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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Homily for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
World Mission Sunday
October 17, 2022
Saint Stephen Catholic Church
Weatherford, TX
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalm 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8
Today we gather in communion to pray as God’s people and to mark World Mission Sunday to ask God for His gifts of missionary conversion, prayer, and concrete expressions of charity. In his annual message to the Pontifical Mission societies, Pope Francis highlights these three elements of the Holy Spirit’s grace, missionary conversion, prayer, and concrete works of charity as the great contributions to the spread of the Gospel since the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost.
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Homily for the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
50th Anniversary of Deaf Ministry in the Diocese of Fort Worth
October 2, 2022
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, TX
Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:3-4
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Luke 17:5-10
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Amidst being taken captive by the Babylonians, Habakkuk the prophet cries out to God asking why God is allowing this violence and ruin. The vision God sends the prophet is that the faithful and just will live, but God works in His own time and the people must wait for fulfillment of God’s plan. Waiting for its fulfillment means living focused on making God’s love and faithfulness a reality. Jesus brings and is that fulfillment promised to Habakkuk and proclaimed by Paul to Timothy.
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Homily for the Memorial of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face
Blessing of Blessed Imelda Convent
October 1, 2022
Fort Worth, TX
Nehemiah 8:1-6, 8-10
Psalm 19B
Ephesians 2:19-22
John 2:13-22
“Today is holy to the LORD your God. Do not be sad, and do not weep.”
Fifty-seven years ago, Perfectae Caritatis, the Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life of the Second Vatican Council, advocated for “the constant return to the sources of all Christian life and to the original spirit of the institutes and their adaptation to the changed conditions of our time.” In so doing, the Council enumerated five principals for the advancement of the authentic renewal of religious life.
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Life on the Chrism Trail 