Father Andy's Weekly Homilies

Listen here to my homily for Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. It was given to Saint Brigid Parish, Meadville, PA on Wednesday, January 1, 2020, at the 9:30 am parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for Christ the King Sunday. It was given to Saint Mary of Grace Parish, Meadville, PA on Sunday, November 24,, 2019, at the 11:00 am parish mass. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke The rulers sneered at Jesus and said,"He saved others, let him save himselfif he is the chosen one, the Christ of God." Even the soldiers jeered at him. As they approached to offer him wine they called out,"If you are King of the Jews, save yourself." Above him there was an inscription that read,"This is the King of the Jews." Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,"Are you not the Christ?Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,"Have you no fear of God,for you are subject to the same condemnation?And indeed, we have been condemned justly,for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,but this man has done nothing criminal."Then he said,"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."He replied to him,"Amen, I say to you,today you will be with me in Paradise." The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Allegheny College Newman Club, Meadville, PA on Sunday, September 29, 2019, at the 6:30 pm mass. A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Amos Thus says the LORD the God of hosts: Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they devise their own accompaniment. They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph! Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile, and their wanton revelry shall be done away with. The Word of the Lord A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke Jesus said to the Pharisees:"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linenand dined sumptuously each day.And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scrapsthat fell from the rich man's table.Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died,he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far offand Lazarus at his side.And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,for I am suffering torment in these flames.' Abraham replied,'My child, remember that you receivedwhat was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is establishedto prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to gofrom our side to yours or from your side to ours.' He said, 'Then I beg you, father,send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers,so that he may warn them,lest they too come to this place of torment.'But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.Let them listen to them.'He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'" The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Saint Mary of Grace Parish, Meadville, PA on Sunday, August 4, 2019, at the 11:00 AM parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him,“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd,“Take care to guard against all greed,for though one may be rich,one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,for I do not have space to store my harvest?’And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goodsand I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,you have so many good things stored up for many years,rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’But God said to him,‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselvesbut are not rich in what matters to God.” The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Saint Mary of Grace Parish, Meadville, PA on Sunday, July 21, 2019, at the 11:00 AM parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.She had a sister named Marywho sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,"Lord, do you not carethat my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply,"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better partand it will not be taken from her." The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Our Lady of the Lake Parish, Edinboro, PA on Sunday, July 7, 2019, at the 11:00 AM parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply,"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.' Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Saint Mary of Grace Parish, Meadville, PA on Sunday, July 7, 2019, at the 11:00 AM parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two otherswhom he sent ahead of him in pairsto every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them,"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;so ask the master of the harvestto send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way;behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say,'Peace to this household.'If a peaceful person lives there,your peace will rest on him;but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,eat what is set before you,cure the sick in it and say to them,'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,go out into the streets and say,'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,even that we shake off against you.'Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you,it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town." The seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name." Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power to 'tread upon serpents' and  scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.  Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Saint Mary of Grace Parish, Meadville, PA on Sunday, October 28, 2018, at the 11:00 AM parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,sat by the roadside begging.On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,he began to cry out and say,"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.But he kept calling out all the more,"Son of David, have pity on me."Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."So they called the blind man, saying to him,"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus.Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?"The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see."Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you."Immediately he received his sightand followed him on the way. The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Saint Mary of Grace Parish, Meadville, PA on Sunday, September 2, 2018, at the 11:00 AM parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother."  He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come." The Gospel of the Lord

Listen here to my homily for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. It was given to Saint Brigid Church, Meadville, PA on Sunday, October 7, 2018, at the 9:30 AM parish mass. A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" They replied, "Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery." And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them. The Gospel of the Lord