Homily: Fifteenth Sunday Ordinary Time. Rom 8:18-23 I can still vividly remember from the hazy recollection of my youth a particular Sunday morning in the summer of 1975. The sunlight pouring through the stained-glass windows, the water cascading off of Mr. Wallacavage. He had no choice but to march all the way to the front … Continue reading Diagnosing the Wrong Patient
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”
Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year A — May 3, 2026Acts 6:1–7 | 1 Peter 2:4–9 | John 14:1–12 What have you done today? How would you answer? What exciting thing would you reach for or feel you have to make up to answer? We have a very specific definition of “accomplishment.” It involves either an … Continue reading Nothing Done in Love Is Invisible
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
