Homilies and Other Writings

One time a certain man visited a religious community and asked the brothers who was their superior. They answered, “We don’t call anyone superior, because that would mean that the rest of us are inferior. This wouldn’t be very nice!” The man then asked, “So, who is the one you refer to when some decision needs to be made or to maintain a certain organization?” “It’s the responsible, we call him ‘the responsible’”, they said. And the man commented, “Would this not mean that the rest of you are irresponsible...?” “Call no one on earth your father... Do not be called 'Master'” ( Matthew 23:9-10). Jesus is not talking about words. Jesus never meant to say that children should not called their father, “father.” The pharisees and the scribes were using their God-given authority not for God’s glory but for their own glory. They wanted power for their own benefit, not for the benefit of their neighbor. Jesus was warning His Church so that we would not make the same mistake. Nobody is...

  (Homily for October 29 th 2023) In one of my homilies I pointed out that we should not receive holy Communion in a state of a mortal sin. The question becomes then, “What is a mortal sin?” A mortal sin is a seriously bad action, not simply a bad action. This action is seriously bad not only because of what you do, but especially because you do it on purpose, that is, you know perfectly that this is seriously bad and you freely choose to do it anyway. Traditionally, we say the same thing in the following way: a mortal sin requires grave matter (what you do is seriously wrong), full awareness or consciousness (you know that what you do is seriously wrong) and full consent (you choose to do it freely, despite knowing that it is seriously wrong). Let us set the matter aside, for today, and let us focus on one of the other two subjective characteristics of a mortal sin: full awareness. You cannot say that there is a mortal sin when you do not know that what you are doing is ser...

(Homily for Sunday October 22, 2023)   What is it that belongs to God? What does God want from us? God wants nothing in particular: He wants everything. Not everything you have, but everything you are. We could actually say that He wants only one thing: you. God wants the coin with His image, which is the human being, made in the image and likeness of God. Like a heavenly coinage, we bear the image of God in our spirits and, since baptism, we bear His inscription in our hearts: “sacred to the Lord.” Now, what is it to give ourselves to God? Is it just going into a monastery and live only for Him? For some of us, this is exactly what it means but not for all of us. Not all of us are called to consecrate our lives to Him in religious life. But we all are called to a certain consecration, to give ourselves totally in a precise way. Even those of us who live in monasteries or the like, find easier to live in the monastery than to give ourselves to God in this particular way which...

Is God’s power opposed to political power? What is the relationship between these powers? Today’s readings shed some light on this mystery. God’s power is superior to any human power. Cyrus’s power comes from God (cf. Isaiah 45:1, 4-6) as does every authority on earth. Nobody could obtain human power without God’s allowing it. Some people use God’s given power in the wrong way, but God does not punish all of them in this life. God’s power is not opposed to the right use of human power. Jesus does not oppose Ceasar regarding taxes (cf. Matthew 22:15-21). Ceasar has a certain right over the material goods of his subjects. God, however, has an absolute right to our faith and love. If Ceasar ever asked us something against our faith and our love, we would not give it to him, because Ceasar is not more than God. Ceasar could send us to jail until death, but God can punish us and Ceasar after death and forever. In those cases, we must obey God rather than human beings. Even in cas...

(Homily for Sunday, October 16 th 2023) I would like to make one point about the first reading and two points about the Gospel. My goal is to better understand our Eucharistic celebrations, so that we may participate in them in the best possible way. 1.  The banquet from the first reading (cf. Isaiah 25:6-10a) can be understood as the Lord’s passion. “ On this mountain ”, that is, the Calvary hill, “ the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines .” This banquet is “ for all peoples ,” not only for those first invited, the Israelites, some of whom refused the invitation, but for all nations. It is a feast of “ rich food ,” the body of Christ, the lamb sacrificed on the Cross; it is a feast of “ choice wines ,” the blood and water from his side. “ On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples ” because, at Jesus’ death, “the veil of the temple was torn in two” ( Luke 23:45); and “ he will destroy death forever ” beca...

  (Homily for Sunday, October 8 th 2023) The fact that we are sinners does not mean that we are excused from beings saints. Today’s readings are a reminder of that. We are the Lord’s vineyard and we are meant to produce fruit, fruit of repentance and fruit of good works. The Lord expects fruit from His vineyard. 1.   We are sinners. “Father, I do not usually commit mortal sins.” This does not mean that you are not a sinner. We all are sinners, first of all, because we have sinned in the past; second, because our sins have left in us a tendency to sin, they have left in us a certain weakness and we will always have to be careful; third, because of the little sins which we may often commit. In this sense, it is said that the just man, the saint, sins seven times a day (cf. Proverbs 24:12). 2.   From us sinners, however, God expects good works, works of justice and holiness. The Lord is pretty angry at his vineyard for not having produced fruit. He did everything he ...

O Lord, we praise you and thank you for the gift of life, And for the breath you give us to undertake this run. As we walk, may we never lose your footsteps. As we run, may we always run as victors For the true crown you alone can give. [1] Give us courage and hope to begin, Perseverance and patience to keep going, And the joy of a happy end. When the way is hard, give us your help. Enlarge our hearts with your Spirit, So that we may always run in the ways of life. [2] Amen. ( Prayer written for the "Run for Life" in Emmitsburg, 2023 )     [1] Cf. Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 9:25. [2] Cf. Psalm 119:32.

  The Fruits which the Lord Expects from His People In both the first reading and the Gospel, the vineyard of the Lord is his people. In the first reading, God is upset with his people: they are like a vineyard which produces bad fruit. In the Gospel, God is upset with the shepherds of his people: they are like bad tenants who keep the fruit of His vineyard for themselves. In both cases, however, God has done everything He could in order to obtain fruits from his vineyard. God wanted fruits of love and repentance and did not obtain them. God wants fruit from everyone. What is the fruit God is expecting from you? From His people, God expected justice. Justice is the interior disposition by which we give to each person what is due to them. Our due towards God is praise, honor and worship: by praise and honor we give God our soul, by worship we give God our time, our concrete reality and, in that sense, our bodies (as, for example, when we come to Mass). Our due towards our ...