Homilies and Other Writings

 (Homily for Fifth Sunday of Easter) -  Today’s readings seem to me a good opportunity to speak about the beauty of priesthood. The beauty and struggles of marriage we breathe in our own homes, as we grow; whereas the beauty and struggles of priesthood need to be made evident in church. In this way, our youth are given the opportunity to better discern their call. 1.   The first reading ( Acts 14:21-27) tells us a lot about the activities of the priest. Look at the verbs Luke uses to describe Paul and Barnabas’ mission. “After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples , they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith … They appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pa...

(Homily 3rd Sunday of Easter)   “Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep.” As we mourn the death of a pope and get ready for a new pope, we reflect about the office of Peter. 1.   A good shepherd is not simply a man who loves human beings, but mainly a man who loves Jesus. In fact, if you love Jesus, then you necessarily love the people for whom Jesus gave up His life on the cross. And if you do not love Jesus, the love of other human beings becomes worldly, imperfect and sometimes even false or diminishing of other people’s dignity. Jesus did not ask Peter, “Do you love people?” What is loving people? We usually love our close relatives, we all enjoy hanging out with friends, some people enjoy being always around people (others do not), other people love works of charity towards the poor. Is loving people loving those who love us? “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them” ( Luke 6:32). Is loving people loving those w...