Homilies & Thoughts

Envy disrupts fraternity; kindness builds it. Envy turns another person’s gift into a threat. Kindness allows us to recognize that gift and rejoice because the Lord is at work. St. Paul therefore names kindness as one of the fruits of the Spirit. Gal 5:22. Scripture citations are taken from the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006), unless otherwise noted.

This is especially important in Franciscan fraternity. Francis taught the brothers to recognize every good in another as the Lord’s own work. Francis of Assisi, Admonition VIII.3, in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 1, 132; A Mirror of Perfection 85, in Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vol. 3, The Prophet, ed. Regis J. Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann, and William J. Short (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2001), 333. If envy makes us want to silence another person’s song, kindness helps us hear how that voice belongs within the larger harmony God is creating. Christ can free us from the need to compare ourselves and teach us to receive one another as gifts.

Jesus can feel like the guest who spoils a party—the one who stands in the doorway, notices every flaw, and starts rearranging the seating chart. Many Pharisees saw him that way: not fun, not flattering. But look closer. He is not ruining the celebration; he is teaching us how to finally enjoy it.

Hosting can be exhausting. The menu, the timing, the conversations that must be managed so certain people do not collide. Beneath the lists and the candles burns a deeper pressure: the need to impress. We carry it into our homes, our jobs, our social feeds. Show that life is curated, successful, enviable. Spend more. Prove you belong at the head of the table.

Pride and humility stand in sharp opposition. Pride has long been considered the root of all sin, while humility is the cornerstone of holiness. For those who walk in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, humility is not an optional virtue but the very ground on which the Franciscan life is built. Francis himself called his followers the fratres minores, the “lesser brothers,” and referred to himself as “the least of the brothers,” echoing Christ’s own humility in the Incarnation. To understand this tension, we must first consider how pride manifests in human life, then reflect on the Franciscan witness of humility, and finally turn to the cultivation of humility in daily practice.

The question sounds religious enough: How many will be saved? Yet it is a poor guide for a disciple. Whether the number is many or few, nothing essential changes—love does not shrink or expand because of a statistic. Counting souls does not convert a single heart. It distracts us from the work right in front of us.

Jesus refuses the headcount and gives us a marching order: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” Not a spreadsheet, a path. He redirects curiosity into courage. The image is tight, demanding, almost like a trail that steepens at the end. And the warning is clear: many will try, and strength will fail. So what now?

Ancient Israel wanted soothing voices. If a message promised comfort, they would pay to hear it. Prophets became a profession, and when a profession depends on pleasing customers, the truth gets trimmed to fit the market. Many in that guild learned to say only what people wished to hear. Yet, in the midst of all that noise, a few refused to sell the word. Their sermons were not crowd-pleasers. They spoke of judgment and course correction. And when the kings needed an honest messenger, they searched for the one no one wanted to hire—the one whose words stung.

God is not a hoarder of glory. He is lavish. Open-handed. He delights to share what is his—life, joy, even victory over death. The Assumption of Mary is the radiant sign of that generosity. When the Father brings Mary, body and soul, into heavenly life, he is not making an exception to keep us small; he is unveiling what he wants for all who cling to his Son.

Look at how the story in Judah’s hill country begins: not with Mary grasping at honor, but with movement toward another. She goes quickly to serve her older cousin. Her greeting stirs new life; a child rejoices before he can speak. Elizabeth recognizes the gift and blesses Mary for trusting God’s promise. And Mary answers by directing every compliment away from herself and toward the Giver, praising the One who lifts the lowly, scatters the proud, and breaks open his storehouse for the poor. Only one line needs to be heard aloud today: “He has filled the hungry with good things.”

God is not a collector of glory. He is a giver. From creation’s first breath to the empty tomb, he pours himself out, offering his very life to be shared, not guarded. The Assumption of Mary is a bright window into that generosity. It is heaven’s way of showing what happens when a human heart welcomes God without reserve: he does not merely forgive; he exalts. He does not only mend; he makes new.

Three images tumble across this passage like waves—master, servant, thief. They do not line up neatly, and that is the point. Jesus is pressing on our imaginations until we feel the jolt of a world where he returns unexpectedly, overturns the order of things, and sets a table for the weary. Into that swirl of pictures he speaks one anchoring word: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.”

Solomon seems untouchable: wisdom like water, a temple rising in glory, a kingdom at peace. Yet his story turns tragic as multiplied loves divide his heart and altars to lesser gods eclipse devotion—until the kingdom itself begins to tear. This reflection looks at why gifted people still fall, how private drift becomes communal ruin, and why Solomon’s legacy is finally not achievement but mercy: the God who remains faithful when we do not—and invites us to return, undivided, to the One who loves us still.

When we reflect on this particular Gospel scene, we tend to focus on Peter’s confession of faith and the Lord’s response to it. But I think there is something interesting at the very beginning—when the Lord asks his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” What is the word on the street?

The disciples offer various answers. But, in a way, I believe this part of the Gospel serves as a warning: do not listen to the crowd. There are many opinions out there, and most of them are wrong. Faith is not something determined by opinion or consensus. It is not shaped by the majority view or the prevailing cultural sentiment. Rather, faith is something revealed directly by God. That is what the Church teaches us. She calls faith an infused virtue—“infused” meaning that it must be given by God. He places it directly into the minds and hearts of the faithful.

The Fathers of the Church see in the Transfiguration a prefiguring of the Resurrection. That is, when Jesus radiates light and his clothes become dazzling, what we behold in that moment is the world recreated after the Resurrection—a world God is going to give us in the life of heaven. And that is important, because what he is doing for three of his disciples—Peter, James, and John—is strengthening them. Knowing the journey to Jerusalem is beginning and that all these terrible events are about to unfold, he gives them a glimpse of glory to give them hope, the strength to keep going—even in the face of what is to come—so they might make it to the Resurrection.

It is striking how often isolation masquerades as independence. We live in a culture saturated by messages urging us to secure our futures—to plan diligently, save meticulously, and safeguard our comforts. These are not evil aspirations, but when detached from gratitude and divorced from relationship, they become a perilous illusion.

A voice in the Gospel today pleads with Jesus to mediate an inheritance dispute. Jesus answers, gently but firmly, and then warns: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” This line is not just cautionary advice about wealth—it is a piercing revelation about the true nature of life itself. The parable Jesus shares features a successful farmer whose land yields an abundant harvest. His immediate instinct is not gratitude to God or generosity toward neighbors. Instead, his thoughts revolve solely around storing more for himself, building bigger barns, and celebrating his self-contained abundance. His critical error is not merely financial prudence or planning for future security; rather, his folly is believing himself utterly alone. He stands isolated, sealed off from God and neighbor, trapped within the solitary echo of his own desires.