Sanctuary Views

The niceties of life have a way of making us insensitive to more important things. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus has less to do with whether or not we're rich, than with whether or not we're doing what we can for those in need. Homily for the 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Jesus on the Cross reveals the depravity of human beings and that we're not beyond repair. But repairing humanity comes at the cost of witnessing to the truth--not my truth or your truth, but the truth. And truth is that upon which a free society depends. Without it, life is governed by the whim of those wielding the power of Twitter, or the presidency or a long-range rifle, instead of the inalienable rights/truths imprinted in us by God. Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time and reflection upon the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

If the Master's life revolves around God, it only makes sense that His disciples' would, too, which turns out to be the way we can give others what's best. Homily for the Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time.

It's a paradox. Focus on your "I" and joy slips through your fingers. Focus on others and joy abounds. Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time.

"Endure your trials as discipline," the Letter to the Hebrews says. Strengthening us as disciples of Jesus is a fruit of trials--of all trials, since no qualification is stated. This means that every trial has this capacity, for God's providence is all-encompassing.

Witnesses not only provide a good example and inspiration, but also merit and share spiritual goods. Homily for the Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Abraham was just one example of countless faithful followers of Jesus, by whom we have been blessed, and to whom we have a debt. Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

If God invited Abraham to wrestle with the problem of justice in a fallen world and to act for the innocent, might God do something similar with us? Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time.