Homilies for May 2025

For May 4, May 11, May 18, May 25, and May 29 (Ascension Thursday)

Third Sunday of Easter – May 4, 2025

Readings: Acts 5:27–32, 40b–41 • Psalm 30:2, 4, 5–6, 11–12, 13 • Revelation 5:11–14 • John 21:1–19
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050425.cfm

After His resurrection from the dead but before His ascension to Heaven, Jesus appeared to His disciples on several occasions, and I believe that, given the excellent teacher that He is, He wanted to review with them some of the essentials of Christian discipleship. From this Sunday’s Gospel, we are offered three reminder lessons, dealing with the Eucharist, mercy, and the Cross.

First lesson: the Eucharist. There’s a great line from Jesus in today’s Gospel: “Come, have breakfast.” Jesus liked to share a meal with His friends. The disciples were able to experience and sense the Real Presence of Jesus in the context of sharing a meal. Read the words that we hear in this Gospel: “He took bread and gave it to them.” Obviously, we hear those words at every Mass. The lesson is a simple one: Jesus is telling us that just as He was really present to His disciples in a meal at the shore of Tiberias, so will He be present to us in the Blessed Sacrament. Pope St. Pius X said, “This side of Paradise, there’s no way to be in more intimate union with Jesus than to receive Him in Holy Communion.”

The second lesson: Mercy. This Gospel contains that powerfully intimate episode of Jesus asking St. Peter three times, “Simon, do you love me?” Why three times? Simon Peter didn’t need to ask that question. Peter remembered that, just a short time before, he had denied Jesus three times. And here, Simon knew that the Master was giving him a chance for mercy. Jesus was saying, “Simon, I know you denied me three times. Now tell me three times that you love me. And then forget about it. You’re forgiven. Receive my mercy.”

And the third lesson: the Cross. At the end of the Gospel, Jesus foretells how St. Peter would die. He tells him, “When you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” The Lord’s prophecy to Peter would come true decades later when Peter went to Rome to become the first bishop of Rome. Then about the year 67 A.D., the Emperor Nero grew suspicious of this rising new sect called Christianity. When a fire decimated a large part of Rome, Nero blamed it on the Christians. A vicious, nasty persecution of the infant Church began. But where was Peter — the bishop of Rome, the Pope — during this persecution? Early Christian tradition tells us that he fled, leaving town by way of the Via Appia Antica. While fleeing persecution in Rome, he encountered Jesus and said to Him, “Domine, quo vadis? Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “I’m going back to Rome to be crucified again with my Church.” Well, what else could Peter do? He turned around, returning to Rome, and was arrested and dragged to the hill across the Tiber River called Vatican Hill, to be crucified. But not believing himself worthy enough to be crucified in the same way as Jesus, he asked to be crucified upside down. So, just as Jesus said would occur, Peter was led where he would prefer not to go, and he was bound as he would prefer not to be bound. But I wouldn’t be surprised if one of his final thoughts repeated the words that Peter said in today’s Gospel: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”

Peter was a good student. May we too learn the lessons that Our Lord is teaching us today, lessons about the Eucharist, mercy, and the cross. And when our time comes, may we pass the past.

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday) – May 11, 2025

Readings: Acts 13:14, 43–52 • Psalm 100:1–2, 3, 5 • Revelation 7:9, 14b–17 • John 10:27–30
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051125.cfm

The last time I visited the beautiful land of my ancestors — Ireland — I did so with one of my brothers and his two young sons. As we drove through the countryside, we saw so many sheep that I said to my nephews, “I bet there are more sheep than people in Ireland.” They responded, “No way!” And so we Googled it. Sure enough, it’s true. And it’s also true that there are thousands of shepherds (sheep flock-keepers) to look after all those Irish sheep. Of course, Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, is the ultimate flock-keeper and He must look after every one of His sheep, that is, each of us. There are about 8 billion of us in the world that Jesus is watching over.

We are His flock, sometimes lost in the dark, afraid, surrounded by the terrors of the night. But Christ the Good Shepherd comes and finds each one of us and leads us safely home. He is also the one who patrols the fences, and when danger approaches, He’s the one who moves quickly to our defense.

The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and they follow (or should follow) His voice. I don’t know about you, but I have an impossible time telling the difference between identical twins. But parents of twins have no problem telling them apart. Why? Because the parents are intimately acquainted with their children. Likewise, Jesus the Good Shepherd intimately knows each of His sheep and, ideally, they follow His voice.

On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we read in the Gospel that “my sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Our challenge today is to hear the voice of Jesus — to recognize it and to follow it, to tune in to that voice of Christ asking us to know, love, serve, and follow Him. We listen to the voices of so many others: entertainers, athletes, media talking heads, and politicians. But do we listen to the voice of Christ, who speaks to us through daily prayer, Scripture, the Church, the Sacraments, nature, and other people?

We should also ask ourselves if we’re good shepherds in our own lives. Each of us is called to be a shepherd in our own way, whether that be in our families, in our concern for both neighbors and strangers, and in our concern for the spiritual good of our children, friends, and coworkers. Parents and grandparents must be especially careful in fulfilling their shepherding duties toward their children and grandchildren, giving them good example and instruction, and training them in Christian principles and the moral life.

Finally, today is also the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. And so, the Church prays for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life. Can you imagine a Church without priests, or a Church without nuns and deacons? Christ could do the job of shepherding all of us all by Himself, but instead He enlists co-shepherds, co-workers to help Him tend His flock. And so in the Church we have the Pope and bishops, and we also have priests and deacons and religious brothers and sisters shepherding us. While they don’t always do so perfectly, I hope and believe that the vast majority of them attempt to defend and feed the flock that Christ has entrusted to them.

The beloved Psalm 23 tells us that the “Lord is our Shepherd.” May we follow the voice of the Good Shepherd and may we in turn shepherd those people the Lord has entrusted to our care. And may the Lord give us more priests, nuns, and deacons!

Fifth Sunday of Easter – May 18, 2025

Readings: Acts 14:21–27 • Psalm 145:8–9, 10–11, 12–13 • Revelation 21:1–5a • John 13:31–33a, 34–35
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051825.cfm

Before I became a priest, I thought to myself, “I’m tired of hearing sermons about how much God loves us and how we should love each other.” Well, you know what? I’ve changed my mind. I’ve seen what the lack of love in people’s lives can do to them. The people of God need to know how much they’re loved, and they need to be reminded that they are called to love.

St. John, that beloved disciple who preached the love of God until the day he died, gives us some of Our Lord’s final words before He ascended to the Father. Jesus says in this Sunday’s Gospel, “My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

That commandment seems like a tough one, doesn’t it? Jesus tells us not only to love each other, but to love each other as He loved us. How can we possibly love as Jesus loved? First, notice that Jesus doesn’t offer us a suggestion. It’s a command that He gives us. Here’s the rub though: we’re hardwired to love because we’re created in the image of God, who is love. To love, therefore, is built into us.

Look at the news: there are countless people out there who are hurting, who feel unloved, who are lonely, who feel abandoned, who need to be shown compassion and love. That form of poverty is even more distressing than the material poverty that so many people experience. In fact, St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), who lived and worked among the materially poorest of the poor, said this: “Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.” People, usually from wealthy countries, would write to her and volunteer to come to India to help her in her work in caring for the materially poor. And Mother would write them back, “No, stay home. You can find Calcutta in your own backyard.”

She’s right. There is a Calcutta of immense poverty right where you live. It’s the poverty of so many of our neighbors who feel unloved and uncared for. Mother Teresa — and Jesus — would say, “Find them. Love them. Reach out to them. They are your Calcutta.”

Maybe it’s the recent widow or widower down the street.

Perhaps it’s a teenager who has lousy parents.

Maybe it’s your own spouse who feels that he or she is being taken for granted.

It might be the coworker who everybody ignores, who nobody talks to.

Maybe it’s that member of your family who’s the black sheep.

Mother Teresa — and Jesus — would say, “Find them. And love them.”

In her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, St. Thérèse of Lisieux said, “I have found my vocation, and my vocation is love.” She said she was not to do “sensational acts of piety,” neither was she to preach the Gospel, nor to shed her blood as a martyr. Rather, the niche God gave Thérèse in life was to love. In all ways — at all times — to love.

As humans created in God’s image, we are called to love. And it’s not much more complicated than that. Here’s your assignment after hearing the command of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel: discover one new way to love somebody today. And then do the same tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and…well, you get the idea.

The last line of today’s Gospel tells us, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The ancient pagan world used to say of the first Christians: “See how they love each other.” Let’s make sure that the world says the same of us so that all will know that we are Christ’s disciples.

Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 25, 2025

Readings: Acts 15:1–2, 22–29 • Psalm 67:2–3, 5, 6, 8 • Revelation 21:10–14, 22–23 • John 14:23–29
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052525.cfm

In his wonderful work entitled “On the Incarnation,” St. Athanasius wrote, “For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.” Now, it’s important for us to note that in making such a bold statement, the great Athanasius was not implying any sort of polytheism. God’s nature cannot be possessed by us mortals since His nature is unique to Him alone. Instead, Athanasius would affirm that we participate in God’s nature. St. Peter likewise taught that we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). And St. Thomas Aquinas wrote about us as being “sharers” in the divine nature.

It was Jesus Himself who first explained this to us, as He tells us in this Sunday’s Gospel, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” Our Lord is telling us that it’s God desire that He dwell within us. We call the Gospel “Good News” and if this isn’t Good News, then I don’t know what is. God wants to live in us. He wants to make His dwelling place in our heart and soul.

We call this indwelling of God in our souls the amazing gift of sanctifying grace. That sounds like a complicated theological term, but it simply means this: the life of God dwells in our soul. Our heart and soul become the indwelling place of the Blessed Trinity. So, indeed, God became human so that we humans could share in His divinity. Now think of just two of the implications of this Good News.

First, we should treat ourselves with tremendous respect and dignity. The young unwed mother, the unborn baby, the troubled teenager, the dying cancer patient, the lonely widow, the unemployed father, you and me, all of us, we all need to know that God dwells within us, that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, that we are God’s work of art. And so, we should have a healthy love for ourselves and treat ourselves and our bodies with dignity and respect and reverence.

A second implication of this amazing Good News that God makes His home in us is given us by Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you . . . Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” If we really believe that the life of God dwells in our heart and soul, then fear, worry, doubt, and anxiety, should fade away and we should glory in that gift of peace that only Jesus can give. If deep down, we know that we have the life of God dwelling within us, and if we truly believe that this is the most important possession we can possibly have, and if we absolutely believe that nobody or nothing outside of ourselves can destroy that, then our worries should give way to trust and our anxieties should give way to hope.

I like the story of Pope St. John XXIII. Clearly at times he would have felt the weight of the Church on his shoulders. It would have been natural for him to worry. But at night he would go into his private chapel in the Vatican to speak to Our Lord about the needs of the Church throughout the world. And he would always finish by saying, “Lord, it’s your Church. I’ve done what I can. I’m going to bed!” We can do the same thing, entrusting all our worries and anxieties to God. And believe it or not, it helps us sleep better.

The indwelling of God in our souls occurs when, as Jesus tells us, we love Him and keep His word. When we strive to love God as best we can and when we live out His word in our lives, we have this assurance: God dwells in us and that, literally, is all we need.

Ascension Thursday – May 29, 2025

Readings: Acts 1:1–11 • Psalm 47:2–3, 6–7, 8–9 • Ephesians 1:17–23 or Hebrews 9:24–28; 10:19–23 • Luke 24:46–53
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052925-Ascension.cfm

There are now just five ecclesial provinces (Boston, Hartford, New York, Omaha, and Philadelphia) that celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension 40 days after Easter. For the rest of us, Jesus waits a few more days and ascends on the 43rd day after Easter. I guess 43 is the new 40.

In any event, it’s a Biblical truth that Christ ascended to Heaven from the Mount of Olives as His disciples looked on, taking His place at the right hand of the Father. We profess this truth in the Creed: “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”

Despite having occurred in history 2,000 years ago, this isn’t merely a historical event which has no meaning to us today. Instead, this Solemnity teaches us some valuable lessons:

First, Jesus has gone to prepare a place in Heaven for us. We are created not just for this world and time. Heaven is our ultimate destiny. The Baltimore Catechism asks the question: “Why did God make you?” The answer is quite clear: “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven.” In other words, we achieve our eternal destiny when we strive to know, love and serve God in this world.

Secondly, before ascending into Heaven, Jesus told His disciples, “Make disciples of all nations.” One of the ways that we love and serve God is by evangelizing others, that is, by sharing our faith with the world around us, especially in our homes and workplaces. In the Gospel for this Solemnity, Jesus said, “You are witnesses of these things.” Is that true? That is, are we witnessing in our daily lives the faith that we profess on Sundays? The Church exists to evangelize, and as members of the Church, each of us shares in that mission. If we don’t do so, then we’re being disobedient to the command of Christ to “make disciples of all nations.”

The third lesson we can draw from the Ascension of Christ comes from the words of Jesus when He says, “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” Notice that Jesus said, “I am with you,” not “I will be with you.” We should remember those words, especially at this difficult time in our world’s history and in our own personal histories. Jesus did not abandon us by ascending to Heaven. He remains with us — always, and forever. Even the etymology of the word “goodbye” reminds us of this. It means, literally, “God be with ye.”

So, in what ways does Jesus remain present to us?

• In the Church: Jesus is the head of the Church and we are the body.
• In Scripture: St. Jerome said that ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.
• In each other: Every person is our brother or sister in Christ. It might take a bit of effort at times to see that, but we should always strive to see Christ dwelling in those around us.
• In each of the Sacraments, Christ is very much present to us.
• Baptism: The formula of baptism puts it very boldly: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
• Confession: The formula of absolution likewise is very clear: “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
• Confirmation: We are anointed with the words, “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” That Spirit was, of course, given to the infant Church at Pentecost, which we celebrate next week. We also received that Holy Spirit on the day of our baptism.
• Marriage: it takes 3 to get married (and the officiating priest or deacon isn’t the third person). Christ is joined in a powerful, sacramental way when couples are married.
• Holy Orders: every priest is ordained to act in the Person of Christ the High Priest, becoming an alter Christus at those moments.
• Anointing of the Sick: The formula used for anointing puts it this way: “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
• Eucharist: When we receive Holy Communion, we hear the words, “This is my Body.” At those moments, we receive not a sign or symbol of the Lord, but instead the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ.

In the first reading for this Solemnity from the Acts of the Apostles, angels are heard to say to the crowd, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?” Forget about staring into the sky wondering where Jesus is. He’s right here, waiting to be invited into our daily life.