Fr Tom’s Homilies
The Gospel presents the healing of ten lepers. They were hideous, having horrible sores all over their bodies. They had bells which they rang while calling out continually, “Unclean, unclean.” The healthy would do everything possible to avoid them. Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests in the Temple to be … [Read more…]
It takes courage to practice faith, because just like courage, every act of faith carries within it a certain amount of fear. Those who hide from life and making commitments know very little about either courage or faith. Faith like courage is gutsy; it demands commitment to something or someone beyond us. Faith like courage … [Read more…]
George C. Parker was a clever con man who used to convince people that he could sell them the Brooklyn Bridge. In 1883, shortly after the bridge was completed, Parker had set up an office complete with pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge and bogus legal papers. Parker would “sell” the bridge from anything between $75 … [Read more…]
Today’s readings present a shepherd rejoicing over finding a lost sheep, a housewife rejoicing over finding a lost coin, and a father rejoicing over the return of his lost son. The three parables are in answer to the Pharisees and Scribes complaints about Jesus, saying that He can’t be the Messiah because He welcomes sinners … [Read more…]
Our Lord often uses hyperbolic to shock His listeners. Today’s gospel provides a good example of this. Jesus says that we cannot be his disciples if we come to Him without hating father and mother, wife and husband, children and parents, brothers and sister, and even our own lives. Such word shocks us. Our Lord … [Read more…]
Today’s readings call us to consider the topic of humility. Humility is a virtue that most of us struggle with. Its opposite, pride, is the fundamental flaw of all human beings. Consider the first sin of Adam and Eve. The serpent appealed to their pride. They ate the apple, not because they were hungry, but … [Read more…]
“Oh, poor us, poor us,” they moaned. “This is all so hard,” they complained. “Our parents and grandparents were so excited by this new faith, this Christianity, but we are not all that excited. We put up with it though, just in case it is right. But it is such a struggle to be Christians. … [Read more…]
Today’s readings are difficult, very difficult. They are difficult because they present the cost of discipleship. We begin with the plight of Jeremiah who was persecuted because he proclaimed the Truth of God. Horrible things happened to Jeremiah. But he would not deny God and His message. It was the cost of discipleship. The Second … [Read more…]
A woman missed her connecting flight from New York to London due to a traffic jam. She was very upset because she was missing an important business meeting, but was able to catch the next flight out. It was only when she arrived in London that she learned that the plane she should have been … [Read more…]
Some of the most famous tourist sights in the world are tombs. Among them are: the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt; the Taj Mahal in India; the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, and the Jewish Cemetery in Prague. An anonymous author wrote: First I was dying to finish high school and started college. And … [Read more…]