Passion Sunday and Best of the Stations of the Cross

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent (formerly known as Passion Sunday).

Seeker & Sought, the Woman at the Well

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Lent, the Woman at the Well.

In Praise of Folding Chair Masses (2026 Reprise)

I recycled this idea from a homily given during the renovations in Wahoo in 2019. It goes in a few new directions though, and considering this stasis will last for like six months, it is probably a much more important need to keep in mind. 

Homily here.

Rosemarie Faulkner’s Funeral Homily

We had my mom’s funeral this morning at the Little Sisters of the Poor’s St. Augustine Home for the Aged. Then this afternoon we had her interment at St. Boniface Cemetery in Lafayette. (One thing that was in my notes but not as clear  in the spoken word was our gratitude to the staff —nurses, nurses aides, physicians— along with the Sisters, in care for our mom for so many years and through so many ups and downs.)

Here’s the funeral homily.

Two Nuggets on the Baptism of the Lord

Hey, I'm back from heart surgery and today was my first Sunday Masses. Happy to be back. Trying to keep things short for my own stamina, I shared two thoughts from a seminary professor: some parallels with us and one key parallel with the Old Testament. Homily here.

Christ, the King...and the Pioneer and Perfecter of Faith

The good Biblical kings, from David to Jesus, are the ones who lead the troops out and make sure they come safely home. When the Letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus the "pioneer and perfecter of our faith" it's describing how he both shows the way forward as "the first man through the breach" and how he makes sure that those who are with him are kept whole to the end: finished, perfected, finalized, sealed. The gospel today reveals this with Jesus and the Good Thief: the battle-captain opens the path but also assures that he will see his sole defender on that awful day through to the other side.  

This was the homily for the Feast of Christ the King, on November 23rd. It stands on its own, but it does connect back to two homilies this summer, the major one here, and its corollary here, though you don't need to listen to those first. All three play on the legend of Orpheus' failure, the Harrowing of Hell (image below), and Christ as pioneer and perfecter of our Faith.

Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending (33rd C)

Hey, here's a homily on the Second Coming you should hear. There's music, but it's not me singing. (You're welcome!)