I Never Thought I Would Preach a Homily on This Topic | #1609
Release Date: 01/17/2026
How to Not Bear Rotten Fruit | #1634
Pilgrim Priest
Romans 8:35 is a great passage to memorize. St. Paul has experienced all kinds of anguish and distress but the love of God has conquered it. The Romans will need to believe in God's love to survive the coming persecution. is about how the people trusted in themselves and bore rotten fruit. shows that God will restore and renew the people once they have been purified. Even our sins don't separate us from the love of God! If we rely on ourselves and to avoid anguish, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness and all the rest... we will bear rotten fruit. If we trust in God, then he will bring...
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Weeds and Wheat Growing Together | #1633
Pilgrim Priest
You come to Mass most Sundays, and even Holy Days of Obligation. You try not to swear or drink too much or gossip. You are learning to pray and you want to follow Jesus as faithfully as you can. Meanwhile you know many people--friends, coworkers, your children, siblings, even a spouse--who don't seem to care. They spend every Sunday working, sleeping, or doing basically everything but coming to church. Maybe they drink, gossip, and swear as much as they like. Jesus doesn't seem to care. If that's the situation you find yourself in, than this parable is for you. Good seed and bad weeds are...
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Cultivate the Soil of Your Heart | #1632
Pilgrim Priest
When scripture talks about a gardener, a vineyard owner, or a sower, we are meant to think of God. God "gardened" the world into existence by speaking his word. The world simply receives God's word and does what he says. Human hearts are more complicated. Matthew chapter 12 shows much opposition to Jesus's word. In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus changes his preaching style. He keeps preaching the truth, but now in riddles or puzzles. You won't be able to receive it if your heart is not open. We have a responsibility to cultivate the soil of our hearts. The hard soil makes me think of...
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She Recevies a Prophet. This is How God Rewards Her | #1631
Pilgrim Priest
and he rewards hospitality. A woman of influence feeds and houses Elisha. He wants to reward her, so he promises her a son. God sees the desire of her heart even though she refuses to acknowledge it. He gives her the gift she doesn't even dare to dream about. Then he takes the boy away from her; then he gives him back to her. Is God being cruel? God knows that our deepest desire is for God himself. Here at Mass, Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. He does this so that we will welcome Him into our hearts and into our homes. He wants to transform us so that we can welcome others and...
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God Sees. And He Understands | #1630
Pilgrim Priest
You spend a couple hours playing in the basement building the world's most amazing marble track. Then along comes your brother... and maliciously smashes everything! How do you respond? You might yell, cry, call him names, go smash something of his... or you might go tell Mom everything. This Mom has the time to listen and she really understands. And she assures you that she and Dad are going to take care of it. We could go a step further and imagine that your mom was watching the whole time. She saw your creativity and your delight. And she knew what your brother was thinking. God heads off...
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Some Give by Going and Some Go by Giving | #1629
Pilgrim Priest
The Israelites leave Egypt, cross the Red Sea, and spend a year and a half at the foot of Mt. Sinai. It is here that God gives them the Law and they become "The Chosen People." Christians believe that we, too, are the chosen people. But we also believe that we have been given authority and a mission to bring the love and truth of Jesus Christ to all peoples. Every Christian participates in the mission work throughout the world. Fr. Augustine Adetola shares the needs in his home Diocese of Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria. They focus on education, health care, and basic services. Some give by going and...
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Break the Cycle of Not-a-Gift | #1628
Pilgrim Priest
God is one divine nature but three separate persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father IS self-giving love and when he gives himself away, that gift is the Son. The Son gives himself back to the Father, and their mutual love is the Holy Spirit. The Church believes that every human child is a gift from God. The proper response to the presence of a child is to receive, cherish, and protect that gift. As children grow, they are able to give love as siblings and brothers, then as spouses, and finally as parents. We start with receiving the gift and then we grow into the role of the Giver....
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Are You Standing Outside the Fire? | #1627
Pilgrim Priest
God is a community of love. We were made by love and for love; we were created to live in God's community. God's one desire is to draw us into communion with himself. Our sins have made us both unworthy and unable to participate in God's community. So Jesus comes to reconnect us with God. He does this first "in the flesh" by being God and Man. He offers himself as the perfect sacrifice to free us from our sins. Then he sends us the Holy Spirit, which is the fire of God's divine love. As a spirit gives life to the body, so the Holy Spirit gives life to the church. When we gather at Sunday...
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Pin the Flame on the Apostle | #1626
Pilgrim Priest
The Sunday Lectionary is designed around the idea of promise and fulfillment. In the Gospel, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles shows what happens when the Holy Spirit comes in power. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit, "the Paraclete" which means "one who is called alongside of you." The Spirit helps Christians in our needs. One day at Faith Formation we played a game, "Pin the flame on the Apostle." We blindfolded the students and spun them in circles. But then they called alongside of them a sighted classmate who could whisper in their ear and give them guidance. Most...
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Living Stones Show How Every Vocation Can Be Special | #1625
Pilgrim Priest
How can every vocation be special? Each rock that makes up St. Hyacinth Church is a unique shape, size, and color. The whole church is built of unique, unrepeatable stones. Every stone is special! In a similar way, each and every person has a special vocation. These vocations all have something in common. Every Christian shares in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ, which means we offer sacrifice, sanctify the world, and connect heaven and earth. You bring the offering of your life to the altar, I offer it to God, receive Jesus, and give Jesus back to you. Then bring Jesus out with you into the...
info_outlineBaptism of the Lord (A) We naturally love that which is good. Therefore, you should love yourself. Rightly-ordered self-love is the fruit of seeing your own goodness and loving that which is good. You should desire your own continued existence and your own flourishing. You are not the source of your own goodness. We love our Creator as the source of our goodness. And when we look around at others, we see that they are also good like us, and we love them. So love of others and love of God flow from love of self. Do you see how important it is to love yourself rightly?
This is exactly why the Devil attacks your value! Most of us struggle to love ourselves rightly because the Devil keeps attacking our value and dignity. Note: disordered self love is when I falsely think I have more goodness than anyone else. I might even think I am better than God himself. That is disordered self love because it's not rooted in the truth. This isn't what we are talking about.
So how can we learn to love ourselves rightly? The human community must welcome each person and love that person as God does. The human community needs to be transformed. It is transformed by the love of God. Finding and experiencing God's love is essential for us to learn to love ourselves rightly.
Jesus got a good start because Mary and Joseph created a good family environment. But at his Baptism, he still needed to hear his Father say, "Son, I love you, and I'm proud of you." We all need to hear these words. And we need to live in this love. Repeat after me: "It is good that I exist." Now turn to your neighbor and tell them, "It is good that you exist."
(11 Jan 2026)
Going Deeper: If yourself were a friend of yours, would that friend feel loved by you? Two podcast episodes that inspired this topic: Restore the Glory Podcast Episode 139: Philosophy and Healing w/ Fr. Matthew Rolling and Interior Integration for Catholics 173: Aristotle and Aquinas on Proper Self-Love.
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