Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

That means that it belongs to Him.

Jesus tells us to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to give to God what belongs to God. But if a coin bears Caesar's image, whose image do we bear? We were created in God's image and purchased at a price. Before we ever knew Him, we already belonged to Him. We are not our own, and we are not on our own.

Matthew 22:15-21

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I believe that God exists, but I do not live as if God exists.

Sometimes we become so comfortable with our words, our schedules, and our everyday choices that we ignore God's invitation to a life-changing relationship with Him. God has made Himself ignorable for the sake of love: but love pays attention. The remedy is to invite Him into each and every moment and ask, "God, right now, how would you have me be?"

Matthew 22:1-14

Homily from the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Concern asks, "What can I do?" Worry asks, "What if?"

Worry can feel useful, responsible, even protective. But it keeps us rehearsing futures we cannot control. Concern moves us toward the next right thing. We can do what is ours to do, give God what we cannot control, and choose hope: not because we know what tomorrow holds, but because we know that God will be there.

Matthew 21:33-43

Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Training ourselves to notice the negative.

Many of us have a default stance to notice the negative. When it comes to our assessment of ourselves or of any given situation, our default setting can often be complaint. And yet God calls us to rise above, to stop noticing the negative and begin approaching His world with wonder and praise.

Matthew 21:28-32

Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

God does not owe me anything.

Entitlement does not always look like entitlement. Sometimes, it simply feels like getting what we deserve. Whether it comes from pride or pain, we can believe that we are owed more. But grace is, by definition, an undeserved gift. The cure for entitlement is to stop asking what we are owed and to start asking what God has entrusted to us...and then receive it with gratitude.

Matthew 20:1-16a

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

There's angrily resisting reality...and there is saying "yes" to Life.

Anger as a Blind Spot doesn't necessarily mean "rage" or "seething". But sometimes the Blind Spot os anger is the subtle, chronic disposition towards Life. Rather than responding to Life, a person can choose to embrace the attitude of resenting Life.

Matthew 18:21-35

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Gossip is speaking of someone else's faults and flaws with no intention to help them at all.

Gossip can be easy to recognize when someone else is doing it—and surprisingly difficult to see in ourselves. There are times when we need to speak about another person’s faults. But when there is no intention to help them, our words reveal a blind spot of our own.

Matthew 18:15-20