Mercy Triumphs: Weekly Homilies of a Catholic Priest

“This is the best decision we’ve ever made as a couple.”…“I don’t know what I’m going to do after it ends.”…“It makes me love learning about my faith.” Those are quotes from three young adults right here in our own parish who have decided to become fully initiated into the Catholic Church last night. They’ve been coming each week for the past few months to Catholic formation classes as they prepare to be fully initiated into the Church, and that is what they had to say about it. And if you’ve seen any headlines about the renewed interest people have in the Catholic Church, I think it’s largely because young people want truth. No matter how unpopular some of the teachings of the Catholic Church may be portrayed, young people just want to know the truth. And they want to follow it, because they realize it brings them joy and peace in a way that nothing else can. And it's not a coincidence that when we follow the truth—peace and joy come into our lives. Because the truth is a perso...

When I was in high school, my older brother started going to daily Mass with my grandfather. At the time, it confused me, because I didn’t know why anybody would want to go to Mass every day. Mass already seemed pretty boring, so why would someone want to be more bored? As I grew older and realized how much I needed my faith and a relationship with Jesus, I ended up having several spiritual awakenings that made me realize how powerful Mass is. For example, I myself started going to daily Mass when I was desperate for God’s guidance, and, at one Mass, when I was standing during the intercessions, I felt as if God said to me, “If you become a priest, I will take care of you forever.” It felt like the most loving Father had offered me the most comforting words; words that gave me such a deep sense of security. And it all happened while I was standing there during Mass. Mass is a prayer, right? But where does it come from? Why are we doing this? Well, it’s because of Jesus. The Mass litera...