, especially the kings, committed sins, injustices, and failures that brought suffering and misery on their children and their children’s children.
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Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
Rite of Candidacy for Eric Flores and Benjamin Grothouse
December 18, 2022
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
Arlington, TX
Isaiah 7:10-14
Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24
Today as we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Advent we formally receive as candidates for ordination, Benjamin Grothouse and Eric Flores. These two men have been in discernment and seminary formation for over eight years having answered the call from Christ to follow Him on this path to priestly ordination and ministry.
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Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudate Sunday
December 11, 2022
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10
Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
John the Baptist is the last and greatest prophet before the coming of the Messiah. His prophetic witness begins even before his own birth and also before the birth of Jesus, as he leaps in the womb of his mother Elizabeth when she is visited by the Blessed Virgin Mary who is pregnant with Jesus. Elsewhere in the Gospel, John the Baptist proclaims Jesus to be the Lamb of God who has come to deliver us from our sins. John the Baptist protests Jesus’ desire to be baptized by him because he knows himself not even to be worthy to untie the straps of his sandals.
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Homily for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 20, 2022
St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church
Prosper, Texas
2 Samuel 5:1-3
Psalm 122:1-5
Colossians 1:12-20
Luke 23:35-43
To reveal the exact nature of the Kingship and sovereignty of Jesus, Saint Luke presents the last moments of Jesus life as He is dying on the cross. The religious leaders, most of whom rejected Jesus during His earthly ministry, were mocking Him as He is dying. They believe that they have overcome Him by their political maneuvering and will be rid of Him as a nuisance. Jesus always spoke with them directly and honestly about God and their need for conversion, and now they were publicly degrading Him, rejecting Him as the Messiah sent by the Father to save them.
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Homily for the Funeral Mass for Jennifer Pelletier
November 15, 2022
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, TX
Revelation 21:1-5a, 6b-7
Psalm 103
Romans 14:7-9, 10c-12
John 11:17-27
We have read the passage from the Gospel of John, in which Jesus speaks to Martha, just before He restores life to her brother Lazarus who has died. In Luke’s Gospel, we read that Jesus restores life to the son of a widow from the village of Naim. In each of the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we read that Jesus raised the daughter of the synagogue leader named Jairus.
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Homily for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 5, 2022
St. Michael Catholic Church
Bedford, TX
2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38
The gift of our faith reveals and provides in Christ a unity between our life on earth and our future destiny. Today, in our readings we have two different considerations of what follows for human beings after death. First, we see illustrated in our first reading from the second book of Maccabees the martyrdom of seven brothers. Seven brothers with their mother were arrested because they would not disobey God or His Covenant by eating pork. Reverent and obedient to God’s law in this life, they had confidence in Him that they would share in His life in the next. They valued God even more than the great gift of their lives and they did not want to reject Him even under great suffering.
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Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Altar of Saint John Paul II
October 23, 2022
Saint Peter’s Basilica
Vatican City
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
2 Timothy 4:6-8; 16-18
Luke 18:9-14
Our first reading from the Book of Sirach reveals that the Lord is just, and, in His justice, He does not play favorites. His justice entails His hearing the cry of the poor and oppressed and is especially attentive to the prayers of the humble. The special place that the poor enjoy in God’s esteem is not due to their material poverty, but to their fundamental trust and reliance upon God for everything. Poverty in and of itself is not a virtue. Rather, God esteems the poor in His love because there is no one else except God who cares for them, and they know that without Him they are lost.
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Life on the Chrism Trail 
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