A homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 27, 2026
Ezekiel 18:25-28, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32
Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law of Motion states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Or, in the case of youngsters and other immature people, every action that somebody considers unfair is met with a double dose of pouting and stamping feet.
But what’s most unfair is how some of us view fairness.
A homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 21, 2026
Jeremiah 20:10-13, Romans 5:12-15, Matthew 10:26-33
There’s an interesting — some say controversial — new bedtime routine for parents of little-little ones. Among other names, it’s called “dark rooming,” and some moms and dads are tucking in their babies and toddlers in soundproof, pitch-black rooms.
Absolute silence. Absolutely lightproof. Isolation tanks, without the warm saltwater.
The dark-room believers say this sensory deprivation guarantees a deeper, sounder, dream-filled sleep and teaches their children not to fear the dark.
Perhaps.
Then again, many of us still sleep with night lights. (I raise my hand.)
A homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 25, 2026
Isaiah 8:23—9:3, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17, Matthew 4:12-23
For many of us, a change in our work situation happens because of one of two scenarios. Either we seek a new job, a new boss, a new location, or any combination of those, or the change is imposed on us by outside forces like the company closing or downsizing or relocating.
Résumé and interviews vs. pink slip or transfer papers.
Something we sought vs. ol’ Damocles and his stupid sword.
A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 21, 2025
Isaiah 7:10-14, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-24
We imperfect humans ask a lot of questions about our perfect Deity.
Many of them compare God’s persons and unlimited … everything … to our own limitations.
Nope; God is unnnnn-limited
A homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 19, 2025
Exodus 17:8-13, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2, Luke 18:1-8
It doesn’t take long for any of us to realize why cat videos — and especially kitten reels — constitute about half the content on mainstream (fuddy-duddy) social media.
Cats are crazy.
Which qualifies cat people like my family and me as being a bit loony, too.
A homily for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 17, 2023
Sir 27:30—28:7, Rom 14:7-9, Mt 18:21-35
When angry, count four. When very angry, swear.
Mark Twain
We all get angry; it’s a basic human emotion. For some of us, anger is one of the most powerful emotions, if not the most overwhelming. Anger’s power makes it difficult to contain or cool down from. When anger overwhelms us, it provokes action.
A homily for the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, August 27, 2023
Is 22:19-23, Rom 11:33-36, Mt 16:13-20
Back in 1977, a silly little film called “Rocky” defied all odds and won the Best Picture Oscar as well as a bunch of other awards.
The movie told the tale of a ne’er-do-well second- or third-tier boxer who was given a shot at the world championship as a publicity stunt for the current champ. Rocky Balboa was a simple guy, not credited with a lot of smarts other than street smarts, and he had zero chance of winning.
Except he almost did win, defying all odds, because he worked hard and believed in himself. And maybe he almost won because he wasn’t savvy enough to understand that he was just supposed to be a punching bag, a laughingstock.
You’re a poet, and you don’t know it, but your feet sure show it: They’re long fellows and they smell like the dickens!
The assignments at St. Leo the Great School could be challenging, and by that I mean they often challenged us to get out of our comfort zones. They challenged us to think outside the box. They challenged us to try something new.
With widely varying results.
