Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter
April 19, 2026
Acts 2:14, 22-33
Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
1 Peter 1:17-21
Luke 24:13-35
It is in the light of Jesus’ revelation as experienced by Cleopas and his fellow traveler on the way to Emmaus and recorded in Luke’s Gospel that Peter — the first pope — preaches in both the first and second readings from today’s Liturgy. In these first two readings, Saint Peter speaks to all the nations of the world that this Man, Jesus Christ — the One they had crucified and seen suffer and die — has been raised from the dead. As a witness of the Resurrection, humbled after his cowardice on Good Friday, Peter preaches to the world that “our futile lives and conduct have now been ransomed because of the precious Blood of Jesus Christ.” The Cross and Resurrection of Christ have changed everything, including our destiny and our capacity to act morally as redeemed human beings. The Death and Resurrection of Christ is what now informs our conscience.
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Homily for the Second Sunday of Easter
Divine Mercy Sunday
April 12, 2026
Confirmations in Sacred Heart Church in Seymour; St. Joseph Church in Rhineland; and St. John Paul II Church in Denton
Acts 2:42-47
Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 20:19-31
Saint Thomas not only doubts the Resurrection of Christ; first, he doubts and disbelieves the witness of the other Apostles who have received the gift and power of the Holy Spirit as breathed upon them by Christ Himself. He sets his own conditions for belief by establishing the criteria that he first probe the wounds in Christ’s hands and side with his own fingers and hands in order for him to believe. It is only after Thomas encounters Jesus Christ risen from the dead that he comes to recognize the pride of his own disbelief and he repents and converts. The Resurrection of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit given to Thomas and the other Apostles for the sake of sharing with their successors and with all the followers in the Church introduces an entirely new reality in which truth, love, and mercy conquer deception, hatred, and sin.
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Homily for Easter Sunday
April 5, 2026
St. Patrick Cathedral
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 10:34-43
Psalm 118
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Matthew 28:1-10
Matthew’s Gospel account of the empty tomb and the encounter with the Resurrected Lord that we have just proclaimed includes a detail that grounds the truth and power of the Resurrection of the Lord in reality: “Jesus met [the women] on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.” Why did they embrace his feet? The feet are the parts of the body closest to the ground. As we recall, it was the feet of the Apostles that were washed on Holy Thursday. Feet ground a human being in reality. Feet represent the human condition, never totally clean, highly sensitive and always in need of cleansing. Today’s actions by the women in the Gospel reveal that in Jesus, our human condition is redeemed and cleansed.
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Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
Pastoral Visit to the Dominican Sisters
May 5, 2024
Blessed Imelda Convent
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
Psalm 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4
I John 4:7-10
John 15:9-17
The readings that the Church offers us in today’s liturgy center on authentic love and friendship. It is unconditional love that is the way that “the Lord has revealed to the nations His saving power” as we prayed in the 98th Psalm as our responsorial psalm. In our second reading and our Gospel for today’s liturgy the word love appears eighteen times. The type of love that is mentioned is known as agape or charity. It is not mere human love or affection. It is stronger than marital or familial love. It is the type of love that only God can instill because it is the very life of the Holy Trinity. It is this type of love that the Incarnation of Christ makes a capacity of human love and that which the Holy Spirit imbues in us as the theological virtue of charity at our Baptism and Confirmation.
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Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter
Sacrament of Confirmation
April 28, 2024
St. Mary’s Catholic Church
Windthorst, 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 enemy of the Church had preceded him, and the leaders had trouble believing that he had changed from persecuting the Church to being its defender.
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Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter
Sacrament of Confirmation
April 14, 2024
Holy Family Catholic Church
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19
Psalm 4:2, 4, 7-8, 9
I John 2:1-5a
Luke 24:35-48
The disciples had returned to the Apostles after encountering Jesus while they were on the road to Emmaus. They were describing to the Apostles how they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread, when Jesus suddenly appears among them and speaks to them the words, “Peace be with you.” The disciples thought they were seeing a ghost, but Jesus showed them His wounds and told them to touch Him to prove He was not a ghost. He even asked them for something to eat.
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Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter
Good Shepherd Sunday
April 30, 2023
Holy Family Parish
Fort Worth, Texas
Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
1 Peter 2:20b-25
John 10:1-10
Today we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Easter that is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Part of our celebration incudes the administering of the sacrament of confirmation to eighteen young men and women of your parish. This is a day dedicated not only for prayer for priestly vocations but also to pray for our ordained priests and bishops that we continue to grow in configuration to Christ the Good Shepherd.
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Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter
Confirmation at St. Joseph Parish
May 1, 2022
St. Joseph Parish
Rhineland, TX
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41
Psalm 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Revelation 5:11-14
John 21:1-19
John’s Gospel today reports the appearance of Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias. The disciples, who were confused and overcome by the events of Jesus’ death and resurrection, decide to return to more comfortable surroundings. Peter and a half-dozen others go back to what they know how to do best, in a sense, they try to return to their former way of life … they return to their boats and nets to go fishing. They fish all night long but come up empty. Their experience of Jesus and His love for them is so intense that they cannot return to the way things were before.
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Life on the Chrism Trail 