Mercy Triumphs: Weekly Homilies of a Catholic Priest

In the first reading the Lord says, “Return to me with your whole heart.”   I was thinking about what I was going to say about that. I was going to say something like, “This is very difficult—to give God our whole heart.” But, I realize, it's not difficult. It's actually impossible. We can't give God our whole heart. It's impossible…without God's help. We absolutely need God's help to do this. We're fooling ourselves if we think otherwise.  And, so, we have to get in the habit of asking God for help. “God, help me through this.” “God, help me overcome this.” “God, take away my anxiety; give me strength.” Those should be prayers we should pray every single day. It is so pleasing to God for him to hear you pray that way and it opens us to his help. …In the second reading, Saint Paul says, ‘Be reconciled to God.’ That means repentance has to be real, and, for many of us, it means a good confession this Lent.  If your’e putting confession off, stop. The...

In 1975, Pope Paul VI observed that people today listen more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and that when people do listen to teachers, it is because those teachers are also witnesses. This means we can talk all we want about Jesus, the truth of our faith, and how to live a good life, but if we don’t live what we believe, our words will have little effect. And that is exactly what Jesus is getting at in the Gospel. He calls every disciple to be salt and light. That is what a witness is: someone whose faith people can actually see. Salt changes what it touches. Light does not hide; it shines. And Jesus says very plainly that people should see our good deeds and glorify our heavenly Father. So what is an example of what Pope Paul VI is talking about, and what Jesus teaches in the Gospel? In my own ministry, I have the privilege of meeting with couples who are preparing to enter the Sacrament of Matrimony. One couple I met with has been civilly married for a few years, and th...

I  was at a wake for a priest whose mother had passed away. She was over 100. As I was standing and praying in front of her casket, there was an older gentleman beside me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him make the sign of the cross over her body, and I suspected he was a priest. When he turned, I recognized him. He was a priest; recently back in ministry after some time away. I said hello and told him I was glad he was back and that I was sorry to hear what he went through, and added, “Suffering is transformative, isn’t it.” He nodded. To be sure, suffering does not automatically make us better. Depending on how we respond to it, it can harden us or humble us. It can deepen faith, or it can reveal what our faith was really resting on. That is exactly what today’s readings are about. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of people who suffer in different ways: those who mourn, those who are poor, those who are persecuted. And He calls them blessed. Not because suffering is good,...