This homily was delivered at the wedding of Micah and Mindy at St. Joseph’s Parish, Seattle on 23 June 2018.
At first glance, our couple today couldn’t be more different from each other. She is a Catholic girl born in Manila, and he a Jewish boy born in Nevada and raised in Missouri, Texas, among others.. She’s of Chinese descent; he comes from a Polish background. He’s a great cook who can serve you a mean steak; she, on the other hand, is at best what you would call a microwave cook.
This reflection is based on Mark 4:26-34.
There has been a deluge of clever memes online that says “Pics or it didn’t happen.” It’s a phrase more and more often used to challenge people who make claims that are either extraordinary or simply impossible.
Last month I casually mentioned to a friend that I had met a Hollywood actor on the set of the location shoot of his latest movie. My friend’s response? “Pics or it didn’t happen!”
My surprisingly defensive explanation (“But pictures are forbidden on set!”) did nothing but elicit one skeptically raised eyebrow that said it all in silent judgment: “Right, no selfie…”
This homily, based on Mark 3:20-35, was delivered at St. Agnes Church.
There’s a lot going on in the Gospel reading today. I think there is no other passage that shows how alone and misunderstood our Lord can sometimes feel even when he’s in a crowd. In today’s Gospel account, our Lord seems confronted on every front—not only by those most opposed to him, but even by those most devoted to him.
This homily, based on Mark 14:12-26, was delivered on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, or the Corpus Christi, at St. Agnes Church.
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Corpus Christi–which literally means the “body of Christ.” But actually, the feast is not so much about the body of Christ as it is about the presence of the Lord Jesus in the Eucharist.
This homily is based on Matthew 28:16-20 for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity (and the occasion of Entrance Day for the Jesuits in the Philippines).
Someone posted this photograph on Facebook yesterday. It’s our one and only complete class picture as Jesuit novices taken three decades ago at Sacred Heart Novitiate. It was probably retrieved from someone’s hard drive because the 30th of May is coming up and it was for many years “Entrance Day” for Jesuits in the Philippines: the day when accepted applicants lug their carefully packed suitcases to Sacred Heart Novitiate and say their goodbyes to family and friends as the novitiate gates are shut dramatically. This closing of the doors signals the start of two years of religious formation and relative isolation from the world.