Sins of the Ancestors

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The Jews of Jesus’ time asked this question because of many realities: The response of Christ: “Neither he or his parents sinned”. In other words, this is a case that is not due to sinfulness or generational curses, but rather that it…

The Road to Holiness

It is the desire of every Christian to walk the path to holiness. To do so, the Church has given some “dos and don’ts” in this journey. Jesus often reminds us that more than from the outside, what really matters is what is on the inside.  One such example is when Jesus tells of the…

Blindness

It is said that we human beings have five senses. They all collect information that is sent to the brain. Then this information is what allows us to perceive the world. Of all the senses that we human beings have, a survey was made on what we considered the most important: touch, sight, hearing, taste,…

Authority

When Jesus founded the Church there were two things he assured: First, that even the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. Second, the Church was assured of authority; whatever you bound on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you lose on earth will be lost in heaven. What is authority? Authority…

Mary Mother of The Church

There is a saying, “Without a mother, there is no life”. It is the mother’s womb that takes care of us for nine months and throughout our lives, the mother continues to care for us. Even if we reach 50, 60, or even 70 years old, in the eyes of a mother, we are still…

The Unseen

Editor’s Note: This was a homily for a newly ordained group entering the priesthood. We have included it, as the words pertain to all of us, and as a reminder to continue to pray for all of our priests. I have been a priest for 18 years and if there is one thing that has…

Forgiveness

While people need people, we all know that no relationship is perfect. There are people who have brought us happiness, there are people who have brought us pain. Hence, the challenge is to forgive.  Jesus was asked how many times should one forgive? Seven times. Seven times in the Jewish tradition means a lot. However,…

Caring for Others

There is a saying that a good story can change our lives. In fact, when we were children, stories were a gateway to understanding the world and learning things. We learned values and lessons through stories.  That is why Jesus used stories, as he was an excellent storyteller. Among the many lessons: In the Gospel, we…

A God for All

One sad reality of humanity is that we tend to congregate among people we think we belong to. There is always the desire for exclusivity.  Suddenly even in the Matters of faith, there is also exclusivity. In the Old Testament, Naaman was in need of healing but he felt initially that he should be treated…

Temptation

Someone once said, “Opportunity only knocks once, but temptation knocks all the time.” Yes, in our desire to be happy, in our desire to find what we are looking for, in our desire to love and be loved, we look at the answers in the wrong places, persons, and things. As a result, we fall…