Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time — June 14, 2026 (Year A) Ex 19:2-6a; Ps 100:1-2, 3, 5; Rom 5:6-11; Matt 9:36—10:8 Some years ago psychologists ran a famous experiment. They showed people a video of students passing basketballs and asked them to count the passes. Halfway through, a man in a gorilla suit walks straight … Continue reading Counting Passes
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). Sunday, June 7, 2026 Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a; Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20; 1Cor10:16-17; Jn 6:51-58 The Catholic philosopher Joseph Pieper, writing in the years after World War II, warned that modern society increasingly judges things by their usefulness alone. Food becomes useful. Work becomes … Continue reading What Food Is For
Sunday, May 31, 2026 — The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (Year A) Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9; Dan 3:52-56; 2Cor 13:11-13; Jn 3:16-18 A few years ago, a doctor named Vivek Murthy was treating a patient he calls James. James had high blood pressure and diabetes. His body was beginning to fail him. During one … Continue reading The God Who Has a Face
May 24, 2026: Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104; 1Cor12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23 Note an interesting feature in Luke’s writing. Of all the people in the room, only one other person besides the apostles is named. Mary. He writes: "All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus." What … Continue reading Mary at Pentecost
Homily for the Ascension of the Lord Matt 28:16-20; Acts 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9; Eph 1:17-23 We get into the sanctuary and, naturally, on our side there are three of us: Father English on one end, me on the other, and another priest in the middle. A seminarian comes over with detailed instructions. The … Continue reading The Tilting Bench and the Acension
Sixth Sunday of Easter — Year A Acts 8:5-8, 14-17; Ps 66:1-7, 16, 20; 1Pet 3:15-18; Jn 14:15-21 There is a type of loneliness modern people are not supposed to admit they feel. You feel it sometimes after a good day. The work was good. The friends were real. You come home, and the apartment … Continue reading “I Will Not Leave You Orphans”
Fourth Sunday of Easter — Good Shepherd Sunday (Year A) April 26, 2026 Readings: Acts 2:14a, 36-41| Psalm 23 | 1Pet 2:20b-25 | Jn 10:1-10 Coachella just ended. For those of you who have successfully avoided knowing what Coachella is, congratulations—and please pray for the rest of us. It’s a music festival in the California desert. It began in 1999 as something … Continue reading Finding the True Voice in a Noisy World
Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday), Year A — April 27, 2026. Acts 5:12–16 | Ps 118:2–4, 13–15, 22–24 | Rev 1:9–11a, 12–13, 17–19 | Jn 20:19–31 There is a strange moment in history that happened in Halifax, England, in November of 1938 — a time when Europe was nervously eyeing Hitler, and Halifax was nervously eyeing pretty much everything else.. … Continue reading The Threefold Gift
There are sermons that outlive the moment in which they were preached. Dr. S. M. Lockridge served as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego from 1953 to 1993 and was a master of the African American preaching tradition, using repetition, rhythmic cadence, and dramatic contrast to make the room itself feel alive. On this Good … Continue reading It’s Only Friday
The Passover lamb has been slaughtered. The table is set. The bread is unleavened. The wine is poured out. Twelve men are arguing about which one of them is the greatest. And the King of kings wraps a towel around his waist. Not a crown on his head. A towel around his waist. He kneels … Continue reading Holy Thursday Homily
