Tag: Epistle

Career change

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.

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It

A homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 18, 2026

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6, 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, John 1:29-34

It.

In the entertainment business notably, but in almost every endeavor, some people have It.

“It” is the essentially undefinable but immediately recognizable quality that makes certain people stand out in a crowd, almost as if they have permanent spotlights bathing them.

In other words, we know It when we see It.

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Membership

A homily for The Baptism of the Lord, January 11, 2026

Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7, Acts 10:34-38, Matthew 3:13-17

According to legend, in the early centuries Anno Domini, when followers of the carpenter from Nazareth were being persecuted and prosecuted for their beliefs, they were cagey about identifying themselves when they encountered strangers.

One Christian might trace an arc in the sand with his foot and then sidle back a few steps, eyeing the scratch with an occasional side glance. Aware, but not obvious.

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Interwoven

A homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, December 28, 2025

Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, Colossians 3:12-17, Mt 2:13-15, 19-23

When we were little, we were told, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names — or words — will never hurt me.” And as well-meaning as the saying was, we all know it was wrong, because names and words have power.

Our feast today in this Season of Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, involves some incredibly powerful names and words, so let’s take a minute or two to think about them. And how they guide our lives.

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Count on it

A homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, December 7, 2025

Isaiah 11:1-10, Romans 15:4-9, Matthew 3:1-12

Dictionary.com recently made a lot of people shake their heads in disbelief when the organization chose a number as the Word of the Year for 2025. Not even a number, really; it’s more of a number phrase, because it’s not pronounced in the familiar way it appears.

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Plowshares

A homily for The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, November 23, 2025

2 Samuel 5:1-3, Colossians 1:12-20, Luke 23:35-43

In first-century Jerusalem, Jesus of Nazareth …

… Jesus, the descendant of David who was born in a Bethlehem stable …

… Jesus, the Son of God and son of Mary …

was a terrible king.

Horrible.

Incredibly bad.

At least, that’s what a lot of Israelites believed.

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Terrestrial, but extra

A homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 16, 2025

Malachi 3:19-20a, 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12, Luke 21:5-19

In one of Hollywood’s greatest tear-jerking farewell sequences, E.T. admonishes young Gertie, “Be good.” Then, in his raspy, almost robotic voice, the little alien botanist points to Elliott’s forehead and says, “I’ll be right here.”

The spaceship ascends to the heavens, and the Extra-Terrestrial lives on in the hearts and minds of the people whose lives he’s touched.

And in those of movie fans worldwide.

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Here and there

A (belated and brief) homily for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, November 9, 2025

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12, 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17, John 2:13-22

In every city and village worldwide, we’ll find houses of worship: temples, synagogues, mosques, churches, and more. Even storefronts and basements and tents and, yes, caves serve as gathering places for members of the human family to acknowledge in their culturally and religiously appropriate way that somebody somewhere loves us enough to give us our little blue marble in the sky.

To give us our own lives.

To give us our own unique lives, with our own unique abundance of gifts.

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Avoiding a fall

A homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, October 26, 2025

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Luke 18:9-14

About 600 years before Jesus called out the Pharisees and other leaders of the people as hypocrites, the Greek moralist Aesop told a fable about a frog and an ox.

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Tabby Truth

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.

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