Fr. Jim's Weekly Homily

Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (June 22, 2025) Recorded at the 10AM Mass at St. Barbara parish in Black Diamond, WA. Total Time: 9m36s

Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity (June 15, 2025) Total Time: 10m1s"Where No One Stands Alone (Gaither Vocal Band)

Homily for Pentecost Sunday (June 8, 2025) Recorded at the 9AM Mass at Sacred Heart parish, Enumclaw. Total Time: 14m57s

Homily for the Ascension of the Lord (June 1, 2025) Total Time: 10m58s

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter (May 25, 2025) Total Time: 13m5s

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter (May 18, 2025) Total Time: 10m27sFull text of excerpt from Ronda's Journal and the dream her friend, Charlie Rich shared with her. 

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter (May 11, 2025) Total Time: 10m18s

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Easter: Total Time: 17m6sReflection shared during homily: You waste a lot of time, however, worrying about storms you can see forming along the horizon of your life. In the past many of the storms you had anticipated veered off in another direction, never reaching you. Although some of them did actually hit, usually they had lost much of their power by the time they got to you. I urge you to switch your focus from difficulties that may come your way to My Presence, which is always with you.  You will never find security by trying to anticipate all the storms that may reach you someday. Remember that I control the atmosphere of your life. Trust Me by relaxing and releasing your concerns into My capable care. It saddens Me to see you obsessing about possible problems rather than bringing these matters to Me.  When you find yourself anxiously scanning the horizon of your life, use that as a reminder to seek My Face. You will not find Me off in the distance. I am here beside you, nearer than you dare believe. Instead of wasting time worrying, devote that time to building close friendship with Me. Talk with Me about everything that concerns you—your pleasures as well as your problems.   I am interested in everything that matters to you because I am your perpetual Lover. Remember that I am holding you by your right hand. I guide you with My own counsel, based on eternal wisdom; so there's no need to worry about the future. When the time comes, I will personally take you into Glory. For now just live near Me. My friendship is your best refuge in the storms of life.   Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 1 CHRONICLES 16:11   “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” JEREMIAH 31:3   Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. . . . But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. PSALM 73:23–24, 28Young, Sarah. Jesus Lives (pp. 272-273). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. 

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) April 27, 2025 Total Time: 12m54sMy mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world. Who can measure the extent of my goodness? For you I descended from heaven to earth; for you I allowed myself to be nailed to the cross; for you I let my Sacred Heart be pierced with a lance, thus opening wide the source of mercy for you. Come, then, with trust to draw graces from this fountain. I never reject a contrite heart. Your misery has disappeared in the depths of My mercy. Do not argue with Me about your wretchedness. You will give me pleasure if you hand over to me all your troubles and griefs. I shall heap upon you the treasures of My grace.                                                                                  St. Faustina (Diary #1485)

Homily for Easter Sunday (Vigil Mass at St. Barbara parish - August 19, 2025) Total Time: 8m16Homily of Pope Francis at the Easter Vigil at St. Peter Basilica (April 20, 2019)

Homily for the Solemn Celebration of the Lord's Passion (April 18, 2025) Total Time: 8m57s (**Please note I made a mistake and said Mark chapter 24 and should have said Matthew chapter 24**)

Homily for the Solemn Celebration of the Lord's Supper (April 17, 2025) Total Time: 10m13

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent (Recorded at the 11AM Mass - St. Aloysius, Buckley, WA on April 6, 2025) Total Time 13m58s)Angelus Message of Pope Francis (March 10, 204)Dear brothers and sisters, buongiorno!On this fourth Sunday of Lent, the Gospel presents us with the figure of Nicodemus (cf. Jn 3:14-21), a Pharisee, “a ruler of the Jews” (Jn 3:1). He saw the signs Jesus performed, he recognized him as a teacher sent by God, and he went to meet him by night, so as not to be seen. The Lord welcomes him, converses with him and reveals to him that he came not to condemn, but to save the world (cf. v. 17). Let us pause to reflect on this: Jesus came not to condemn, but to save. This is beautiful!Often in the Gospel we see Christ revealing the intentions of the people he meets, at times unmasking their false attitudes, such as with the Pharisees (cf. Mt 23:27-32), or making them reflect on the disorder of their life, as with the Samaritan woman (cf. Jn 4:5-42). There are no secrets before Jesus: he reads them in the heart, in each of our hearts. This ability could be disturbing because, if used badly, it can harm people, exposing them to merciless judgements. Indeed, no one is perfect: we are all sinners, we all make mistakes, and if the Lord were to use his knowledge of our weaknesses to condemn us, no one could be saved.But it is not like this. Indeed, he does not use them in order to point the finger at us, but to embrace our life, to free us from sins and to save us. Jesus is not interested in putting us on trial or subjecting us to judgement; He wants none of us to be lost. The Lord's gaze upon every one of us is not a blinding beacon that dazzles us and puts us in difficulty, but rather the gentle glimmer of a friendly lamp, that helps us to see the good in ourselves and to be aware of the evil, so that we may be converted and healed with the support of his grace.Jesus came not to condemn, but to save the world. Think of us, who very often condemn others; many times, we like to speak badly, to go in search of gossip against others. Let us ask the Lord to give us, all of us, this merciful gaze, to look at others as he looks at us.May Mary help us to wish the best for one another."Mercy Said No" by CeCe Winans

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of. Lent (March 23 2025) Total Time: 10m11sMeditation From Jesus Lives HERE

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent (March 16, 2025) Total Time: 13m1sPeter Burak (Renewal Ministries) VideoQuote from St. John Paul IIIf in the planning that awaits us we commit ourselves more confidently to a pastoral activity that gives personal and communal prayer its proper place, we shall be observing an essential principle of the Christian view of life: the primacy of grace. There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that “without Christ we can do nothing” (cf. Jn 15:5). It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness. When this principle is not respected, is it any wonder that pastoral plans come to nothing and leave us with a disheartening sense of frustration? We then share the experience of the disciples in the Gospel story of the miraculous catch of fish: “We have toiled all night and caught nothing” (Lk 5:5). This is the moment of faith, of prayer, of conversation with God, in order to open our hearts to the tide of grace and allow the word of Christ to pass through us in all its power: Duc in altum! On that occasion, it was Peter who spoke the word of faith: “At your word I will let down the nets” (ibid.). As this millennium begins, allow the Successor of Peter to invite the whole Church to make this act of faith, which expresses itself in a renewed commitment to prayer. (NOVO MILLENNIO INEUNTE #38)

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent (March 9, 2025) Total Time: 15:14sThought of this song that I really like while giving the homily and especially the line "you don't have to prove yourself" 

Homily for Ash Wednesday 2025 (March 5, 2025) Total Time 10m4s 

Homily for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time (March 2, 2025) Total Time: 15m32s

Homily for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time (February 23, 2025) Total Time: 13m20s**I made a mistake and said Corrie Ten Boom was from Belgium. Belgium is a separate country. She was from Holland and from the town of Haarlem in the Netherlands.** Here is the link to Wikipedia to learn more about her. There are numerous videos on YouTube where she was giving talks or being interviewed. I was particularly moved by this one on the power of prayer. On the way back from a trip to Italy with some friends, I watched the movie about her life called, "The Hiding Place". It was excellent! Here is a 30 minutes video with her testimony. 

Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (February 15, 2025) Total Time: 11:17Quotes in the homily from the Imitation of Christ: MY CHILD, I must be your supreme and last end, if you truly desire to be blessed. With this intention your affections, which are too often perversely inclined to self and to creatures, will be purified. For if you seek yourself in anything, you immediately fail interiorly and become dry of heart. Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1996), 115.MY CHILD, I am the Lord Who gives strength in the day of trouble. Come to Me when all is not well with you. Your tardiness in turning to prayer is the greatest obstacle to heavenly consolation, for before you pray earnestly to Me you first seek many comforts and take pleasure in outward things. Thus, all things are of little profit to you until you realize that I am the one Who saves those who trust in Me, and that outside of Me there is no worth-while help, or any useful counsel or lasting remedy.But now, after the tempest, take courage, grow strong once more in the light of My mercies; for I am near, says the Lord, to restore all things not only to the full but with abundance and above measure. Is anything difficult for Me? Or shall I be as one who promises and does not act? Where is your faith? Stand firm and persevere. Be a man of endurance and courage, and consolation will come to you in due time. Wait for Me; wait—and I will come to heal you. Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1996), 160.

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (February 9, 2025) Total Time 9m36s

Homily For The Presentation of the Lord (February 2, 2025) Total Time: 12m4sReflection I shared from the devotional "Jesus Calling"LEARN TO LAUGH at yourself more freely. Don't take yourself or your circumstances so seriously. Relax and know that I am God with you. When you desire My will above all else, life becomes much less threatening. Stop trying to monitor My responsibilities—things that are beyond your control. Find freedom by accepting the boundaries of your domain. Laughter lightens your load and lifts your heart into heavenly places. Your laughter rises to heaven and blends with angelic melodies of praise. Just as parents delight in the laughter of their children, so I delight in hearing My children laugh. I rejoice when you trust Me enough to enjoy your life lightheartedly. Do not miss the Joy of My Presence by carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. Rather, take My yoke upon you and learn from Me. My yoke is comfortable and pleasant; My burden is light and easily borne. A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. —PROVERBS 17:22 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. —PROVERBS 31:25 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” —which means, “God with us.” —MATTHEW 1:23 TTake My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest . . . for your souls. For My yoke is wholesome (useful, good—not harsh, hard, sharp, or pressing, but comfortable, gracious, and pleasant), and My burden is light and easy to be borne. —MATTHEW 11:29–30 AMPYoung, Sarah. Jesus Calling, with Scripture References: Enjoying Peace in His Presence (A 365-Day Devotional) (Jesus Calling®) (p. 176). (Function). Kindle Edition. 

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (January 26, 2025) Total Time: 10m56

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (January 19, 2025) Total Time: 13m58s

Homily for the Baptism of the Lord (January 12, 2025) Total Time: 13m27s

Homily for Epiphany Sunday (January 5, 2025) Total Time 11::45)

Homily for the celebration of Holy Family Sunday (December 29, 2024) Total Time: 8m28s

Homily for Christmas (Vigil Mass) December 24, 2024 Total Time: 8m28s

Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent (December 22, 2024) Total Time: 14m7s Advent Reflection by ALFRED DELP, SJ (Click HERE)

Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (December 15, 2024) Total Time:5m40s

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent (December 1, 2024) Total Time: 10m16s

Homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King (November 24, 2024) Total Time: 9m58s

Homily for the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (November 17, 2024) Total Time: 12m30sSummary (created by AI) 

Homily for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (November 10, 2024) Total Time:11m19sLink to a great Christian song that summarizes my message. https://youtu.be/V4bB7BUxBbY?si=8YRjFCVWFhH94X1O

Homily for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time (November 3, 2024) Total Time: 11m6s

Homily for the 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (October 27, 2024) Total Time: 15m10s

Homily for the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time (October 20, 2024) Total Time: 8m47s

Homily for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time (October 13, 2024) Total Time: 11:52s (Recorded at the St. Anthony Prayer Group Retreat at the Archbishop Brunett Retreat Center at the Palisades)Text quoted from Pope Benedict XVI's Homily of September 2, 2012The Church has set the words of Deuteronomy — “Where is there a people to whom God is so close as our God is close to us, every time we invoke him?” — at the centre of the Divine Office of Corpus Christi, and gave it new meaning: where is there a people to whom God is as close as our God is to us? In the Eucharist this has become the full reality. It is of course not merely an exterior aspect: someone can stand near the tabernacle and, at the same time, be far from the living God. What matters is inner closeness! God came so close to us that he himself became a man: this should disconcert and surprise us again and again! He is so close that he is one of us. He knows the human being, he knows the “feeling” of the human being, he knows it from within; he has experienced all its joys and all its suffering. As a man, he is close to me, close “within earshot” — so close that he hears me and I am aware: He hears me and answers me, even though perhaps not quite as I imagined.Let us be filled again with this joy: where is there a people to whom God is so close as our God is to us? So close that he is one of us, touches me from within. Yes, he enters me in the holy Eucharist. A bewildering thought. On this process, St Bonaventure once used in his communion prayers a formula that shakes, almost frightens, one. He said: my Lord, how did you ever think of entering the dirty latrine of my body? Yes, he enters into our misery, he does it knowingly and in order to penetrate us, to clean us and to renew us, so that, through us, in us, the truth may be in the world and bring salvation. Let us ask the Lord forgiveness for our indifference, for our misery that makes us think only of ourselves, for our selfishness that does not seek the truth but follows habit, and that perhaps often makes Christianity resemble a mere system of habits. Let us ask that he come with power into our souls, that he be present in us and through us — and that in this way joy may be born in us again: God is here, and loves me. He is our salvation! Amen.

Homily for the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (October 6, 2024) Total Time 13m2s

Homily for the 26th Sunday of OrdinaryTime: Total Time 12m4s

Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (September 22, 2024) Total Time: 10m20s

Homily for the 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time (September 15, 2024) Total Time: 12m33s"The Anxious Generation" book by Jonathan Haidt (AMAZON)Interview about "The Anxious Generation" Jonathan Haidt (CBS NEWS - YouTube)

Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (September 8, 2024) Total Time: 8m0s

Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (August 25, 2026) Total Time: 9m50sHere is the quote (full) from In Sinu Jesu: So few souls remember to thank Me after receiving My Body and Blood. This is true even of My priests—My priests, My friends, My chosen ones from whom I expect more, from whom I desire more. Hearts have grown cold and indifferent towards Me in this the Sacrament of My love. For many, receiving Me has become a routine action devoid of faith and with no manifestation of adoration and of love. How has My Church come to this? I will raise up holy priests to rekindle a burning love for the Most Holy Eucharist in the hearts of My faithful. I am calling many priests to adore My Eucharistic Face and to approach My open Heart in the Sacrament of My love. These are the priests whom I will use to minister first to their own brothers in Holy Orders and then, through them, to vast multitudes of souls who have never understood the mysteries of My Body and Blood offered to the Father and given up for the life of the world. It is in these few precious moments after Holy Communion that My Heart seeks to hold conversation with My friends, but so many turn away from Me to busy themselves about many things.1 Of you, My friend, I ask something more. Remain with Me for these few moments. Listen for the sound of My voice in your heart. Know that My desire is to speak to you and to listen to all that you have to tell Me. It is in these moments that I am most disposed to grant the requests made of Me in faith.Monk, A Benedictine. In Sinu Jesu: When Heart Speaks to Heart--The Journal of a Priest at Prayer (pp. 154-155). Angelico Press. Kindle Edition. 

Homily for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time (August 18, 2024) Total Time: 10m41s

Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time: Total Time:  9m50s

Homily for the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time (August 4, 2024) Total Time: 14:55

Homily for the 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Recorded at St. Barbara Parish at the 8AM Mass) Total Time: 8m31s

Homily for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time ( June 23, 2024) Total Time: 14m52sSong referred to in homily by Scott Krippayne: https://youtu.be/9Ti1SULYteI?si=Gk5m_F5fKkpYbZXy

Homily for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 16, 2024) Total Time: 10m16s

Homily for the 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time (June 9, 2024) Total Time: 9m4s