Love
4th Sunday of Easter
Originally delivered on April 21, 1991
Readings: Acts 4:8-12; John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
Today we are reminded is that while we may not know what the hereafter holds, we can be assured that we are God’s children. God is Love and God loves us. In the gospel, Jesus tells us that He is the Good Shepherd. Will we follow Him when confronted with the events in our lives? Let us all ask God not that we are right, but rather, like Christ.
4th Sunday of Easter
Readings: Acts 4:8-12; John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18
Originally delivered on April 24, 1988
In today’s homily, Fr. Healy tells us that the second reading really touched him because we are called “children of God.” We are reminded that God loves us just as we are. Perhaps this is hard to believe because to do so requires us to love others as God already loves us.
5th Sunday of Lent
Originally delivered on March 20, 1988
Readings: Jeremiah 31: 31-34, Hebrews 5:7-9; John 12:20-33
Today we hear that we should not be legalistic but boldly loving with God’s Spirit in our hearts. We are challenged to look beyond the law, which often provides easy or black and white answers, to find the spirit of the law. Fr. Healy points to the first reading of Jeremiah which says, “ …I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers…I will place my law with them, and write it upon their hearts.”
Epiphany
Originally delivered on January 6, 1991
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12
Today we are invited to reflect on how Mary felt about the shepherds and magi visiting just after giving birth to Jesus. And yet, we are reminded that though we may be strangers with some, we are all family which requires us to examine our definition or understanding of family. Perhaps it wasn’t easy for Mary to welcome the strangers, she set an example and welcomed them. We are called, as members of the great family of God, to share the good news that God is Love and Mercy and we are all God’s children.
3rd Sunday of Advent
Originally delivered on December 16, 1990
Readings: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-12; Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28
Today we are challenged with the question: “Who are you?” We are called today to answer, like John, by saying “I am nobody; just a Christian trying to prepare the way for the Lord.” Indeed, Isaiah, John the Baptist, and Paul all paid the greatest price for their beliefs. The Church asks us to rejoice, even in the midst of injustices, because of the kind of God we have. In Jesus, God is forever calling us to let go of our fear and selfishness and to embrace our sisters and brothers in all their pain and sorrow. We are anointed to give our whole being to the poor and oppressed.
2nd Sunday of Advent
Originally delivered on December 9, 1990
Readings: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Peter 3:8-14; Mark 1:1-8
Today, we are asked to look at why we might characterize or dismiss the prophets? In the readings, we hear of two prophets, Isaiah and John the Baptist. Both give us a message to “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” We are called to examine ourselves and see if we are an obstacle to God’s plan of peace. Are we willing to pay the price for being peacemakers? If we take Isaiah and John the Baptizer seriously, we must acknowledge the radical call to nothing less than conversion as things as they are and a turning around to be as God wants them to be. Indeed, we are confronted, through this homily, to be like Christ in our responses to the troubles and evils in our world. That is, we are called to love and not avenge. We must bring peace where there is war; kindness and understanding where there is blindness to the truth. We may be sinners, but we are called to be prophets.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on October 31, 1993
Readings: Malachi 1:14-2:2, 8-10; Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13; Matthew 23:1-12
In this homily, Fr. Healy discusses the significance of Vatican II, the Church in Haiti, and those that are marginalized by the institutional Church. He characterizes Vatican II as revolutionary and a calling for us to be part of the universal Church in both spirit and responsibility. We are reminded that our conscience is the ultimate law of morality because it is our sacred inner core where we meet God. We must remember that Jesus responded that the two greatest commandments were to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on October 24, 1990
Readings: Exodus 22:20-26; Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40
This day’s liturgy presents to us the two faces of God. The first, from the Old Testament, warns us that if we don’t welcome others, such as aliens, widows, and orphans, then we’ll see the terrifying face of God’s vengeance. The second, from the Gospel of Matthew, is a loving God that says that our love for God and our neighbor is the basis for all of the commandments. Fr. Healy, joined by Fr. Antoine Adrien of Haiti, asks us to consider how the law of love applies to the issues of the day in Bosnia, Somalia, and Haiti. In this homily, we also hear the rare recorded words of Fr. Antoine, who speaks of the pain and frustration of Haiti.
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on September 5, 1993
Readings: Ezekial 33: 7-9; Romans 13: 8-10; Matthew 18: 15-20
In today’s readings, we first hear Ezekial telling us that we must speak the truth. Paul then tells us that we must love our neighbor as we love ourself. Indeed, it must be our life’s work. Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus tells us to talk to the person. Sometimes we need others to help us, even the whole Church, if necessary, but understand that sometimes nothing will work, but still love them. We must know and believe that when we’ve done our best, we can leave it in God’s hands. There are dramatic examples of people following these words and being prophets in our time. We too are called to be prophets.
4th Sunday of Easter
Originally delivered on May 2, 1993
Weekly Homilies 