This homily is based on Matthew 21:28-32.
The parable our Lord tells in today’s gospel is pretty straightforward and easy to understand: A man has two sons and asks both of them to go work in his vineyard. The first son says “No” to his father, but later changes his mind. The second one agrees to go, but doesn’t actually show up.
This homily is based on Matthew 20:1-16.
Many years ago I was a student in a class called “Homiletics.” Maybe you can’t tell, but people training to be priests take a class to learn how to preach.
This homily is based on Matthew 18:21-35.
Today’s Sunday Gospel is about forgiveness: Peter, on the one hand, monitoring his quota on forgiveness, and our Lord, on the other, tossing all that accounting out the window by reminding us that by the way, we all of us are recipients of the Father’s boundless mercy, remember?
Forgiveness is a funny thing. When we’re the offended party, we know it’s not an easy thing, especially when we have been hurt deeply by the very people that we’ve cared deeply for. Forgiveness sometimes requires not just a lot of strength and love, but also a lot of pain. That is why when we are the ones asking for forgiveness, we must never take it for granted.
This homily is based on Matthew 18:15-20.
A controversial short film by Mexican director, Alonso Álvarez Barreda, won the 2008 Cannes Film Festival’s online short film competition. Approximately five minutes long, the short film, “Historia de un Letrero” (or “Story of a Sign”), tells the story of a blind beggar sitting in a park with a sign that says, “Have pity! I’m a blind man.”
