Teach What You Believe

Homily: Funeral of Derek DiGregorio

2025-06-09T13:09:00.005-04:00

This morning our parish came together to mourn the passing of a dear friend, Derek DiGrgorio. Being diagnosed around the age of ten with Ataxia Telangiectasia, over half his life his ministry to others came from the position of sitting in a wheelchair. His gift – his blessing to me and to all those around him was teaching us how he faced adversity – how to take it head on…and with the grace of God, how we convert those challenges to advantages. In short - how we take our dis-ablements…our cracks and our wounds and to allow the light of Christ to shone forth from those cracks and on to others.

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Homily: Funeral of Sharon Knipper

2025-06-02T07:36:00.002-04:00

This past Friday our family came together to celebrate the life of a dear wife, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend – Sharon Knipper. Her five-year battle with cancer ended and her new life with our risen Lord began. We will never forget the gift of love and life and compassion that Sharon gave each and every one of us…a gift, along with her contagious smile, that we will all continue to share with all those in our lives.

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Homily: 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2025-02-09T16:19:00.002-05:00

Needless to say, it seems these past few weeks have been a challenge for many. For example, just days ago our country basically ended the humanitarian aid provided through USAID. And when I hear that, and so many other things, I wonder have we forgotten who we are and as disciples of Christ, what we are supposed to be doing? As baptized Christians, we are priests. We are prophets. We are royalty. The call as baptized disciples is to live these attributes and to live them well. But are we? Check it out…

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Homily: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

2024-11-09T21:45:00.002-05:00

This weekend’s gospel compares the Scribes, who were focused on money and power versus the widow who gave all that she had because of her faith and trust in God. Actually, if you look through all the Gospels you will find Jesus critical of the rich and supportive of the poor. But it is not so much that money is the root of all evil, rather it is power. For once ego aligns itself with power it can no longer see the truth. It will be preoccupied with what I have and how best to protect it…independent of the Gospel teachings. Check it out and see what I mean…

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Homily: 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2024-10-27T18:34:00.000-04:00

Today’s gospel is so much more than just the healing of someone with a physical blindness rather it is a story that calls for us to open our eyes to be like Christ and to bring forth God’s life changing message of the liberation for the oppressed and the inclusion of the marginalized. It is a story about each of us recognizing our own spiritual blindness -those times when we are hardheaded, judgmental, close minded, and have our own certitude as to who is in and who is out – who is up and who is down – why I am right and you are wrong…which seems to be the main criteria of this current election cycle. Check it out and see what I mean…

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Homily: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2024-08-17T21:58:00.003-04:00

The Synoptic Gospel writes all give us the story of the institution of the Eucharist – the story of Jesus gathering his disciples at table: blessing, breaking and giving them bread and asking them to do the same thing over and over again and…to remember him. But some 20 or so years later, when John takes pen to paper, he doesn’t write anything about the Last Supper, rather he gives us this Bread of Life Discourse which we have listened to these past few weeks. So why did John make this substitution of stories? After all, what could be more important than Eucharist? Check it out…

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Homily: Trinity Sunday 2024

2024-05-27T07:08:00.003-04:00

Countless volumes have been written trying to explain the mystery of three persons in one true God, leaving us to resort to metaphors such as the three-leaf clover to try to comprehend the Divinity. Many of us grew up with the quintessential pyramidal Trinity structure of God at the top and Son and Spirit in opposite corners. But what if we looked at this ‘mystery’ from a different perspective? What if we shifted our language of God as a being towards the concept of God as love? What if we focused more on the relationship within the Trinity versus the persons of the Trinity? What if stopped looking at God as a noun…and instead considered God as a verb? Check it out…

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Homily: 2nd Sunday of Lent

2024-02-25T21:32:00.007-05:00

This weekend we heard the famous biblical story of Abraham and his son Isaac, and the angel who stopped Abraham at the last minute from sacrificing his son as God had ordered. While this passage demonstrates Abraham’s unbelievable faith in God – it is a story whose ending is often missed. An ending which turns this story upside down and changes how that culture – and we – need to see God so differently. What is this surprise twist? And how does it impact our spiritual journey? Check it out…

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Homily: The Epiphany of the Lord

2024-01-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

For the past 12 days we have heard the stories of the birth of Jesus Christ as God incarnate indeed good news of great joy all people. So, on this Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord we celebrate Jesus revealed as the Christ Child to the magi, who arrive by the light of the star. Every year we listen to this well-known Gospel story of the journey of the magi who pay homage to the Christ Child. But today I invite you to just focus on two lines that appear in the Gospel. What are they? Check it out because…as you will you see, any interaction with this Jesus the Christ, no matter where or how it happens, will change your own journey.

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Homily: Feast of the Holy Family

2023-12-31T15:10:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family…and tomorrow the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And I like the fact that this Feast comes hours before the Solemnity for it allows us to really look at how this God incarnate, born of the Blessed Virgin Mary…this Christ Child…this God who came into the world in a family that had its heart and its doors open to love – connects to our daily life and our families. It was Pope Francis who reminded us that, “The family is important, as it is necessary for the survival of humanity. Without the family, the cultural survival of the human race would be at risk. The family. Whether we like it or not, is the foundation.”

In a society where all too often we can easily fall prey to the notion of separating the secular and the sacred, and we close our eyes to what is sacramental, what does it take to build that foundation?

Check it out…

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Homily: 4th Sunday of Advent

2023-12-23T22:35:00.000-05:00

With the calendar only providing us 3 full weeks of Advent, how have you been spending your time? What, perhaps have you been seeing…or feeling or doing differently? For Advent calls us to be conscious, awake, alert. Advent calls us to be open to how Christ comes to us every day. Advent calls for our participation by opening our eyes to our own brokenness and that of humanity. For Christ is there…just waiting and wanting our active participation. This week’s Gospel provides us three points which may lead us to a better understanding of what we are called to do moving from this briefest 4^th week of Advent into Christmas and the New Year. What are they? Check it out….

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Homily: 2nd Sunday of Advent

2023-12-09T22:21:00.000-05:00

As we each walk through this season of Advent, we may just find ourselves in some form of wilderness, thirsting for peace, reconciliation and healing – and thus it’s a time we need to be alert, awake, watchful and vigilant to God’s presence. So, perhaps we take the lead from Isaiah where we spend time seeking how we can better “Prepare the way of the Lord”…of how we can look at the valleys, at the crookedness, and the rough places not just in the outside world, but also in our own hearts. What does that look like? Check it out…

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Homily: Christ the King

2023-11-26T22:13:00.000-05:00

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe: to some degree I think the title of today’s feast day could miss the mark of its original purpose and design. For did you ever notice, nowhere in the Gospels does Jesus say to worship him, much less as a king – he simply said to follow him and to do as he does. The best description of all of this, across all the Gospels, appears in today’s reading of Matthew’s recording of Jesus’ last discourse which indicates kinship seems to be more important that kingship. What does that look like? Check it out…

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Homily: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

2023-11-12T22:00:00.002-05:00

Biblical scholars tell us that this Parable of the Ten Virgins was likely cobbled together from a few sources meant to drive home the message of always being prepared – a Gospel theme we will hear often between now and Christmas. But was does that mean to you and me? What does being prepared look like? And tapping into one of today’s Gospel metaphors, what is the oil that we need to be placing in our lamps? Check it out…

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Homily: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2023-10-21T22:38:00.002-04:00

For the past few weeks, we have been listening to Jesus telling parables to the Chief Priests and Pharisees. For Jesus is attempting to get their attention to think differently, choose differently and to open their eyes to his teachings of the Kingdom of God. But they show no interest in listening to his teachings about love and compassion, much less inclusion. Thus, they look to corner Jesus into committing a crime of sedition and thus be crucified, by putting the question to Jesus if taxes should be paid to Caesar or not.

Perhaps a way to phrase this question in the present time would be: is our allegiance with the spiritual or the worldly? Where is our focus today? Since this story appears in all three Synoptic Gospels, this story carries a deeper and more significant message than a Gospel about just paying taxes. What is that hidden meaning? Check it out…

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Homily: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

2023-09-03T22:45:00.000-04:00

Before I get into this weekend’s homily – my apologies, as it seems that the blog software made a change months ago which prevented my work from being sent to you! So, feel free to roam on back to see what you missed – and hope you will stay connected!

Meanwhile…

This Sunday we heard the conclusion of the Gospel story that began last week when Jesus said he would build his Church upon the rock of Peter. But a few lines later Jesus calls Peter, ‘Satan’ and he is told to get behind Christ and follow him. So how did Peter get it so right to the point where Jesus will use Peter as the foundation of his Church and then in the next moment Peter gets it so wrong as to be called Satan? The answer and, indeed our lesson, is rooted in the two types of thinking that we face every day. What are they? How do we distinguish them? Check it out…

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Homily: Sixth Sunday of Easter

2023-05-14T13:37:00.003-04:00

The Surgeon General of the US, Dr. Vivek Murthy, just announced the ending of COVID-19 as a global emergency. But at the same time declared a new number one epidemic in our country today – one that affects 50 % of our population, and even higher for our kids. What is it? And how does the Gospel reading from John this Sunday help us solve it? Check it out…

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Homily: Good Friday

2023-04-08T06:59:00.001-04:00

During these past weeks of Lent, our Gospels have focused on the quintessential theme of life, death and rebirth – or what some call order, disorder, and reorder. However you look at this universal pattern, one thing is for sure – there is no skipping the process. So, on this Good Friday, instead of just focusing on the cross that Christ died on – a death that was for us…what if we spent some time on the deaths that happen to us…to focus on our crosses and on our dying that needs to occur each day? What does that look like? Check it out…

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Homily: Third Sunday of Lent

2023-03-12T22:39:00.002-04:00

This Sunday we heard the gospel that provides the longest dialogue recorded between Jesus and a woman. By breaking with social ‘norms’ Jesus reaches out with acceptance, self-worth and compassion to one who was socially outcast. For this is a Gospel story that teaches us, reminds us, encourages us that in the Kingdom of God there are no outcasts, there are no strangers, there are no us versus them, rather it is a kingdom of only repentant and welcomed sinners – people like you and me. But the core message of this gospel is hidden – and one that opens our eyes to what we already have. What is that? Check it out….

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Third Sunday of Advent

2022-12-11T22:20:00.000-05:00

This weekend we hear in Matthew’s Gospel of John the Baptist sitting in a jail cell and wondering if he placed his bets on the wrong guy…questioning if the Lord is anywhere near to him. Then again, when we are faced with adversity, doubt, and loss how often have we questioned “Where is God?” and “Is the Lord anywhere near?” See how a street corner in Louisville and the wisdom of Thomas Merton may just open our eyes to see in a new way so that we can join in the chorus of Gaudete! Rejoice! on this 3rd Sunday of Advent.

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Homily: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2022-10-15T22:40:00.000-04:00

This weekend we hear the parable of the widow and the judge. The Gospel writer begins with a summation that the parable talks “about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” But if we left it just there, we would miss the secondary and deeper meaning behind the story. What is it? Check it out…

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Homily: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

2022-08-20T23:07:00.001-04:00

The Gospel this weekend begins with the question that is asked a number of times across the gospels – and one that each of us may have asked in our own spiritual journey: “Lord, will only a few be saved? Or better said – who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?! To which Jesus answers: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” In those days the narrow gates were the side doors of the walled city where you could enter. They were less exposed and less visible allowing occupants to come and go inconspicuously.

So, what does the ‘narrow gate’ look like for you and me today? Once we figure that out, how does that begin to tell us who wins the ticket to heaven and who doesn’t? This complicated Gospel sounds more like a message of exclusion rather than inclusion. So, which is it and what does it mean for each of us? Check it out…

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17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

2022-07-23T20:28:00.003-04:00

Luke speaks about prayer more than any of the other Evangelists…and in this weekend’s gospel we hear the disciples, asking Jesus to teach them how to pray and he responds with a simple version of the Lord’s Prayer. With prayer being so foundation to who we are, how do you pray? But the bigger question may have to do with how we view prayer. In other words, do we come to prayer as a transactional or a relational activity? Do we spend our time in prayer looking for something from God…or are we desiring a connection with God?

Leave it to my grandson Oliver to open my eyes to what prayer is really all about. Check it out and see what I mean…

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Homily: Trinity Sunday

2022-06-12T12:57:00.005-04:00

Hindered by our language many have resorted to using metaphors to describe the Trinity such as a 3-leaf clover or a harmonic cord. But what if we stopped looking at God as a noun and considered God as a verb? Early Christians described the Trinity as a dance, where God is not the dancer – rather God is the dance itself. See what I mean…

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Homily: Pentecost

2022-06-04T22:26:00.003-04:00

As we gather on this Feast of Pentecost our Scripture focuses on the “what’s next” in our call to discipleship. What does “being sent” & discipleship look like for each of us? What are we called to do and not to do? So how can an African parable, a saintly doorkeeper, a foot massager, and college basketball player help point us to the way, the truth and the light? See what I mean…

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