• Envy is sorrow at another person’s good.
• Envy twists the desire for joy and friendship.
• Comparison becomes dangerous when we believe God’s grace is scarce.
• David and Jonathan model freedom from envy through trust in God.
• Our weaknesses can become places where God’s glory is revealed.
• The cure for envy is security in our identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.

Description

Why do the gifts, success, or blessings of other people sometimes make us sad rather than joyful?

In this homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Fr. Will reflects on the Gospel healing of the man born blind and connects it to the deadly sin of envy. Envy is not simply wanting what someone else has. More deeply, it is sorrow at another’s good — the painful sense that someone else’s blessing somehow diminishes us.

This temptation often grows in the soil of insecurity, comparison, and the false belief that God’s love is limited. But the Christian life reveals something different: God’s grace is not a zero-sum game. The gifts of others do not threaten us, and even our own weaknesses can become places where the works of God are made visible.

Drawing on the stories of David, Saul, and Jonathan, this homily shows that freedom from envy comes through confidence in God’s love. When we know we are chosen, loved, and guided by the Good Shepherd, we can rejoice in the gifts of others and trust God with our own path.

Why is the Samaritan woman at the well in the middle of the day?

Fr. Will reflects on the deep wounds and spiritual thirst revealed in the Gospel of the Woman at the Well. Through the lens of the Lenten series on the deadly sins, this homily explores the destructive power of lust—not simply as a moral failure, but as a distortion of our deepest desire for love, intimacy, and communion.

Yet the story does not end with shame. Jesus meets the woman exactly where she is: wounded, isolated, and searching. There at the well, He reveals Himself as the true Bridegroom who alone can satisfy the thirst of the human heart.

Key Takeaways

• The Samaritan woman represents the cycle of sin, shame, and woundedness that lust can create.
• Lust twists a good desire—the desire for intimacy and self-gift.
• True love seeks the good of the other, not the use of the other.
• Many today carry deep wounds from pornography and sexual exploitation.
• Christ enters directly into our wounds and offers healing, dignity, and freedom.
• Jesus is the true Bridegroom who alone satisfies the thirst of the human heart.

In Part 4 of That They May Have Life, we continue our morality series by moving through the Fourth Commandment’s reach into civil society and then turning to the Fifth Commandment: “You shall not kill.”

We begin with Jesus’ teaching from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), where the Lord deepens the commandment beyond the external act of murder to the interior roots of anger, contempt, and vengeance. From there we explore why every human life is sacred, what the Church teaches about abortion, euthanasia, suicide, and scandal, and how Catholics are called to protect life with both truth and mercy.

We also address legitimate defense, the responsibilities of civil authority, the Christian duty toward the common good, and the Church’s role in making moral judgments when fundamental human rights or the salvation of souls is at stake. The session concludes by previewing the next series on the sacraments.

Key Scripture

• Matthew 5:21–48 (anger, purity of heart, truthfulness, mercy, love of enemies)
• Luke 10:27 (love of God and neighbor)
• Matthew 22:37–40 (the greatest commandments)
• Mark 1:15 (repent and believe in the Gospel)
• Matthew 10:37 (loving Christ above family ties)
• Matthew 22:21 (render to Caesar…)
• Acts 5:29 (we must obey God rather than men)

Topics Covered

• Recap: beatitude, repentance, law and grace, the Decalogue
• The Fourth Commandment and the “domestic church”
• Civil society, authority, and conscientious objection
• Witness of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter and A Hidden Life
• The Fifth Commandment: why human life is sacred
• Abortion: truth, mercy, and the Church’s positive duty to support mothers and families
• Euthanasia vs. allowing natural death (ordinary vs. extraordinary means)
• Suicide: the objective evil of the act, diminished culpability, and Christian hope
• Scandal, gossip/slander, bodily integrity, organ donation, and peace
• Legitimate defense, punishment, just war principles, and the death penalty as a prudential judgment

Practical Takeaways

• Ask: Where do anger, contempt, or vengeance take root in my heart?
• Protect life with both conviction and compassion—especially by helping people in crisis
• Pray for leaders and seek the common good without losing charity
• Remember: the Lord’s call is not perfectionism, but conversion toward love

Next Episode

Next week we begin a new series on the sacraments, starting with Baptism and Confirmation.

On the Second Sunday of Lent, the Church gives us the Transfiguration—every year—because we need what the disciples needed: hope. Fr. Will unpacks why Jesus brings Peter, James, and John up the mountain, and how this glimpse of glory strengthens them for the Passion and the “scandal of the Cross.”

From there, the homily connects the Gospel to the Lenten series on the deadly sins, focusing on sloth (acedia): not simply laziness, but a spiritual lethargy that comes from forgetting what we were made for. When we lose sight of heaven, we grow indifferent, distracted, and even frantic—pouring energy into what doesn’t last while neglecting our true mission.

The antidote is zeal: remembering that every Christian is called to holiness, and that our vocation is lived out in concrete love—prayer, conversion, and daily sacrifice, especially toward the people closest to us.

Key takeaways

• The Transfiguration strengthens hope: Jesus shows both who He is and what we are made for.
• Jesus prepares the disciples “against the scandal of the Cross.”
• Sloth (acedia) is not merely laziness—it's sorrow at spiritual joy and forgetfulness of our mission.
• Zeal is the opposite of sloth: remembering our vocation and investing in love of God and neighbor.
• Holiness begins “here”: in our homes, our parish, and the relationships God has entrusted to us.

Survey link:

🔗 Take the Parish Survey (3 minutes, anonymous): https://bit.ly/4rskqSB

In this first installment of our Lenten series on The Seven Deadly Sins, Deacon Chris explores the spiritual roots of gluttony and greed. Through the lens of Genesis and the Temptation of Jesus in the desert, we discover that the real battle is not about food or money — it is about trust.

Temptation begins when we believe God is small. From there, we grasp for substitutes.

This episode challenges us to examine:

How we use comfort to numb deeper hunger

How we cling to control instead of trusting the Father

How Lent can enlarge our desire for God

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Hunger is not sinful — it can be holy.

Gluttony is the refusal to be empty.

Greed is the fear of dependence.

The devil tempts us to live as orphans.

Jesus overcomes temptation by remaining the Son.

Freedom begins with a pause and a simple prayer.

PRACTICAL CHALLENGE

Before reaching for your default comfort, pray:

“Jesus, what am I really hungry for?”

Wait five minutes.

Reclaim your freedom.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Genesis 3:1–7
Romans 5:12–19
Matthew 4:1–11

Jesus tells us in the Gospel:
“Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.”

And yet, today, we receive ashes on our foreheads — visible to everyone.

So what is happening?

In this homily, Fr. Will explains that ashes are not a display of righteousness. They are a confession of weakness. Ashes are what remains after something has been burned. They remind us of our mortality, our dependence upon God, and our need for repentance.

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Ash Wednesday confronts us with reality: death is coming. Pride is real. Sin wounds us. And we need a Savior.

Lent is not about self-improvement or spiritual performance. It is about reconciliation. As St. Paul pleads: “Be reconciled to God.”

Through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we take up battle against pride — the root of all sin — and learn again how to receive grace rather than trying to control everything ourselves.

Now is the acceptable time.
Now is the day of salvation.

Christ, the Master Teacher, tells the truth about the human heart. He fulfills the law and then presses deeper, revealing that God desires more than outward compliance—he desires interior conversion.

When we face the “reality check” of our weakness and sin, we usually fall into one of two traps: denial (“I’ll decide what’s right for me”) or despair (“I can’t do this, so why try?”). Jesus offers a third way: humility—admitting we need to change and asking him for help.

The good news is that God doesn’t demand holiness from a distance. The Lord comes close, teaches us, and gives grace to live what he commands. As Jesus promises later in the Sermon on the Mount: Ask and you will receive. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened.

Readings: Sirach 15:15–20; 1 Corinthians 2:6–10; Matthew 5:17–37

In this session, we turn to Christian morality through the lens of the Ten Commandments—always interpreted in light of Jesus Christ who “came not to abolish but to fulfill” the Law (Matthew 5:17–20). We review the foundations: beatitude as our common end, the call to repentance, and the way law and grace work together. Then we walk through the First Table of the Decalogue (Commandments 1–3) and begin the Fourth Commandment, covering practical questions like the occult/mediums, superstition, reverence for God’s name, keeping Sunday holy, holy days of obligation, and the precepts of the Church. We conclude with Q&A about livestream/TV Mass and the Sunday obligation, then close in prayer.

Key Scripture

• Matthew 5:17–20 — Christ fulfills the Law
• Luke 10:27; 1 John — Love of God and neighbor together

Topics Covered

• Why the Ten Commandments must be read through Christ
• Beatitude and the moral choices it demands
• Law and grace: the “fence around the playground”
• Commandment 1: no other gods; idolatry; divination/occult; superstition; simony; sacrilege
• Q&A: “mediums,” charisms, discernment, and why Christians should not seek occult power
• Commandment 2: reverence for God’s name; blasphemy; perjury; habitual flippant speech; profanity and speech discipline
• Commandment 3: Sunday worship; rest; culture of Sunday; holy days; precepts; fasting/abstinence; Fridays as penance
• Commandment 4 (beginning): link between love of God and love of neighbor; honoring parents; family as domestic church; duties of children and parents

Practical Takeaways

• Ask: What “idols” compete with God in my life right now?
• Treat God as Father, not a vending machine—avoid superstition in devotional life
• Make Sunday visibly different when possible (worship, rest, joy)
• Recover Friday penance/charity as a quiet, countercultural witness

Next in the Series

• Miss Nancy Glover: Catholic Social Teaching (next week)
• Then return to continue Commandments 4–10

Jesus does not offer these words as a future goal or an abstract ideal. He speaks them as a statement of reality. Because we are baptized into Christ, this is already our identity. The question, then, is not whether we are salt and light—but whether our lives actually taste of Christ and shine with His presence.

Using a vivid and memorable image from a college geology class, Deacon Chris explores how salt can lose its savor—not by trying to fail, but by becoming diluted. In the same way, our discipleship is often weakened not by rejection of faith, but by comfort, fear, distraction, exhaustion, or the desire to stay “polite” and unnoticed.

Drawing from Isaiah, St. Paul, and the Gospel of Matthew, this homily makes the call to holiness concrete. Light breaks into the world when we feed the hungry, shelter the vulnerable, refuse to turn away from those in need, and allow our lives to make God visible—not ourselves impressive.

This episode also offers a practical spiritual response: consecration. Rather than trying to design holiness on our own, we are invited to place our lives under the care of those who already belonged completely to Christ.

St. Joseph Consecration (33 Days)
A powerful path for men—and for anyone drawn to St. Joseph’s hidden fidelity, strength, and obedience.
Learn more and begin here:
https://consecrationtostjoseph.org/

Daily prayers PDF:
https://uploads.weconnect.com/mce/c3cf396907a036a9172fc9fcf77650c279dd98b9/33-Days-of-Prayers-and-Daily-Challenge%20ENGLISH.pdf

Marian Consecration (33 Days to Morning Glory)
A beautiful way to learn from Our Lady how to receive Christ, stand firm in love, and reflect His light to the world.
Text available here:
https://nanoten.com/religious/texts/33DMG/index-en.html

As you listen, consider praying with these questions this week:
Where has my discipleship been diluted?
Where have I covered the light God has placed in me?
Who in my life am I being invited to love more concretely?

Jesus does not name us salt and light to shame us—but to reveal who we truly are and to restore what has been hidden or weakened. May this homily help you uncover the lamp, recover the savor, and live in such a way that others glorify our Heavenly Father.

Jesus is not merely offering moral advice or spiritual ideals. As the Master Teacher, He invites His disciples to see reality from His perspective. In the Beatitudes, Christ overturns our assumptions about happiness, strength, and success, revealing what truly leads to human flourishing.

This first homily focuses on how Jesus teaches us to see the world as it truly is—and how learning to see through His eyes is essential for authentic discipleship.

Why is it so difficult to be good?

In Part 3 of That They May Have Life, we move deeper into the heart of Christian morality. Because of original sin, our intellect is darkened, our will is weakened, and our passions are disordered. Yet Christ does not leave us there. He gives us grace.

This session explores how virtue forms us from within, how conscience guides our moral decisions, and how law and grace work together to transform us into the image of Christ.

Christian morality is not about “white-knuckling” holiness. It is about becoming the kind of person who can choose what is good quickly, joyfully, and with ease.

Topics Covered

• Original sin and concupiscence
• How conscience works (and how it can be malformed)
• The definition of virtue as a firm, habitual disposition
• The cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, temperance
• The theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity
• The role of the passions (love, joy, hope, anger, sorrow)
• Vice, virtue, continence, and moral struggle
• Natural law, the Old Law, and the New Law
• Sanctifying grace vs. actual grace

Key Takeaways

• Virtue perfects freedom.
• Law trains us toward the good.
• Grace transforms us from within.
• Holiness requires cooperation with God.

This homily explores vocation as a twofold call: first into relationship—“Come after me”—and then into mission—“I will make you fishers of men.” Every baptized person shares in the universal call to holiness, while each of us also receives a particular vocation, most often lived through marriage, priesthood, or consecrated life.

The challenge is simple but demanding: like the disciples, we are asked to drop our nets, to let go of what we think will make us happy, and to trust that Jesus truly knows the way to our flourishing.

The talk introduces the Catholic understanding of sin as an offense against love—often described in Scripture as “missing the mark”—and explains how original sin wounds human nature without destroying it. Fr. Will then clarifies the Church’s distinctions between mortal sin, venial sin, and moral imperfections or dispositions, emphasizing that sin is fundamentally a matter of the will and that healing and freedom come through Christ and the sacraments, especially reconciliation.

The session concludes by laying the groundwork for moral decision-making through the three fonts of morality (object, intention, circumstances), showing how acts are judged as good or evil and why some acts are intrinsically evil—wrong always and everywhere—regardless of intention. Throughout, the teaching is presented with a pastoral clarity that distinguishes judging actions from judging persons, encouraging both truth and mercy as Christians seek holiness and real freedom in Christ.

Beginning with the simple but searching question, “Who are you?”, the homily examines the many labels we use to define ourselves—our work, relationships, achievements, and affiliations—and the anxiety that arises when those identities shift or disappear. While these roles matter, they are ultimately fragile and unable to bear the full weight of the human heart.

Drawing from the Gospel of John, Dcn. Chris proclaims the central truth of the Christian faith: through baptism, we are not metaphorically but truly made sons and daughters of God. This identity is not achieved through performance or self-construction, but received as a gift of God’s love. From this secure identity flows true holiness, freedom, and vocation—not as anxious striving, but as a trusting response that can finally say, “Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.”

This reflection prepares the way for the final homily in the series, which will focus on mission as the fruit of relationship and identity.

Drawing on the life of St. Louis IX and the Gospel account of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, the homily explores how identity is revealed through relationship. Before Jesus begins His public ministry, the Father reveals Him as His beloved Son. This relationship—lived in prayer, trust, and communion—is the source of everything Jesus does.

Through baptism, we are invited to share in Christ’s own relationship with the Father, becoming beloved sons and daughters in the Son. This reflection challenges listeners to examine whether their lives are rooted in that relationship and to rediscover prayer, the sacraments, and intimacy with God as the true foundation for any authentic Christian mission.

Drawing on Scripture, the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI, and the wisdom of the Church, the talk emphasizes that growth in relationship with God is measured not by feelings but by growth in love. Participants are encouraged to deepen their relationship with Christ through daily prayer, fidelity to the commandments, frequent reception of the sacraments, and life within Christian community.

The session also includes guided reflection on personal values and the creation of a practical rule of life. By setting concrete, realistic goals rooted in virtue, participants are invited to cooperate with God’s grace and grow steadily in holiness, learning to love God, neighbor, and self more fully.

Reflecting on the visit of the Magi, this homily highlights how Jesus chose to manifest Himself not in power or prestige, but within the simplicity of the Holy Family. Their encounter with Christ changes them—and reveals a lasting truth: God continues to evangelize the world through families who welcome Him into their homes. Every family, despite its imperfections, is called to become an epiphany—a visible manifestation of Christ’s light that draws others to Him.

Fr. Will explores how families live this mission concretely by first being evangelized themselves, by forming communities of prayer and sacrificial love, and by allowing the grace of Christ to shape daily life. Through small, faithful practices—praying together, blessing the home, building relationships with neighbors—families become domestic churches where Christ’s light shines outward to the world.

This final homily completes the series by uniting the roles of fatherhood and motherhood with their shared purpose: to educate, empower, and evangelize, so that every nation may come to adore the Lord.

The reflection highlights how God’s self-revelation comes not in abstraction, but within the simplicity of a family. Mary’s motherhood reveals the heart of Christian motherhood in every age: to give Jesus to the world by receiving Him, pondering Him in prayer, and responding with faithful love. Through the often hidden, daily sacrifices of mothers, homes become places where children first learn what it means to be loved, to belong, and to cry out to God as Father.

Recognizing that many families carry wounds or unmet hopes, this homily emphasizes that Mary is not only a model but also a refuge. Christ gives her to us as our Mother, and through her tenderness God continues to bring peace, mercy, and healing into real families as they are. This reflection builds upon the previous homily on fatherhood and prepares for the final installment of the series on the mission of the family at Epiphany.

In this first reflection, Fr. Will focuses on the role of the father as provider and protector, drawing from Scripture, St. Paul’s teaching, and the example of St. Joseph. Christian fatherhood is presented as a vocation of authority ordered to charity—an authority that images Christ’s self-giving love for the Church and places the entire family in loving submission to Him.

Recognizing that many families carry wounds or fall short of the ideal, this homily emphasizes that the Church holds up the Holy Family not as an unattainable standard, but as a call to ongoing conversion and healing. This reflection sets the foundation for the rest of the series, which will continue with reflections on motherhood and the mission of the family in the world.

Series Outline (Optional to Include on Website or Podcast Page)

Part 1: The Role of the Father – Provider and Protector

Part 2: Motherhood (January 1)

Part 3: The Mission of the Family (Feast of the Epiphany)

O my God, I firmly believe
that you are one God in three divine Persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
I believe that your divine Son became man
and died for our sins and that he will come
to judge the living and the dead.
I believe these and all the truths
which the Holy Catholic Church teaches
because you have revealed them
who are eternal truth and wisdom,
who can neither deceive nor be deceived.
In this faith I intend to live and die.
Amen.

We live in a society where many people are hungry for love **and **hurting for the lack of relationship with God. This is true of people of all ages. In a particular way, though, it’s true of our young people. Especially the ones we do not see here in Mass. Many young people suffer from a lack of hope. They do not know the Good News of Jesus Christ. As I mentioned last week, having consulted, and heard from many of you about this as I have gotten to know you, I believe God is leading us to have a particular emphasis on developing a mission to youth in our community and within our parish. The dream for this Mission is to provide an inviting home for youth to be disciples of Jesus Christ through the Church.

People are hungry for Jesus. As a 20th century evangelist said, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.” As good watchmen, we are called to point the way to the food, the only food which will truly satisfy every human heart.

Learn more and how you can help here.

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040623.cfm

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022623.cfm

But though the noise is on an unprecedented scale; this is not a new problem. For as long as human history discerning which voices to listen to, which things to pay attention to has been a challenge. John like all the prophets before him helps those around him to see reality as it really is. To distinguish the noise from the signal. But he is the greatest of all the prophets because he himself will literally point out the light from light. The one who is truth himself.

John helps us realize that we not only have to meet Jesus, but we need to know him. To meet him and to know him are linked. As people who have meet this man Jesus we want to grow in knowledge of him. We want to know who he is (God), what he did (his life, death, and resurrection), how he continues to act today (the Church), and what our response (prayer, love, and following him).

John goes to the wilderness. He eats the same food over and over again, and wears simple clothing. Why? Because he knows that in order to encounter and learn about God he must cut the noise from his life. Friends do you have silence in your life? It is difficult to find it. But how can you find some silence? How can you develop a habit of silence? Study is the opposite of vain curiosity – it seeks to gain knowledge and wisdom not just information. It asks big questions and goes deep into topic or person at hand. It uses the best resources. So here’s the challenge – set aside time this week to read one of the Gospels. And ask questions: in the silence ask Jesus to teach you to know who he is so you can love him more and see reality as it really is.

But how? How do you get ready to meet Jesus at the end of time or at the end of your life? The same way you get ready for any other thing: you practice, and you learn from others who have practiced. You learn how to meet Jesus by meeting him and learning from others who have met him.

What kind of meeting do we need now to practice? The meeting we desire to have now with the Lord is one that leads us to discover (or rediscover) who Jesus is, why he matters, and which leads to a desire to follow him as a disciple. It is only that type of resolve that will make the meeting we experience at the end of time not be like that of strangers but rather that of friends. A disciple is one who has resolved to run to meet the Lord in every aspect of his life his life has been changed because he knows Jesus. He is a friend of the king who is coming.

How can you set aside 5 minutes each day to meet Jesus?

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there.
Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
“Give me a drink.”
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
“How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
“If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?”
Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her,
“Go call your husband and come back.”
The woman answered and said to him,
“I do not have a husband.”
Jesus answered her,
“You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her,
“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him,
“I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything.”
Jesus said to her,
“I am he, the one speaking with you.”

At that moment his disciples returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, “What are you looking for?”
or “Why are you talking with her?”
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
“Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?”
They went out of the town and came to him.
Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”
But he said to them,
“I have food to eat of which you do not know.”
So the disciples said to one another,
“Could someone have brought him something to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me
and to finish his work.
Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?
I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.
The reaper is already receiving payment
and gathering crops for eternal life,
so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.
For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’
I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;
others have done the work,
and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
“He told me everything I have done.”
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
“We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:

        “Blessed are you who are poor,
                    for the kingdom of God is yours.
        Blessed are you who are now hungry,
                    for you will be satisfied.
        Blessed are you who are now weeping,
                    for you will laugh.
        Blessed are you when people hate you,
                    and when they exclude and insult you,
                    and denounce your name as evil
                    on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Beloved:
The grace of God has appeared, saving all
and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires
and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,
as we await the blessed hope,
the appearance of the glory of our great God
and savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness
and to cleanse for himself a people as his own,
eager to do what is good.

        When the kindness and generous love
                    of God our savior appeared,
        not because of any righteous deeds we had done
                    but because of his mercy,
        He saved us through the bath of rebirth
                    and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
        whom he richly poured out on us
                    through Jesus Christ our savior,
        so that we might be justified by his grace
                    and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

We Christians are not indifferent to the political realm – far from it we care deeply about working to protect human life, promote peace, and provide for the general welfare. We cannot accept Christ’s love while despising or being indifferent to our fellow human beings. Because of this, we also like many people of good will may have experienced a sense of anxiety or a lack of peace. Our Christianity informs our actions in everything we do and that includes our choices in the voting booth. In all of this, nevertheless, there is a danger of becoming too consumed with the things of the world. The Bible is replete with stories of God intervening in love for his people. Despite this evidence, we often we let ourselves become so afraid and anxious, and this leads to a whole host of personal sins which impact our salvation much more directly than the outcome of a political race. No matter who wins the election, we can be sure that God will provide everything we need to be with him forever.

Questions for us to ponder:

1. Have I let politics become a God for me? How has this anxiety contributed to sins in my personal life? Do I trust that God is sovereign?
2. How can I inform myself politically? What are resources which can help me to form a Catholic conscience with regard to the important issues?
3. How do I react when people disagree with me politically? How can I reflect the love of God to them?

Today’s readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/101820.cfm

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(29th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

1. When am I most defensive? When defnsivness occurs what need am I seeking to fufill? How can I relate it to God?
2. How do I view God? In what areas of my life to forget that he is our Father and treat him more like a tyrant? What lies do I believe about myself and about him? What is the truth opposed to these lies? Have I allowed any false images to influence my behavior?
3. Do I go to God, Our Father, each day in prayer? How do I approach him in prayer? Do I ask him for holy indifference flowing from my trust in him?

Today’s readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091320.cfm

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(24th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

1. Do you long for heaven? How do you actively seek the kingdom of heaven?
2. What are the sources of aniexty in your life? How do you these things take away your peace?
3. What can you do to remind yourself each day that you are made for heaven?
   

https://www.missalemeum.com/en/2020-09-06

“Reckon him no more amongst the number of thy brethren. But yet neither is his salvation on that account to be neglected. For the very heathen, that is, the Gentiles and Pagans, we do not reckon among the number of brethren; but yet are we ever seeking their salvation” – St. Augustine

Questions for us to ponder:

1. Have I given into the relativism of our cultural situation?
2. When it is necessary to correct another how well does my approach align with Jesus’s call to charitable fraternal correction?
3. Do I shy away too much from conflict when I should speak to a brother or sister? Or do I, on the other hand, concern myself with things that are not my business to correct? What am I doing to work to foster charity?
4. Do I engage in gossip, either in person or online? If so what am I doing to overcome this sin in my life?
   

Today’s readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/090620.cfm

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(23th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

The thanksgiving we offer during Mass must be extended. Our lives are meant to take on the character of the thanksgiving of the liturgy. God wants us to give thanks ultimately for our good, because he knows it will help us become what we are meant to be. Only in thanksgiving are we made whole are we wholly saved. Leo the Great: “For not to give Him thanks in all things, what else is it but to blame Him in some degree. Man’s folly too often dares to murmur against his Creator, not only in time of want, but also in time of plenty, so that, when something is not supplied, he complains, and when certain things are in abundance he is ungrateful

The Prophet Jeremiah is in anguish because the words of the Lord, which could be instruments of salvation if heeded, fall on deaf ears and hardened hearts. Peter echoes Jeremiah’s anguish today. He rejects the Cross. He does not want the anguish of witnessing his friend fail. We should remember that this is often our human reaction as well. But this is not the end of Peter’s journey; Peter learns to think according to the will of God and literally takes up his cross dying in imitation of him. Brothers and Sisters, the cost of discipleship is high; in fact, to follow Jesus means to imitate him: where the Master goes, the disciple follows. This means we must be willing to accept the Cross in our lives; we must accept the anguish of failing in integrity. But it is precisely from this anguish of having failed in every human sense of the word, that testimony is given. The folly of the Cross becomes the salvation of all. Brothers and sisters, to share in his anguished heart which beats for every human soul. What greater joy could be found?

Questions for us to ponder:

1. What/where have I encountered the Cross in my life? Where do I encounter failure from a human perspective? How has God used that failure to bear witness to the hope we should have in him?
2. Where or to whom am I called to be a prophet of hope today?
3. What sinful habits or tendencies do I tend to use to avoid the Cross in my life?

Today’s readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/083020.cfm

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

Christ himself is the Good Samaritan who finds you and me wounded and naked on the side of the road and heals us and raises us up. He makes us his neighbors and friends. We are called to invite others to become our neighbors by being their neighbors as Christ did for us. Then we must invite them to meet our best Friend, the Good Samaritan, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever

Questions for us to ponder:

1. Do I recognize Christ as the Good Samaritan who comes to me? What wounds do I need to let him heal and bind? Have I left the inn of the Church – if not physically, spiritually – by willfully commiting grave sin?
   
2. Do I recognize that Jesus is both my Lord and my friend? (How) Am I spending time with my Friend through prayer and regular reception of the sacraments? How can I actively work to grow in the virtues so I can be a better friend?
3. When am I most tempted to act like the priest and the Levite and refuse to treat someone as my neighbor? How can I act differently in the future?

Today's readings can be found here: https://www.missalemeum.com/en/2020-08-23

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(12th Sunday after Pentecost, Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

For her benefit and for our benefit, the Lord draws faith out of the Canaanite woman. She becomes a remarkable example of what trusting prayer in faith looks like: Faith which is prompted by God coming to meet us first; Faith which does not deny our own needs while at the same time being compassionate towards others; faith that is persistent in asking for what we need and what others need; faith that asks for intercession from others; faith that is, above all else, humble, which recognizes with gratitude the gift God gives us. For when we desire in prayer, nothing other than the will of God, then it will be done in our lives.

Questions to Ponder

1. When have you experienced silence from God? How have you reacted to God's seeming silence?
2. How might God be working in your life to greater faith right now?
3. What are areas of your life in which it is difficult to trust the Lord? What "harsh words" might the Lord use to rouse your faith?
4. Who can you ask to pray for your intercessions today? Who can you pray for? (go do it, now!)

We should never try to hide our needs from the Lord. Sometimes we are afraid to let Jesus know our weakness or needs for fear that he will reject us because of them. We have the mistaken illusion that we need to be perfect before we go to God. But this fear and shame before the Lord, though truly felt, is not in accord with who God has shown us that he is. In fact, it is precisely in our weaknesses that he comes to find us.

Questions for us to ponder (with the Lord):

1. What are my weaknesses, vulnerabilities, wounds? Where am I about to drown and in over my head?
2. Have I taken those to the Lord? If not, why not, what am I afraid of? If I am burdened by sin have, I taken it to the sacrament of Confession?
3. Who are the people that God has putting in my life with whom I can be appropriately vulnerable and ask for help when needed?
4. Where is God calling me to be brave and step out of the boat?

Today's readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080920.cfm

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

Simply bask in the fact that God loves you. Your sin, your past temptations, your present struggles, none of them can change the fact that God loves you. He’s loved you from the beginning, and he will always love you. You are his son or daughter. Christ compassionately weeps when he sees us in sin because he loves us. He is always present and desires to enter the temple of our hearts and cleanse it of the robbers who wish to cause us harm.

Questions for us to ponder:

1. Am I honest with myself about my temptations and the vices in my life? How am doing at truthfully acknowledging my thoughts, feelings, and desires (even if they are not all holy)?
2. Do I honestly relate my struggles and temptations to the Lord? Are there areas of temptation that I struggle to be honest about?
3. How do I feel loved by God? What are signs of his love for me?
4. What prevents me from responding to his love?
   

Today’s readings can be found here: https://ususantiquior.files.wordpress.com/2020/07/propers-for-ninth-sunday-after-pentecost.pdf

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(9th Sunday after Pentecost, Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

Questions for us to ponder:

1. How do I react when I encounter poverty and the impoverished?
2. Do I recognize my own poverty? Can I name and honestly acknowledge to God the areas where I need help?
3. How have I bought into the lie of the self-made man or woman?
4. How can I reflect Christ’s compassion to those I encounter? Do I take responsibility for my own actions towards the poor?

Today’s readings can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/080220.cfm

You can subscribe to future audio versions of homilies here: https://frwill.fireside.fm/

(18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Mass in the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite)

"Nothing could be more untrue than the often-repeated statement that we all worship the same God; or that other, that whatever we worship is the same. Nothing matters more than having a true knowledge of Christ. We become what our conception of Christ is: God made us in His own likeness, but we have an extraordinary power of changing ourselves into the likeness of the idols we make, of those caricatures of God which we set up on the altars of egoism and worship. In the degree of falseness of our conception of God, we restrict and narrow our interests and sympathies; we grow in intolerance and hardness or in a flabbiness which turns to a rot of sweetness like a diabetes of the soul. In the degree of the truth of our conception of Him, our minds grow broader, deeper, and warmer; our hearts grow wiser and kinder; our humour deeper and more tender; we become more aware of the wonder of life; our senses become more sensitive; our sympathies stronger; our capacity for giving and receiving greater; our minds are more radiant with a burning light, and the light is Christ." C. Houselander (1944). The Reed of God. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 130

Unity #peace #love #communion #justice

An excellent intorduction to the Seven Capital Vices is Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung.

An excellent intorduction to the Seven Capital Vices is [Glittering Vices by Rebecca DeYoung. ]((https://www.amazon.com/Glittering-Vices-Seven-Deadly-Remedies/dp/1587432323/ref=sr_1_2?crid=FB7EYUZUU7P5&keywords=glittering+vices&qid=1584046883&s=books&sprefix=glittering+%2Caps%2C340&sr=1-2)