Homilies & Thoughts

Tonight, our reflection centers on growing in virtue—how we actively cultivate a life rooted in Christ and aligned with his teachings, beginning in the small, ordinary moments of our day. However, I’d like to begin with a brief reading from the Gospel of Luke.

“12 He said also to the one who had invited him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Lk 14:12–14.

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This passage of Scripture is truly beautiful in its simplicity and depth. The only law is to love. In this, we see that we are made for love. We are created to be loved by God, and through experiencing his love, we learn how to extend that love to every person we encounter. This vision is, at its heart, a description of the Church—God’s community of love. Yet, with all this talk of love, we must confront an essential question: what is love?

A people who knew true suffering gathered on the mountain that day when Jesus gave his sermon. The Jews had been persecuted for centuries. They had faced exile from their homeland, and in Jerusalem, Babylonians had slain men, women, and children in the streets, taking the survivors to a foreign land. Even when they finally returned, peace eluded them. New rulers came and went; kings and high priests were appointed and overthrown. At times, near-lawlessness reigned. Even in better times, there was a deep dissatisfaction with the way the world seemed to be spiraling—a tension and fear, much like our own times, of impending violence or war. This fear brought turmoil: economic strife, spiritual unease, social unrest, and discord within families.