I’d like to share a little of the commentary on these parables (Matthew 13:24-30) and then there’s 2 practical themes I want to talk about. In the first parable of the wheat and the weeds, the commentators say the weed that Jesus has in mind is the darnel. The Jews referred to it as bastard … Continue reading Good Seed / Bad Seed
homily
Deacon Bob Answers Questions about Pentecost
Last weekend our small group met, and I asked them what they’d like to hear about this weekend on the feast of Pentecost. They immediately started coming up with questions about the Holy Spirit. So, I’m going to start by going through some of their questions and then talk about how we can make the … Continue reading Deacon Bob Answers Questions about Pentecost
Truths of the Faith are Good and Unchanging
God is at work. He has a plan of salvation. Nothing happens that God does not permit, and He allows it because He will bring greater good out of it.
Are You Ready?
Deacon Bob's Homily for the first Sunday of Advent 2022 (Mt 24:37-44) If you’re like me, when you heard this gospel, you probably thought to yourself, O, that’s the rapture that I’ve heard about, where some are taken, and everyone else is “left behind”. According to Brant Pitre, that’s not what Jesus is describing here. … Continue reading Are You Ready?
The Tax Collector and the Pharisee (A lesson in humility by Deacon Bob)
The gospel this week is a continuation of lessons on prayer. Last week we learned about the need to persevere in prayer. The lesson this week is the importance of humility in our prayer. I’m going to start with a little background for today’s gospel. First, in Jesus’s day, Pharisees were very highly respected. We … Continue reading The Tax Collector and the Pharisee (A lesson in humility by Deacon Bob)
A Few Thoughts on St. Therese from Deacon Bob
In today’s gospel, we see Jesus rejoice at the things revealed to the childlike. This is a prefect opening to share some thoughts on St. Therese of the child Jesus. It’s quite amazing. She wrote 1 book, and 8 of the 11 chapters were about her life growing up in the Martin family. She only … Continue reading A Few Thoughts on St. Therese from Deacon Bob
Deacon Bob Tackles a Tough One
I have to say that when I read this gospel and started doing some research at one point I got really scared. I’ve since calmed down, but there’s no question that this parable can be challenging for us middle-class Americans. I’m going to share a few comments about the gospel and then talk about how … Continue reading Deacon Bob Tackles a Tough One
Take a Back Seat
Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:1, 4:14) On the surface, Jesus’s parable sounds like a lesson in good etiquette. It’s good advice to win the esteem of others. But the commentators point out there’s more to it than that. This is really about … Continue reading Take a Back Seat
Deacon Bob’s Divine Mercy Sunday Homily
Today we celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy. We owe this feast day first to Jesus who wanted it, then to Saint Faustina who was the one He chose to make His desire known, and finally to Pope St. John Paul II who promoted this feast. In fact, he said from the beginning of his … Continue reading Deacon Bob’s Divine Mercy Sunday Homily
Bad Shepherds
Before I get into the subject of my homily, I need to comment on the Motu Proprio that Pope Francis issued on Friday (July 18, 2021) which seriously restricts the Traditional Latin Mass. This is going to be very hard for those Catholics who are even more traditional than us and who love the Latin … Continue reading Bad Shepherds
Pain of Grace 