Gathering to celebrate the commencement services for the St. John Paul II preparatory school class of 2023, the Church commemorates the Ascension of our Lord. Today, we celebrate that moment when Christ, having already thrown open the gates of heaven through His passion, death, and resurrection, ascended to the right hand of the Father, where,… Continue reading Homily for the Graduation Mass of Pope St. John Paul II Prep Class of 2023
Category: Homily
6th Sunday of Easter Year A / Mother’s Day
Happy Mother’s Day! Like many of you, over the past several days, I have been thinking a lot about what to get my mom for Mother’s Day. As I was dreading the reality that I might actually have to go shopping, it dawned on me that perhaps I have already given her the best gift… Continue reading 6th Sunday of Easter Year A / Mother’s Day
5th Sunday of Easter Year A
There are really not many guarantees in the world today, but there is one guarantee for each and every one of us. It is a guarantee many of us don’t want to think about, a guarantee many of us do not want to talk about, a guarantee that many of us don’t want to plan… Continue reading 5th Sunday of Easter Year A
Wedding Homily for my sister and brother in law
Vanity of vanities, what a way to start readings for a wedding Mass. These are certainly not the readings we are used to hearing at a wedding Mass, but since this Mass takes place on a Saturday evening, and this Mass counts for your Sunday obligation, we are instructed to use the readings for the… Continue reading Wedding Homily for my sister and brother in law
4th of July Homily
Tomorrow our nation celebrates our 246th birthday. In the history of countries that is a long time for one nation to be around. This weekend as we gather as a country to celebrate our nation’s birth, I think we need to step back and ask ourselves where are we as a country and where are… Continue reading 4th of July Homily
2022 Baccalaureate Mass Homily for John Paul II Prep
This afternoon, as we gather to close out another academic year and celebrate the graduation of the class of 2022, it only seems appropriate that we thank God for bringing us to this point. And so, it is appropriate that we begin our graduation exercises with this great act of thanksgiving, the holy sacrifice of… Continue reading 2022 Baccalaureate Mass Homily for John Paul II Prep
Good Friday
We call today Good Friday, but hearing the story of how Jesus is treated, of watching Him suffer on the cross, a death so brutal that Roman citizens could not be crucified, it almost seems ostentatious that we would even dare call today good. Yet today is good, because as Isaiah tells us in our… Continue reading Good Friday
Mass of the Lord’s Supper 2022
On this night over 2,000 years ago, the apostles gathered one last time with Jesus to celebrate the Passover meal, the annual Jewish celebration which recalls the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Every year the Jewish people gather together to tell the saving story we heard in our first reading. They gather,… Continue reading Mass of the Lord’s Supper 2022
3rd Sunday of Advent: Why do I have to go to Mass on Sunday
If you have been with us for the past couple of weeks of Advent, you will recall that as we are preparing for the coming of Christ at Christmas, we have stepped back to acknowledge the great blessing and the great reality, that God wants to be with us. It is the great mystery of… Continue reading 3rd Sunday of Advent: Why do I have to go to Mass on Sunday
2nd Sunday of Advent. What is the Mass
If you were with us last week, you will recall that Jesus made that promise that He would remain with us always.[1] And we saw how He fulfills that promise day in and day out through the Catholic Church. How in all four corners of the world, God coms to us and journeys with us… Continue reading 2nd Sunday of Advent. What is the Mass