Description:Orgnizations take on the culture and values of their leadership. That is also true in famililes. The Holy Family was holy because Mary and Joseph were holy. Holy parents, holy children, holy families. The homily is based on Luke chapter 2, verses 22 to 40.

Description:This homily considers how God might be seen as the "Divine Casting Director' who chooses Mary for a starring role in the drama of salvation. The homily is based on Luke chapter 1, verses 26 to 38.

Description:In today's Gospel reading, John the Baptist is hit with questions. It almost seems like a press conference. The questions give John the opportunity to preach his message. The homily is based on John 2, verses 6 to 8 and 19-28.

Description:John the Baptist would not be the kind of person to take a selfie. He wanted the focus to be on Jesus, and not on himself. The homily is based on Mark, chapter 1, verses 1 to 8.

Description:Advent calls us to be watchful and alert. Yet most children and adults are more alert to the coming of Santa Claus than to the coming in glory of the Son of Man.This homily examines why this may be the case. The homily is based on Mark chapter 13, verses 33 to 37.

Description:It's often said that "Who you know is more important than what you know." When it comes to gaining a place in the Kingdom of Heaven that seems to be true. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 25, verses 31 to 46.

Description:The parable of the talents can be understood in many ways. Perhaps the correct way to see how the three servants were judged is to see how each imitiated or failed to imitate the initiative and energy of the master. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 25, verses 14 to 30.

Description:This homily explores the meaning of church buildings. It looks at them as "footprints" that proclaim the presence of Jesus Christ. This homily for the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica is based on John chapter 2, verses 13 to 22.

Description:There are two certainities in life, death and taxes. Society speaks about taxes and avoids speaking of death. The Church, however, has no problem speaking of that final certainity in life, namely, death. The homily is geared to the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, and to John chapter 6, verses 37 to 40.

Description:All Christians have heard the words of Jesus to love God and to love their neighbor. This homily explores why so many followers of Jesus seem to be hard of hearing when it comes to those words. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 22, verses 34 to 40.

Description:Jesus was a man whose answers left his questioners amazed. That holds true as Jesus responds to a question about paying taxes to Caesar. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 22, verses 15 to 21.

Description:When we receive an invitation, we are faced with a decision. Do we accept? Or do we decline? This homily asks us to look at the factors that we use in deciding how to respond to invitations, even to invitations from God. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 22, verses 1 to 10.

Description:Renters are expected to pay rent. Jesus tells a parable about renters who refuse to pay what they owe. The homily reminds us that we are all renters, and God expects us to pay our "rent." The homily is based on Matthew chapter 21, verses 33 to 43.

Description:What politicians say when campaigning does not always match what they do when elected. This homily focuses on the story Jesus tells about two sons who each say one thing to their father and then do something else. The homily is base on Matthew chapter 21, verses 28 to 32.

Description:We have laws that goven employment practices. Today's parable points out that God's way of treating those who labor in his vineyard does not match our laws or expectations. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 20, verses 1 to 16.

Description:The Cross of Christ "crosses out' humanity's NO to God and replaces it with a YES. The homily for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14, is based on John chapter 3, verses 13 to 17.

Description:There are no perfect people nor perfect institutions. Christians are not perfect. The Church is not perfect. This homily explores what Jesus told us about dealing with imperfect, sinful people. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 18, verses 15 to 20.

Description:What makes a person successful? Peter seems to embrace society's criteria for success. Peter learns that Jesus' view of a successful Messiah is very different from his. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 16 verses 21 to 27.

Description:Good teachers ask questions designed to get their students to think. Jesus, the perfect teacher, poses a most challenging question to his disciples and to us. "Who do YOU say that I am?" The homily is based on Matthew chapter 16 verses 13 to 20.

Description:Matthew's story about Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman does not seem to put Jesus in a positive light. This homily explores why Matthew might have included this incident in his Gospel. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 15, verses 21 to 28.

Description:According to the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory people are either introverts or extroverts. This homily explores how Jesus might be classified by Myers-Briggs. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 14, verses 22 to 33.

Description:Great works of literature always have deeper meanings. That is also true when it comes the account of the feeding of a crowd of thousands with five loaves and two fish. But in looking for the deeper meaning in that story, we may miss the obvious. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 14, verses 13 to 21.

Description:When something wonderful happens in our life, we are thrilled. The homily explores why many Christians seem less than thrilled about being part of God's Kingdom. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 13, verses 44 to 45.

Description:God has wonderful, awesome qualities. But mercy is one quality of God that we often do not understand. Why is God merciful to those we see as undeserving of mercy? This homily explores that question. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 13, verses 24 to 30.

Description:Ads for cars appear each and every day and in every type of media. For automobile companies never know the day when someone might be interested in their product. In the parable of the sower and seed, Jesus reminds us that we need to always be sowing the word of God, for we never know the day when someone will be ready to listen. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 13, verses 1 to 23.

Description:"Come to me," elicits different emotions depending upon who says them. This homily explores what those words mean when Jesus says them. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 11, verses 25 to 30.

Description:Teachers expect students to reply with their own answers, not those gotten from other students. In this homily we hear how Jesus praised Peter for answering a question with an answer provided by someone else. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 16, verses 13-19.

Description:One thing follows another for a reason. This homily explores the relationship of Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ to that of the Feast of the Holy Trinity that was celebrated the previous Sunday. The homily is based on John chapter 6, verses 51 to 58.

Description:"I love you" may be the most powerful phrase in the English language. But it only rings true when it is backed up by loving actions. God proved his love for us by sending us his only Son. Belief in the Son of God brings us eternal life. (John 3:16). But that belief has to be expressed in more than just words. Belief in the Son of God requires proof!

Description:The obvious gift the Risen Lord gave his disciples was the gift of the Holy Spirit. However, that is not the complete answer. The full answer is found in the words that the Risen Lord first spoke to his disciples, "Peace be with you." The homily is based on John chapter 20, verses 19 to 23.

Description:There is a big difference between knowing about a person and know that person. Real knowing demands a personal relationship. This homily explores the difference between knowing facts about Jesus and truly knowing him. The homily is based on John chapter 17, verses 1 to 11.

Description:Words convey information, but they also can convey feelings. This homily explores the word "orphan. A word that Jesus tells his disciples that they will not have to apply to themselves. The homily is based on John chapter 14, verses 12 to 21.

Description:This homily explores what Jesus meant when he said he was going to prepare a place for us in his Father's house. The homily is based on John chapter 14, verses 1 to 12.

Description:We are familiar with Jesus calling himself the "Good Shepherd." This homily points out that Jesus also referred to himself as the "Gate." We might say Jesus is the "Good Gate" as well as the "Good Shepherd." The homily is based on John chapter 10, verses 1 to 10.

Description:The appeance of the Risen Lord to his two disciples on the road to Emmaus is an event for which we can be present. We can be there for that event for it takes place each time we gather for Sunday Mass. The homily is based on Luke chapter 24, verses 13 to 35.

Description:The Risen Lord does not want his Church hiding behind locked doors. That is evident from today's Gospel as well from the canonization of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II. The homily is based on John chapter 20, verses 19 to 31.

Description:This homily explores the reasons why we believe something that is unbelievable, something that has never happened before in human history. This homily explores why we believe that Jesus is risen! The homily is based on John chapter 20, verses 1 to 9.

Description:Of all the sufferings that Jesus endured during his Passion, perhaps the worst was feeling abandoned by everyone, even God. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 26, verse 14 to chapter 27, verse 66.

Description:Jesus delays coming to the aid of Lazarus so he might show himself as far more than just a healer. In raising Lazarus, Jesus shows himself as even having power over death. The homily is based on John chapter 11, verses 1 to 45.

Description:It takes more than two eyes to truly know who a person is. The blind man given sight by Jesus comes to see who Jesus truly is. He sees better than the Pharisees who have never been blind. The homily is based on John chapter 9, verses 1 to 41.

Description:For a conversation to take place, someone needs to start taking. Jesus began a life changing conversation with the Samaritian woman and he has also begun one with us. The homily is based on John chapter 4, verses 5 to 42.

Description:Show and Tell is a popular activity in elementary school. But Show and Tell is not limited to children, even adults engage in it. The Transfiguration of Jesus might be seen as a divine Show and Tell. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 17, verses 1 to 9.

Description:In literary works, a protagonist struggles with an antagonist. The same in true in the story of salvation - good versus evil. We see that struggle in the temptations of Jesus. The devil, the anatagonist, tempts Jesus to betray his mission as God's Beloved Son. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 4, verses 1 to 11.

Description:A lawyer, negotiator, or quarterback cannot serve opposing parties at the same time. Jesus tells us that we cannot serve both God and mammon, both God and the Almighty Dollar. It's one or the other. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 6, verses 24 to 34.

Description:The love that Jesus calls us to show our enemies is not a matter of hearts and flowers. Rather it is a matter of imitating God who does good even for the underserving. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 5, verses 38 to 48.

Description:We like to interpret the law in a restrictive way when it is to our advantage. However Jesus looks at the the commandments of God in an expansive way. Those commands cover more that we might think. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 5, verses 17 to 37.

Description:Jesus calls us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world for the sake of other people. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 5, verses 13 to 16.

Description:An author can emphasize a point in a variety of ways. Saint Luke in writing his Gospel emphasized that Mary and Joseph presented the child Jesus in the Temple because this action was required by the law of Moses. The homily is based on Luke chapter 2, verses 22 to 40.

Description:"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Those words spoken by John the Baptist mean something different when they are proclaimed by Jesus. This homily looks at the difference. The homily is based on Matthew chapter 4, verses 12 to 23.

Description:This homily considers the instruction that John the Baptist gave his disciples, namely, "Behold the Lamb of God." The homily is based on John chapter 1, verses 29 to 34.