Homilies in 2026 (40)
In our readings this morning we hear how the priests have to stop because God’s presence fills the Temple, while in the Gospel people press forward just to touch the edge of Jesus’ clothing. Ignatius would invite us not to rush past these scenes, but to stand inside them, to …
Brothers and sisters,
Today, the Lord calls us to be salt and light through real acts of justice and care, as we see in the Scriptures and in the life of Saint Josephine Bakhita.
Sometimes the biggest problems facing the world do require big, shared solutions. World peace. …
We can recall that the disciples have just returned from the mission Jesus entrusted to them. He sent them out two by two, with little more than a staff and his authority. They have preached repentance, anointed the sick, and driven out unclean spirits. They have known the …
Before the party even begins, it helps to remember who Herod is. This is Herod Antipas, not a great king but a client ruler, dependent on Rome, anxious about his position, skilled at survival rather than leadership. He lives close to power but never fully secure in it. He …
David is near the end of his life, and he speaks out of experience rather than ambition. He tells Solomon what his own failures have taught him. Stay close to God. Walk in his ways. Be faithful from the inside, not just on the surface. David has learned that strength is not …
Dear sisters,
The people in Nazareth thought they knew Jesus. They knew his family. They knew his trade. They remembered him as the carpenter who grew up among them. So when he spoke with wisdom and authority in the synagogue, they did not open themselves to what God might …
In our first reading David is standing by the city gate, waiting for news. Everyone else already knows what they want to call this day. The rebellion is over. The danger has passed. It should be a success. David is not thinking about success. He asks one simple question: is …
Let us picture this moment in our imagination.
An old man stands in the Temple holding a baby. The child is warm and light. He has no idea who he is or what is being said about him. The old man’s hands shake a little, so he slows himself down. He holds the child carefully, …
Jesus goes up a hill and sits down. He does not tower over the crowd. He settles himself and waits, and they gather around him. Some of you may remember the scene from The Chosen. People arrive carrying different burdens. Some are curious. Some are tired. Some are already …
This morning David is told a story about injustice. A poor man owns one lamb. It eats from his plate, sleeps near him, and is part of the household. A rich man, with many animals, takes that lamb for himself. David reacts strongly. He speaks about justice and punishment. …
In the first reading we watch how unfaithfulness grows. David is unfaithful first in a quiet way. He stays behind when he should be with his men. He lets his guard down. Then desire takes root in his heart. He does not stop it. What begins inside soon becomes action. He …
David walks into the tent and sits on the ground. He is still king, but something has shifted. God has just spoken of a future that will last longer than David’s strength and longer than his life. David does not try to respond with big words. He does not make promises of his …
Most of us know the feeling of arriving before God with a plan already drawn. We come with measurements and materials in our heads. Fix this. Bless that. Help me build what I think should stand. The readings today slow that instinct. They invite us to listen before we build, …
David does not march into Jerusalem as a hero. He dances. His dancing is not for show. It is what happens when fear loosens its grip. For a long time, the Ark had stayed where it was, and David carried the memory of what went wrong. Now he sees that the road is open again. …
In this morning’s readings we meet a moment many of us recognise. You do something that loosens another person’s chains, something that gives back dignity or hope, and instead of thanks you meet suspicion. Motives are questioned. Labels are fixed. That is where today’s …
Jesus begins his public ministry at a dangerous moment. John has been arrested. A voice has been silenced. The preacher who spoke truth in the wilderness has been removed, and everyone knows what that means. When truth-tellers are taken away, fear spreads quickly. Others …
Yesterday the Scriptures showed us David hiding in the darkness of a cave, holding Saul’s life in his hands. He could have struck him down. He could have ended the long chase and settled everything with one clean blow. Instead, David stepped back. He spared Saul. He chose …
Some of the most important moments in life are quiet ones. No audience. No applause. Just a choice made in the dark. Those moments shape who we are becoming.
David is in such a moment today. He is hiding in a cave, tired and hunted. Saul, the king who has been trying to kill …
They came out singing and dancing, filling the streets with colour and relief. It was the sound a people make when fear has loosened its grip. Saul returned with David, and the women sang what poetry always sings. Saul has killed his thousands, David his ten thousands. …
At the end of most days, our hands tell the truth about us. They show where we have spent our time and what we have chosen to do. They have worked and waited, helped and held back, reached out or stayed closed. Sometimes they are ready for good. Sometimes they are tired. …
Dear brothers and sisters,
Samuel is grieving, and God names it plainly. “How long will you mourn Saul?”, Not because grief is wrong, but because it can quietly fix our eyes on what is finished. Samuel’s sorrow has become a way of standing still. God sends him …
Think of a wedding you have actually attended. Not the photographs, but the moment itself. People are talking, distracted, checking watches. Then the groom appears. No announcement is needed. Conversations fade. Faces turn. Something important has arrived. No one wonders …
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
today we are being asked to notice the Lamb who walks quietly among us, and to decide whether we will pay attention and follow.
There is a sound many of us know well, especially outside the cities. It is the small bell tied around the …
God meets us where we are and asks us to follow him in the middle of ordinary life.
Dear sisters, the readings today remind us of something simple and important. God does not wait for the right mood, the right time, or the right circumstances. He comes to people while they …
Sisters and dear friends, this morning the Word of God gives us one clear lesson: when we reach for control, God reaches for the heart.
Our first reading from the First Book of Samuel opens with a tired prophet and an anxious people. The elders of Israel come to Samuel with …
Dear sisters in Christ, we have all known dry moments. Today’s readings use the image of the desert as the place where false hopes fall away and true mercy is revealed.
Our first reading from the first book of Samuel takes us to a battlefield thick with fear. Israel has …
Dear sisters in Christ, today’s readings invite us to look more closely at how God enters ordinary life, heals what is deepest in us, and then sends us out to serve.
In the first reading from the First Book of Samuel we meet a young boy who hears his name called in the …
God works quietly, but when he acts, lives are changed.
Dear sisters in Christ, good morning. Today’s readings remind us of something very simple. God listens when people pray from the heart. God lifts those who feel low. And God speaks a word that sets people free.
Our …
Help me write a homily for the Memorial of Monday of the first week in Ordinary Time, Year A, with the following readings:
First Reading 1 Samuel 1:1–8 Response Psalm 116:17a Psalm Psalm 116:12–19 Gospel Acclamation Mark 1:15 Gospel Mark 1:14–20 …
This morning, let us reflect on our baptism as the beginning of our life with Christ, the source of our mission, and the foundation for how we serve others in the Church and the world.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, dear friends.
Today the Church invites us to think …
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the days after Epiphany have shown us who Jesus is through ordinary scenes and real human need. Each day has revealed something practical and close to daily life.
On Monday, Jesus began his public work in Galilee. He announced that the …
Dear sisters in Christ, today’s readings offer one clear call: believe the truth about Jesus, praise God for what he is already doing, and allow Christ to touch what we would rather keep hidden.
We begin with the First Letter of John. John is writing to a community that is …
Dear sisters in Christ, when God opens a door, and once that door is opened, a life of truth and mercy must follow.
Our first reading from the First Letter of John reminds us that we love because God loved us first. John is not addressing a crowd drunk on success. He is …
Dear sisters, today’s readings remind us that when fear rises and the work feels heavy, Jesus shows us who he truly is, and he does not keep his distance.
Our first reading from the First Letter of John is very direct. God has loved us first, so we must love one another. …
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today’s Word can be gathered into one simple sentence: God’s love is revealed when it feeds people who cannot feed themselves.
Our first reading, from the First Letter of John, is plain and demanding. Love comes from God. We did not begin …
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this Monday after Epiphany the Church invites us to stay with the light a little longer. Yesterday we saw Christ revealed to the nations, recognised by people who came from far away and then went home changed. In these days leading to …
This feast reminds us that God does not wait for us to belong before coming close, but meets us while we are still searching, travelling, and asking questions.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Epiphany places before us a simple but demanding image: a light seen at a …
The Holy Name of Jesus is the centre of this feast and the centre of our life. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, fellow Jesuits, and friends of the Society, today we celebrate not an idea but a name that was chosen carefully, lived faithfully, and trusted completely.
When …
The readings this morning are about recognising who Christ is, who we are not, and learning to remain with him now that he has come close.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, dear friends, Christmas keeps asking us a simple but demanding question. Not “what happened?”, but …
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as a new calendar year begins, the Church places before us a woman and a child and asks us to begin here.
We come into this year carrying many things. Relief that a difficult year has ended. Concern about what has not changed. Questions …