Fr Tom’s Homilies
The first reading for this Sunday is intense. In 165 B.C., a new King, Antiochus Epiphanes decided that everyone in his domains should follow Greek practices. Many Jews went along without complaint as they wanted to be part of the new modern Hellenistic culture. They built gymnasiums where they would exercise in the rather immodest … [Read more…]
Last week we had the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee in the Temple. This week the Gospel names Zacchaeus as that tax collector. Why were tax collectors lumped together with other sinners? The way taxes worked in the Roman Empire was that the Romans enlisted the help of locals offering them a … [Read more…]
For some, it is difficult to walk into a Church. Some have been away from Church for weeks, months, or years. For others, that know they have failed to live up to their Faith. It can be scary to look at the tabernacle. We want to join the Tax Collector in the back of Church … [Read more…]
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…]