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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on August 8, 1993
Readings: Kings: 19:9, 11-13; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33
In today’s readings, we are challenged to see God in our midst. In the Gospel, Jesus appears and approaches his disciples while walking on the water. Peter, in his human frailty, begins to sink when he is invited to walk on the water with Jesus. But Jesus, in a wonderful showing of his humanity, simply reaches out and catches Peter. From our scripture readings today, we know that there are precious few people that see God in all of His splendor. For the remainder of us, God is present in the faces and actions of our sisters and brothers. In this homily, we are reminded of the floods in the Mississippi and the tornadoes in Petersburg, VA not because of the natural disasters themselves, but because of the tremendous response from others who offered their help.
The Assumption
Originally delivered on August 15, 1993
Readings: Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10; Corinthians 15:20-26; Luke 1: 39-56
In this homily, we hear a reflection of Jesus’ response to woman that yelled out “Blest is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” In response, He said, “Rather, blest are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” Fr. Healy asks us to consider that Mary’s willingness to hear God’s word and carry out His will is her true gift to us so that we might emulate her actions.
Assumption
Originally delivered on August 15, 1993
Readings: Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10; Corinthians 15:20-26; Luke 1: 39-56
In this homily, we hear a reflection of Jesus’ response to woman that yelled out “Blest is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” In response, He said, “Rather, blest are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” Fr. Healy asks us to consider that Mary’s willingness to hear God’s word and carry out His will is her true gift to us so that we might emulate her actions.
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.
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.
2nd Sunday of Easter
Readings: Acts 2:42-47; Peter 1:3-9; John 20:1931
Originally delivered on April 26, 1987
In this week’s Gospel, the Risen Jesus appears to the disciples, but Thomas was not present and only believed when Jesus appeared to Thomas and showed him His wounds. Just like us, Thomas had his doubts. And yet, the words that Thomas proclaimed to Jesus were powerful, “My Lord and my God.” In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear that the apostles provided for one another based on their individual needs. Indeed, we must be there for our brothers and sisters. When we search for the Risen Christ, do we find those in need or are we only aligning ourselves the oppressors? We are, in fact, called to be the sign of the Risen Christ in our deeds. Through all of these trials, like Thomas, we will have our doubts, but we must persist because Jesus will be with us.
Easter
Readings: Genesis: 1:1-2.2; Genesis 22:1-18; Matthew 28:1-10
Originally delivered on April 15, 1990
We are joyful today because the Easter people know that God’s strength and triumph is greater than any death. We will experience and taste death in countless ways, but we will persevere because of our God. We are encouraged to see our Easter blessings even in the depths of our despair.
Passion Sunday
Readings: Isaiah 50: 4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14-27, 66
Originally delivered on April 8, 1990
How can we understand those that called for Jesus’s death? How are we like them? Like them, do we think that we are doing the right thing? Or do we shrink at the thought of standing up for what we know is right? That is, what are our motivations for what we do? Indeed, part of the human condition perhaps, is that we are not always at our best. But, we must pray to God to be accepting of our human limitations and that we may have more courage to stand up for a cause that makes the world better.
5th Sunday of Lent
5th Sunday of Lent
Originally delivered on April 1, 1990
Readings: Ezekial 37: 12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45
In today’s readings, we are reminded that God can restore life. We are reminded that through Jesus, there are no human experiences from which God can’t restore us. He reflects on the life of Sr. Thea Bowman whose example shows us how to answer the call for new life. Furthermore, Fr. Healy reflects on the events in Sri Lanka and South Africa. He urges us to risk our own lives so that life may be more full, more real for our sisters and brothers in our communities and around the world. But first, we must believe.
4th Sunday of Lent
Originally delivered on March 25, 1990
Readings: Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 19-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41
If only we could see as Jesus sees. In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals the blind man due to his faith. Though he used the example of physical healing, in this reading, we are shown that Jesus has already given us the gift of vision to see the world as God sees. In our own time, we have prophets, such as Archbishop Oscar Romero, who have had the vision, in the depths of their beings, to experience the plight of the poor.
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