Homily for the Vigil for the Second Sunday of Lent
February 28, 2026
St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church
Arlington, Texas
Genesis 12:1-4a
Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
2nd Timothy 1:8b-10
Matthew 17:1-9
The first reading of this Sunday’s Mass presents the call of God to Abraham. At this time in his life, Abraham is seventy-five years old — a time that common sense tells us is too late to expect change from any human being. Those of us who have loved ones who have aged and entered the elder cohort of the human population or who have even themselves entered old age can attest to the wisdom of such proverbs as, “She is too set in her ways;” or also, “He is an example that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks.” Yet, the matters of vocation and conversion are not matters of human initiative, ingenuity, or will power.
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Homily for the First Sunday of Lent
February 22, 2026
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17
Romans 5:12-19
Matthew 4:1-11
The drama of temptation by the devil entices us to think that we can battle temptation alone without God. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, prior to their fall into sin, entered into dialogue with the devil about what God commanded them to do. Eve listens to the devil who tempts her and Adam to disobey God’s command to them not to even touch let alone eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The promise that the devil makes is that they will be like gods. To be like gods means that they will no longer be human in accord with the way God created them in their humanity. They will no longer have need for God nor to be in relationship with God. They would come to see God as a rival to their freedom and knowledge.
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Homily for the Lunar New Year
February 15, 2026
Our Lady of Fatima Church
Fort Worth, Texas
Genesis 1:14-18
Psalm 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
Philippians 4:4-8
Matthew 6:25-34
We come together today to worship God in the offering of the Mass. We do so because God has revealed Himself fully to us through the Sacred Scriptures and fully in the gift of His Son Jesus Christ, who taught the Apostles and His earliest disciples to do this in His memory. We come together as members of His Holy Catholic Church in communion with the Church throughout the world.
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Homily for the Memorial of Saint John Bosco
January 31, 2026
Theological College
Washington, D.C.
Philippians 4:4-9
Psalm 103:1bc-2, 3-4, 8-9, 13-14, 17-18
Matthew 18:1-5
Today the Church offers us this liturgical Memorial of Saint John Bosco, a saint of the nineteenth century who was renowned for his humble dedication to the care and education of orphaned and abandoned boys and adolescents. He and his brother Salesians accepted the responsibility of care for these young men whom the world considered to be a burden on society.
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Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 1, 2026
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13
Psalm 146
1st Corinthians 1:26-31
Matthew 5:1-12a
“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach…” There are two groups depicted in today’s Gospel: the crowds and the disciples. Jesus teaches His disciples, and they listen because He has called them by name, and they belong to Him. A crowd is without identity and thrives on frenzy. Crowds are pieced together by individuals who out of fear or indifference have jettisoned the responsibility that accompanies belonging as a lawful member of society in exchange for fitting in with the prevailing mood of the time. The disciples are governed by faith in God as Christ’s Church.
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