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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on July 18, 1993
Readings: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Romans 8:26-27; Matthew 13:24-43 or 13:24-30
In the first reading from the book of Wisdom, we are reminded of God’s unconditional forgiveness and compassion for us. How much do we hold onto the hurts that we’ve experienced? But today, through the infusion of the Holy Spirit, we are asked to let go of these hurts, as God forgives us. In the Gospel, Jesus challenges us to think of people as crops and weeds — the good and bad — and to pour our energy not into pulling weeds. We should focus on ourselves and let God sort out the wheat from the weeds. We are called, therefore, to be loving, compassionate, and forgiving as Jesus is to us. We are reminded of the courage of the six Jesuits killed in El Salvador in 1989, the debate of gays in the military, and the situation in Haiti as current events happening in 1993 that challenge us to not judge others lest we, one day, be judged by others to be a weed rather than the wheat.
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on July 11, 1993
Readings: Isaiah 55: 10-11; Romans 8: 18-23; Matthew 13: 1-23
What should we feel in the face of tragedies, such as diseases or natural disasters, in light of the first reading where Isaiah eloquently says that God’s words and actions come down to enrich our lives? Jesus asks us in this day’s Gospel to let God’s words live within us to be the best people that we can be, bringing triumph out of tragedy by being one with our sisters and brothers in their need. We can never understand or control nature, but we can be in harmony with it through our unique giftedness.
14th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on July 4, 1993
Readings: Zechariah 9:9-10; Romans 8:9, 11-13; Matthew 11:25-30
What does it mean to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom? From the fist reading of Zechariah, we hear that God would put an end to war, jealousy, and human competition. In the second reading, Paul reminds the Romans and us today, that we must walk in the spirit. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us to learn from Him just as children learn. That is, we are to be gentle and humble of heart. We are challenged to reflect on how capital punishment fits with our being citizens of God’s Kingdom. If we really believe in the unconditional, all-embracing forgiveness of Jesus, we cannot harbor vindictive, hostile dispositions toward anyone. Let us all learn from Jesus and forgive others. Only in this way, will be truly free, in the way that Jesus talks about freedom, and find rest in our hearts.
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on July 1, 1990
Readings: Kings 4:8-11, 14-16; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 1-:37-42
Prophets will always be like us, frail sinners. today’s first and third readings, we hear about welcoming prophets. Indeed, in Matthew’s Gospel, we hear that “he who welcomes a holy man because he is known as holy receives a holy man’s reward. And I promise you that whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these lowly ones because he is a disciple will not want for his reward.” But what about when God sends a prophet that challenges us? Will we welcome that prophet in our midst? We are always in a struggle to understand what God is telling us through these prophets. But, finally, we must remember that we are each, in all of our human weakness, called to be prophets.
1st Sunday of Lent
Originally delivered on February 28, 1993
Readings: Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19 or 5:12, 17-19; Matthew 4:1-11
We all struggle with a God who is love and mercy who also permits pain, suffering, and evil within His creation. But through Jesus, we know that we are redeemed. In spite of and in the midst of all the meanness, madness, and idiocy of human behavior, we are loved and forgiven for our shortcomings.
Holy Family
Originally delivered on December 31, 1989
Readings: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14; Colossians 3:12-21; Matthew: 2:13-15, 19-23
We celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family. As we gather each week, it’s truly a family reunion as everyone is together as one family of God. We are called to reflect on what the world would be like if we treated others truly as our sisters and brothers. Family is loving, learning, sharing, and caring deeply for one another while keeping a treasured tradition which is renewed and celebrated together when we gather. But most importantly, being family, is to be forgiving of the faults and failings of our brothers and sisters. We are also called to recognize the family resemblance in the spirit of every person on earth.
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 66: 18-21; Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13; Luke 13: 22-30
Originally delivered on August 27, 1989
Fr. Healy begins his homily with a funny story about the Holy Ghost Fathers. He reminds us that in today’s gospel, we are called to see everyone as part of the family of God. This is the vision of Jesus. Everyone is in, especially those that perhaps we would want to count out. Fr. Healy then brings the message to the current time by discussing the issues and laws that seem to count some people out. As followers of Jesus, therefore, we must stand up against those things that hurt our brothers and sisters.
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53
Originally delivered on August 16, 1992
In this week’s gospel, we hear the anger of God who proclaims, “I have come to light a fire on the earth.” What have we done with God’s marvelous plan? We are invited to reflect on the fact that Jesus’s crucifixion was legal. Fr. Healy reflects on the writings of James Baldwin and the work of Mickey Leland. He goes on to further share a poignant story of his experience in Africa leading a seminary and invites us to reflect on our likely sin of silence in the face of injustice in order to preserve ourselves and our own interests.
Weekly Homilies 