Homilies

We are beginning the seventeenth week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. We are deepening our knowledge of Jesus Christ and His teachings. Today, the Evangelist Luke speaks to us about the Lord's Prayer and the value of perseverance and trust in the life of prayer. After seeing Him praying, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Then they learned the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father, prayed at every Mass. As a summary of the entire Gospel, it is the principal Christian prayer, to which the Catechism of the Catholic Church dedicated the second part of its fourth section. It is well worth checking out. In short, the Our Father is organized into two parts. The first addresses the praise and sanctification of God, asking Him for the coming of His Kingdom. The second part addresses the petition for what is essential to human life: bread, forgiveness, and strength to overcome temptation and evil. It is a communal prayer, even if prayed individually. The Lord's Prayer...

Today we begin the sixteenth week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church, growing in our knowledge and experience of Jesus Christ and His Church. Today, the Evangelist Luke tells us about the famous episode of the sisters Martha and Mary, who received a visit from Jesus at their home in Bethany. He loved Martha and Mary dearly, as well as their brother, Lazarus (cf. John 11:5). The Evangelist described the sisters' different behavior during Jesus' visit: while Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to His word, Martha worried and was busy with many tasks. When Martha asked Jesus to send her sister to help her with all the work, the Lord replied that only one thing was necessary: that Mary had chosen the better part, and that it would not be taken away from her. Hospitality was a virtue highly valued by the Jews, who believed that angels in human form could visit them (cf. Hebrews 13:2). Martha and Mary, each in their own way, tried to welcome Jesus, one by offering Him attentio...

We begin the fifteenth week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. We are deepening our knowledge of Jesus and His teachings. Today, the Evangelist Luke tells us about the famous parable of the Good Samaritan, which Jesus told to a teacher of the Law who wanted to trouble Him, reflecting on eternal life and the fulfillment of the Law. Let us remember that the teachers of the Law were Jews dedicated to the study of the Law of Moses and had recognized authority to interpret It. The teachers of the Law felt uncomfortable with Jesus' teachings because they did not recognize His authority, because some of His teachings did not follow Jewish tradition, and because they were jealous of the people's reception of Jesus. The teachers of the Law asked Jesus complex questions to try to confuse Him in front of the people.  The teacher of the Law in today's gospel asked Jesus about eternal life and who one's neighbor was according to the Law of Moses. Jesus turned the question back to ...

We begin the fourteenth week of Ordinary Time with Mother Church. Each week, we deepen our knowledge of the identity and mission of Jesus and the Church in the world. Today, the evangelist Luke tells us about the missionary sending of seventy-two disciples previously chosen by Jesus and sent two by two to the cities where He Himself was to go. Their objective was to enter the houses to transmit peace to the residents, heal the sick and announce to the people the nearness of the Kingdom of God. Before giving instructions to the missionaries, Jesus compared the evangelizing mission to a great harvest with few workers, and encouraged the disciples to ask the Father to send missionaries and evangelizers. Jesus advanced His disciples that they would eventually face hostility and rejection, speaking of lambs among wolves. Missionary disciples were to be characterized by material detachment, simplicity and readiness, trusting in divine providence that would be manifested in the lodging, food ...