The meeting of Mary Magdalene with the risen Lord at his empty tomb is one of the more poignant passages of Scripture. According to the Gospel of John, she was the first to go to the tomb. Then she went to Peter and John and told them that the tomb was empty, but at that [...]
We’re beginning today the cycle of St Luke for the Sunday Gospels, as we do every year following the Sunday after the Feast of the Holy Cross. Last Sunday Jesus said that whoever would follow Him must take up his cross. Today Jesus takes the initiative to call those whom He wanted to be his [...]
The Lord calls us to trust, and to not worry. But it should also be clear, though, that the Lord didn’t say, “Do not work”; He just said, “Do not worry.” So it’s not a matter of saying, “I’ll sit here and just trust in God all day, and then I’ll go down to the [...]
[This is a homily I gave about five years ago. It’s on the famous text from Matthew’s Gospel on trusting in God as do the wildflowers and the birds---and I suppose also the cats.] Happiness is like a cat, as it is said. If you chase after it, it will flee from you; but if [...]
I’m sure you’ve been breathlessly waiting for this, and now it has finally come: the Chinese translation of my book Joy Comes with Dawn! You might wonder why it didn’t first come out in Spanish or French. The simple answer is: no Spanish or French publishers approached me! But a fellow from Hong Kong, who [...]
I noticed something I don’t recall noticing before when reading the First Epistle of Peter. It’s a rather curious phrase, but perhaps an important one. He is likely addressing the newly-baptized in this letter, so he compares them to “newborn babes” who are nourished by “spiritual milk.” Why do they need this? So that they [...]
There’s a reason for all the admonitions and encouragements in the twelfth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Chapter 12 begins with a look back to the “cloud of witnesses” described in the previous chapter—those who persevered in faith even before hearing the Good News of the Incarnation and Resurrection. While not having “received [...]
Practically everyone who is interested in living a spiritual life is also interested in knowing what God’s will is, and how to go about discovering it. Well, don’t get all excited, I don’t have any original answers for you; I’m probably just as much in the dark as you are. But whenever I hear something [...]
The word of the Cross is the power of God for us who are being saved. Thus declares the Apostle Paul in the Epistle reading for this great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (1Cor. 1:18-24). My task today is to preach to you the word of the Cross, that is, the message, [...]
We’re getting ready to celebrate the feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross, one of the major feasts of our liturgical year. Since the mystery of the Cross is so central to our faith, the Church gives us several opportunities to celebrate and reflect upon its meaning. So we have a Sunday [...]
