Mercy
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.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on October 12, 1986
Readings: Kings 5:14-17; Paul to Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19
There is no doubt about it — God can cure all human suffering, but His use of power is limited to opportunities to encourage our faith. The Scripture tells us that for the foreigners, God was willing to heal them, in order to help us to increase our faith and believe more in the Lord. We are called to grow in faith each day. We are reminded that in 1986, the similarities between lepresy and AIDS were so evident. Then, and now, we are called to be loving to all people just as Jesus loved the ten lepers in today’s Gospel. Our God is not merciful, but rather God is Mercy. In His image, we are called to bring love and compassion to all those suffering with human afflictions.
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45
Originally delivered on October 20, 1991
In today’s homily, Fr. Healy reminds us that the not only does God exist, but that God loves us as we are. Jesus became human, and as it says in the second reading, he was tempted but never sinned, and yet, we are always forgiven. Indeed, Fr. Healy passionately insists that God doesn’t just have love and mercy, but is love and mercy. And yet, we are not able to merely rest on that love because, as we hear in the gospel, we also have a responsibility to care for our sisters and brothers. We are called to let go of earthly things (e.g., money and power) and be servants to others until everyone in the family has a fair share of God’s blessings.
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Originally delivered on October 12, 1986
Readings: Kings 5:14-17; Paul to Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19
There is no doubt about it — God can cure all human suffering, but His use of power is limited to opportunities to encourage our faith. The Scripture tells us that for the foreigners, God was willing to heal them, in order to help us to increase our faith and believe more in the Lord. We are called to grow in faith each day. We are reminded that in 1986, the similarities between lepresy and AIDS were so evident. Then, and now, we are called to be loving to all people just as Jesus loved the ten lepers in today’s Gospel. Our God is not merciful, but rather God is Mercy. In His image, we are called to bring love and compassion to all those suffering with human afflictions.
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today we hear the homily on the Prodigal Son. In the first reading, we hear of a vindictive God, ready to send fire down to the sinners. But in the Gospel, we hear from Jesus that God is indeed love and mercy. How many times must we hear this parable to let it sink in? How differently might we see ourselves if we trusted Jesus? If we were set free of our self-doubt and fear, how different we would be to our brothers and sisters. Delivered on the eve of the 1992 election, Fr. Healy speaks of the importance of the parable for that time where some were raised up by putting others down. In light of this parable in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, how do we rationalize our actions that hurt others?
Weekly Homilies 