Casts of a Fisherman

Homily from Tuesday of Week 25 of Ordinary TimeLuke 8:19-21The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to himbut were unable to join him because of the crowd.He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outsideand they wish to see you.”He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

Homily from Monday of Week 25 of Ordinary TimeProverbs 3:27-34Refuse no one the good on which he has a claimwhen it is in your power to do it for him.Say not to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,tomorrow I will give,” when you can give at once.Plot no evil against your neighbor,against one who lives at peace with you.Quarrel not with a man without cause,with one who has done you no harm.Envy not the lawless manand choose none of his ways:To the LORD the perverse one is an abomination,but with the upright is his friendship.The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked,but the dwelling of the just he blesses;When dealing with the arrogant, he is stern,but to the humble he shows kindness.

Homily from Sunday of Week 25 of Ordinary TimeMark 9:30-37Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,but he did not wish anyone to know about it.He was teaching his disciples and telling them,“The Son of Man is to be handed over to menand they will kill him,and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”But they did not understand the saying,and they were afraid to question him.They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,he began to ask them,“What were you arguing about on the way?”But they remained silent.They had been discussing among themselves on the waywho was the greatest.Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,“If anyone wishes to be first,he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,and putting his arms around it, he said to them,“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;and whoever receives me,receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Homily from Thursday of Week 24 of Ordinary TimeLuke 7:36-50A certain Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him,and he entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.Now there was a sinful woman in the citywho learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee.Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment,she stood behind him at his feet weepingand began to bathe his feet with her tears.Then she wiped them with her hair,kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment.When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself,“If this man were a prophet,he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him,that she is a sinner.”Jesus said to him in reply,“Simon, I have something to say to you.”“Tell me, teacher,” he said.“Two people were in debt to a certain creditor;one owed five hundred days’ wages and the other owed fifty.Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both.Which of them will love him more?”Simon said in reply,“The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven.”He said to him, “You have judged rightly.”Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,“Do you see this woman?When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,but she has bathed them with her tearsand wiped them with her hair.You did not give me a kiss,but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.You did not anoint my head with oil,but she anointed my feet with ointment.So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven;hence, she has shown great love.But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”The others at table said to themselves,“Who is this who even forgives sins?”But he said to the woman,“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Homily from Tuesday of Week 24 of Ordinary Time1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27-31aBrothers and sisters:As a body is one though it has many parts,and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,so also Christ.For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body,whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.Now the body is not a single part, but many.Now you are Christ's Body, and individually parts of it.Some people God has designated in the Churchto be, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;then, mighty deeds;then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,and varieties of tongues.Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.Luke 7:11-17Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.As he drew near to the gate of the city,a man who had died was being carried out,the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.A large crowd from the city was with her.When the Lord saw her,he was moved with pity for her and said to her,"Do not weep."He stepped forward and touched the coffin;at this the bearers halted,and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!"The dead man sat up and began to speak,and Jesus gave him to his mother.Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,"A great prophet has arisen in our midst,"and "God has visited his people."This report about him spread through the whole of Judeaand in all the surrounding region.

Homily from Monday of Week 24 of Ordinary Time1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33Brothers and sisters:In giving this instruction, I do not praise the factthat your meetings are doing more harm than good.First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Churchthere are divisions among you,and to a degree I believe it;there have to be factions among youin order that also those who are approved among youmay become known.When you meet in one place, then,it is not to eat the Lord's supper,for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink?Or do you show contempt for the Church of Godand make those who have nothing feel ashamed?What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?In this matter I do not praise you.For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,took bread and, after he had given thanks,broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you.Do this in remembrance of me."In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,"This cup is the new covenant in my Blood.Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.Therefore, my brothers and sisters,when you come together to eat, wait for one another.Luke 7:1-10When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,he entered Capernaum.A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,and he was valuable to him.When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,asking him to come and save the life of his slave.They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,"He deserves to have you do this for him,for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us."And Jesus went with them,but when he was only a short distance from the house,the centurion sent friends to tell him,"Lord, do not trouble yourself,for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;but say the word and let my servant be healed.For I too am a person subject to authority,with soldiers subject to me.And I say to one, Go, and he goes;and to another, Come here, and he comes;and to my slave, Do this, and he does it."When Jesus heard this he was amazed at himand, turning, said to the crowd following him,"I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."When the messengers returned to the house,they found the slave in good health.

Sermon on Friday of Week 23 of Ordinary TimePsalm 84R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD.My heart and my fleshcry out for the living God.R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!Even the sparrow finds a home,and the swallow a nestin which she puts her young—Your altars, O LORD of hosts,my king and my God!R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!Blessed they who dwell in your house!continually they praise you.Blessed the men whose strength you are!their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!For a sun and a shield is the LORD God;grace and glory he bestows;The LORD withholds no good thingfrom those who walk in sincerity. R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

Homily from Tuesday of Week 23 of Ordinary Time1 Corinthians 6:1-11Brothers and sisters:How can any one of you with a case against anotherdare to bring it to the unjust for judgmentinstead of to the holy ones?Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?If the world is to be judged by you,are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?Do you not know that we will judge angels?Then why not everyday matters?If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters,do you seat as judges people of no standing in the Church?I say this to shame you.Can it be that there is not one among you wise enoughto be able to settle a case between brothers?But rather brother goes to court against brother,and that before unbelievers?Now indeed then it is, in any case,a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another.Why not rather put up with injustice?Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers.Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God?Do not be deceived;neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterersnor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thievesnor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robberswill inherit the Kingdom of God.That is what some of you used to be;but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified,you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christand in the Spirit of our God.

Homily from Sunday of Week 23 of Ordinary TimeMark 7:31-37Again Jesus left the district of Tyreand went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,into the district of the Decapolis.And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impedimentand begged him to lay his hand on him.He took him off by himself away from the crowd.He put his finger into the man’s earsand, spitting, touched his tongue;then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —And immediately the man’s ears were opened,his speech impediment was removed,and he spoke plainly.He ordered them not to tell anyone.But the more he ordered them not to,the more they proclaimed it.They were exceedingly astonished and they said,“He has done all things well.He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Homily from Saturday of Week 22 of Ordinary TimeLuke 6:1-5While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,his disciples were picking the heads of grain,rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.Some Pharisees said,“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”Jesus said to them in reply,“Have you not read what David didwhen he and those who were with him were hungry?How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,which only the priests could lawfully eat,ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

Homily from Friday of Week 22 of Ordinary Time1 Corinthians 4:1-5Brothers and sisters:Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christand stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewardsthat they be found trustworthy.It does not concern me in the leastthat I be judged by you or any human tribunal;I do not even pass judgment on myself;I am not conscious of anything against me,but I do not thereby stand acquitted;the one who judges me is the Lord.Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,until the Lord comes,for he will bring to light what is hidden in darknessand will manifest the motives of our hearts,and then everyone will receive praise from God.Luke 5:33-39The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;but yours eat and drink.”Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fastwhile the bridegroom is with them?But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,then they will fast in those days.”And he also told them a parable.“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.Otherwise, he will tear the newand the piece from it will not match the old cloak.Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

Homily from Thursday of Week 22 of Ordinary Time1 Corinthians 3:18-23Brothers and sisters:Let no one deceive himself.If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age,let him become a fool, so as to become wise.For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God,for it is written:God catches the wise in their own ruses,and again:The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you,Paul or Apollos or Cephas,or the world or life or death,or the present or the future:all belong to you, and you to Christ, and Christ to God.

Homily from Tuesday of Week 22 of Ordinary TimeLuke 4:31-37Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee.He taught them on the sabbath,and they were astonished at his teachingbecause he spoke with authority.In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon,and he cried out in a loud voice,"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?Have you come to destroy us?I know who you are–the Holy One of God!"Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!"Then the demon threw the man down in front of themand came out of him without doing him any harm.They were all amazed and said to one another,"What is there about his word?For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits,and they come out."And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

Homily from Sunday of Week 22 of Ordinary TimeDeuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8Moses said to the people:"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decreeswhich I am teaching you to observe,that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the landwhich the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,which I enjoin upon you,you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.Observe them carefully,for thus will you give evidenceof your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,who will hear of all these statutes and say,'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'For what great nation is therethat has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to uswhenever we call upon him?Or what great nation has statutes and decreesthat are as just as this whole lawwhich I am setting before you today?"Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalemgathered around Jesus,they observed that some of his disciples ate their mealswith unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,do not eat without carefully washing their hands,keeping the tradition of the elders.And on coming from the marketplacethey do not eat without purifying themselves.And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the eldersbut instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"He responded,"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:This people honors me with their lips,but their hearts are far from me;in vain do they worship me,teaching as doctrines human precepts.You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."He summoned the crowd again and said to them,"Hear me, all of you, and understand.Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;but the things that come out from within are what defile."From within people, from their hearts,come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,adultery, greed, malice, deceit,licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.All these evils come from within and they defile."

Homily from Friday of Week 21 of Ordinary TimeMatthew 25:1-13Jesus told his disciples this parable:"The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virginswho took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.Five of them were foolish and five were wise.The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,brought no oil with them,but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.Since the bridegroom was long delayed,they all became drowsy and fell asleep.At midnight, there was a cry,'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.The foolish ones said to the wise,'Give us some of your oil,for our lamps are going out.'But the wise ones replied,'No, for there may not be enough for us and you.Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'While they went off to buy it,the bridegroom cameand those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.Then the door was locked.Afterwards the other virgins came and said,'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!'But he said in reply,'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'Therefore, stay awake,for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Homily from Tuesday of Week 21 of Ordinary TimeMatthew 23:23-26Jesus said:“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,and have neglected the weightier things of the law:judgment and mercy and fidelity.But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,so that the outside also may be clean.”

Homily from Monday of Week 21 of Ordinary TimeMatthew 23:13-22Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.You do not enter yourselves,nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.You traverse sea and land to make one convert,and when that happens you make him a child of Gehennatwice as much as yourselves.“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,or the temple that made the gold sacred?And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,or the altar that makes the gift sacred?One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;one who swears by the temple swears by itand by him who dwells in it;one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of Godand by him who is seated on it.”

Homily from Sunday of Week 21 of Ordinary TimeJohn 6:60-69Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,he said to them, "Does this shock you?What if you were to see the Son of Man ascendingto where he was before?It is the spirit that gives life,while the flesh is of no avail.The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.But there are some of you who do not believe."Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believeand the one who would betray him.And he said,"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to meunless it is granted him by my Father."As a result of this,many of his disciples returned to their former way of lifeand no longer accompanied him.Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?You have the words of eternal life.We have come to believeand are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Homily from Friday of Week 20 of Ordinary TimeMatthew 22:34-40When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,they gathered together, and one of them,a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”He said to him,“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,with all your soul, and with all your mind.This is the greatest and the first commandment.The second is like it:You shall love your neighbor as yourself.The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Homily from Thursday of Week 20 of Ordinary TimeMatthew 22:1-14Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parablessaying, "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a kingwho gave a wedding feast for his son.He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,but they refused to come.A second time he sent other servants, saying,'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,my calves and fattened cattle are killed,and everything is ready; come to the feast."'Some ignored the invitation and went away,one to his farm, another to his business.The rest laid hold of his servants,mistreated them, and killed them.The king was enraged and sent his troops,destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.Then the king said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,but those who were invited were not worthy to come.Go out, therefore, into the main roadsand invite to the feast whomever you find.'The servants went out into the streetsand gathered all they found, bad and good alike,and the hall was filled with guests.But when the king came in to meet the guestshe saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.He said to him, 'My friend, how is itthat you came in here without a wedding garment?'But he was reduced to silence.Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet,and cast him into the darkness outside,where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'Many are invited, but few are chosen."