Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life.” (Mt. 16:24-26) I spent five years of my seminary formation in Rome, studying at the Pontifical Gregorian University. During the first three years, I obtained a Bachelor in Sacred Theology, which would be similar to a Masters of Divinity. During my final two years of seminary, I spent most of my time studying canon law. Anyway, one day I was discussing the Scriptural passage above with a friend who was in advanced Scripture studies, and I asked him: “To what was Jesus referring to when … [Read more...]

Jesus said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” (Mt. 15:26-27) For the first 36 years of my life, I spent a lot of time listening to homilies at Mass, rather than giving them. Of course, I’ve heard some amazing homilies. But I’ve also heard some that didn’t say a lot to me. One of my biggest pet peeves was when there was a line in the Gospel that begged to be explained and the homilist ignored it like nobody heard it. I think that the above quote from this Sunday’s Gospel is just that sort of quote. Think about it, did Jesus just call that woman a “dog”? That’s strong language! And she just accepted it?? First, we have to … [Read more...]

Peter said to him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mt. 14:28-31) There are three things about the above encounter between Jesus and Peter from today’s Gospel that should make us think. First, there is the command of Jesus; second, there is the fear of Peter; and third, there is the reaction of Jesus to Peter’s lack of faith. First, we have to recognize that Jesus “commands” Peter to go across the water. If Jesus gives us a … [Read more...]

When it was evening, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. (Mt. 14:15-17) The miracle of the loaves and the fishes is the only miracle that occurs in each of the four Gospels. It points back to the Old Testament when the Israelites were fed in the desert with Manna from Heaven; and it points forward to the Eucharist when we are fed by Jesus with the Bread of Life. But we can’t deny the … [Read more...]

Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. (Mt. 13:44-46) Not too long after Hurricane Katrina, a friend who is in the marine construction business told me a story about a man who owned some property on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. It was basically swampland that the man used for hunting and fishing. At that usage, the land couldn’t have been worth much more than $1000 an acre. And then something happened. A survey found that there was a large vein of clay on the property. With all of the coastal protection projects going on, the need for local clay was enormous. Small amounts of clay are not that expensive, but clay is … [Read more...]

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’” (Mt. 13:32-31a) One of the memorable scenes from the Acts of the Apostles is when the Pharisees are deciding what to do about the Apostles, who seem content to suffer persecution as they courageously preach about the Resurrection of Jesus. One of the Pharisees, named Gamaliel, orders the Apostles out of the Sanhedrin, and makes the following appeal to the members: “Fellow Israelites be careful what you are about to do to these men. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important, and about four hundred men joined him, but he was … [Read more...]

Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it. (IS. 55:10-11) The Gospel for this 15th Sunday in Ordinary time is the parable from Matthew 13 about the field sown with good and bad seed. We might have heard the expression “bad seed” as referring to someone who came from a “bad family.” While it’s true that one’s environment can have a serious effect on our personalities, attitudes and habits, the Church teaches that we are all God’s children. You might also hear … [Read more...]

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt 11:28-30) “Come to me,” the Lord asks us in today’s Gospel. It’s a command, and it’s directed to the entire group to whom Jesus is speaking. The same word is used by Jesus a number of times in the New Testament, speaking to a past event, a present event and a future event. In the past event, Jesus first used the word: “Come, after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mk 1:17). In the future event, Jesus gives us the parable of the talents, and uses the word as a future invitation to Heaven: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the … [Read more...]

Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4) As we prepare to celebrate Independence Day next week, we might reflect a little bit about what it means to be “free.” In the context of the Fourth of July holiday, freedom means being separated from the political control of a king as had been the case prior to the American revolution. But “freedom” means many things. Webster’s Dictionary has a very lengthy definition of freedom. In part it reads: “a: the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; b: liberation from slavery or restraint … [Read more...]

Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. (Mt 10:29-31) Today Jesus tells is not to be afraid. And how much we need to hear these words during this time of global pandemic and societal unrest! Fear of disease, fear of racism and fear of violence have permeated the last three months. But the words of the Gospel provide a reassurance from Jesus: “do not be afraid.” If we think about it, our lives are a succession of fears. As children we might have feared the dark or thunder and lightning. Perhaps as teenagers we feared not fitting in at school. At exam time we might have feared failing a test or failing to … [Read more...]