Homilies Archive

March 14, 2021: For God So Loved the World

March 7, 2021: Rules, Regulations, Laws, Commandments

February 28, 2021: Abraham’s Sacrifice

February 14, 2021: Lepers and Community

February 7, 2021: Job’s Answer

January 24, 2021: Is God Enough

January 17, 2021: Come and See

January 3, 2021: Epiphany

January 1, 2021: Mary, Mother of God

December 27, 2020: Feast of the Holy Family

Christmas 2020: Tidings of Comfort and Joy

December 20, 2020: Fourth Sunday of Advent – God is Faithful

December 13, 2020: Third Sunday of Advent (Gaudete Sunday)

December 6, 2020: Second Sunday of Advent

November 29, 2020: First Sunday of Advent

November 22, 2020: Christ the King

November 8, 2020: 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 1, 2020: All Saints Day

October 18, 2020: 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 4, 2020: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 27, 2020: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 20, 2020: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 13, 2020: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 30, 2020: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 16, 2020: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 9, 2020: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 2, 2020: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 26, 2020: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 19, 2020: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 28, 2020: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 21, 2020: 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 7, 2020: The Most Holy Trinity

May 2, 2020: Fourth Sunday of Easter

April 25, 2020: Third Sunday of Easter

April 18, 2020: Divine Mercy Sunday

April 12, 2020: Easter Sunday

April 10, 2020: Good Friday

April 9, 2020: Holy Thursday

March 28, 2020: 5th Sunday of Lent – Jesus Wept

March 26, 2020: What are Your Idols?

March 24, 2020: Hope is a Funny Thing

4th Sunday of Lent

3rd Sunday of Lent: Homily for 3/15/20

2nd Sunday of Lent: Homily for 3/8/20

1st Sunday of Lent: Homily for 3/1/20

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 2/23/20

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Reflections for 2/16/20

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 2/9/20

Presentation of the Lord: Homily for 2/2/20

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 1/26/20

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 1/19/20

The Baptism of the Lord: Homily for 1/12/20

Christmas: Homily for 12/25/19

3rd Sunday of Advent: Homily for 12/15/19

1st Sunday of Advent: Homily for 12/1/19

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 11/17/19

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 11/10/19

All Saints Day: Homily for 11/2/19

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 10/27/19

Angels Homily – October 2019

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 10/20/19

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 10/13/19

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 10/06/19

I reference the court case where Brandt Jean forgives Amber Guyger about the death of his brother.

Go to this link for the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE1VGPKnOu0

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 9/22/19

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 9/15/19

Seven Deadly Wounds – prayer exercise to help us to receive freedom and live into the fullness of life the Christ intends for each and every one of us.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 9/1/19

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 8/25/19

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 8/18/19

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: Homily for 8/15/19

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 8/11/19

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 8/4/19

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 7/28/19

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 7/14/19

I quoted Thomas Merton in my homily. He is talking about saying/celebrating Mass as a priest, but I think it is applicable to ALL who participate in mass. Here is the quote, though edited slightly:

“If you are afraid to love….never celebrate Mass. The Mass will draw down upon your soul a torrent of interior suffering which has only one function: to break you wide open and let everybody in the world into your heart.

If you are afraid of people: never [go to] mass

If you want to guard your heart against invasion: never [go to] mass

For when you begin to say mass, the Spirit of God awakes like a giant inside of you and bursts the the locks of your private sanctuary and calls all the people of the world to come into your heart!

If you [go to] Mass you condemn your soul to the torment of love that is so vast and so insatiable, that you will never be able to bear it alone. That love is the love of the Heart of Jesus burning within your own miserable heart and bringing down upon you the huge weight of His pity for all the sins of the world! Do you know what that love will do to you if you let it work on your soul, if you do not resist it? It will devour you. It will kill you. It will break your heart.”

-Thomas Merton, from the article: The White Pebble

And then you will be able to love with a love beyond all imagining.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 7/7/19

In this homily, the book Fr. Kevin refers to is The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 6/30/19

Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ: Homily 6/23/19

Most Holy Trinity: Homily 6/16/19

Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water… If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing. If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book III “Christian Behavior”, Ch. 10 “Hope”)

Sixth Sunday of Easter: Homily 5/26/19

Some themes from this homily were drawn from Fr. Jacque Phillipe’s book, Searching for and Maintaining Peace, which I would HIGHLY recommend for a read! Click here for the link to the book.

Fifth Sunday of Easter: Homily 5/19/19

Fourth Sunday of Easter: Homily 5/12/19

Third Sunday of Easter: Homily 5/5/19

Divine Mercy Sunday: Homily 4/28/19

Easter Sunday: Homily 4/21/19

Palm Sunday: Homily 4/14/19

Fourth Sunday of Lent: Homily 3/31/19

Third Sunday of Lent: Homily 3/24/19

First Sunday of Lent: Homily for 3/10/19

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 2/24/10

While it is not included in this homily, Fr. Kevin offers this quote by the Christian writer C.S. Lewis, as it very much connects with the theme of this homily:

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”

-C.S. Lewis

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 2/17/19 In this homily, Fr. Kevin shared the prayer the Litany of Trust. To view this prayer, please go to the following link: Litany of Trust

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 2/10/19 The end of life as we know it.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily for 1/27/19 Fr. Kevin apologizes that he did not get his homily recorded this past weekend. However, if you would like to refer back to it, here is a written text of Fr. Kevin’s homily!

Enjoy! Homily – Jan. 27, 2019 – 2nd Sun. Ord Time – C

The Baptism of the Lord: Homily for 1/13/19

The meditation I used in this homily:

Who do I still need to forgive? What resentment/bitterness/grudge to I still carry?

Pray: In the name of Jesus I forgive…. for…. (name specifically the person and the thing you are forgiving as you pray)

Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is myself.

Pray: In the name of Jesus I forgive myself for…. (name the things you need to forgive yourself for)

Also, our bad experiences can leave us wounded; and with those wounds come fears and lies that I tend to believe. So we renounce fears and lies and other negative things, invoking Jesus’ name:

Pray In the name of Jesus I renounce the lie that I am unlovable
In the name of Jesus, I renounce the lie that I am not worth loving
In the name of Jesus, I renounce the lie that I have to do anything to earn God’s love
In the name of Jesus, I renounce the lie that my sins/faults/vices/addictions/darkness are in any way greater than God’s love and grace and mercy. (And you can renounce any other lies or fears you believe about yourself or God)
Pray: In the name of Jesus I renounce: hatred, bitterness, resentment, depression, anxiety, darkness… (Whatever other things that seem to have power over your life)
Finally, we pray in the name of Jesus that he break the power of all these negative things that have power over my life.

And we close with a prayer, just of how much God the Father loves you, wants to bless you, draw you close to his heart, and remove anything that hinders the words he speaks to you: “You are my beloved….”

(This meditation is based upon Neil Lozano’s method of prayer known as Unbound. If you would like to learn more you can visit the following link: https://www.heartofthefather.com/about/the-five-keys/ )

Epiphany: Homily for 1/6/19

Holy Family: Homily for 12/30/18

Christmas: Homily for 12/25/18

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Homily for 12/23/18

Third Sunday of Advent: Homily for 12/16/18

In my homily, I mentioned Bl. Chiara Luce Bodano. You can read more about her here:https://reallifecatholic.com/portfolio-item/blessed-chiara-luca-badano-pray-for-us/ I also shared a quote from her. Her is the quote: “Here everybody is asking for a miracle but I cannot bring myself to ask for it. Maybe this difficulty that I have in asking for it is because I feel that it is not His will. I offer everything, my failures, my pains and joys to Him, starting again every time the Cross makes me feel all its weight. The important thing is to do God’s will. I might have had plans about myself but God came up with this. The sickness came to me at the right time…. However you can’t even imagine what my relationship with Jesus is like now… I feel Jesus is asking me for something more, something bigger. I might be on this bed for years…, I don’t know. I’m only interested in doing God’s will, doing that well, in the present moment… [before this sickness] I still didn’t understand. I was too much absorbed in insignificant things, frivolous and transient things. Another world was waiting for me and all I had to do was to surrender myself to it. But now I feel like I am wrapped into a wonderful design that it’s slowly unfolding itself to me.” – Chiara Luce Badano “I suffered a lot but my soul was singing! I have nothing left, but I still have my heart, and with that I can always LOVE!” – Chiara Luce Badano These quotes were taken from: https://piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/bl_chiara_luce.html I also shared a story of St. Francis of Assisi discussing perfect joy: https://www.soulshepherding.org/true-perfect-joy-st-francis/

First Sunday of Advent: Homily for 12/2/18

Christ the King: Homily for 11/25/18

The Temple: Homily for 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 11/18/18

Judges and Life Apart from God: Homily for 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 11/11/18

Moses and Loving God: Homily for 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time 11/4/18

All Saints Day: Homily for 11/1/18

The Fall: Homily for 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 10/14/18

Creation Part 2: Homily for 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 10/7/18

Creation: Homily for 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time 9/30/18

Violence in the Old Testament: Homily for 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time 9/16/18

Here are some notes from this homily:

Some Difficult Passages in Old Testament:

Joshua 6:20-21: “The Ban”: killing every man, woman, child, and beast
1 Samuel 15:7-11, 32-33: Samuel the prophet killing Agag
Psalm 137: 7-9: Dashing babies upon the rocks

New Testament’s Guide for Reading the Old Testament

Revelation 5: The Lamb that was slain
Galatians 1:13-16: Christ becomes Paul’s new lens for reading Scripture
Galatians 4:22-27: Reading OT as “Allegory”
Ephesians 6: Spiritual Battle

Is the Bible True? Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time 9/9/18

The Word of God: Homily for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time 9/2/18

Clergy Abuse Scandal: Homily for 8/26/18

The Living Bread: Homily for 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time 8/19/18

Assumption of Mary: Homily for August 15, 2018

A Fragrant Offering: Homily for 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time 8/12/18 On Christ’s Sacrifice and our Eucharistic Worship

The New Passover: Homily for 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time 7/29/18

Bad Shepherds: Homily for 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time 7/22/18

What do we do when we have a bad shepherd? We hold on to the promises of God. This is what we learn from Jeremiah today, and is very much applicable to our Church throughout history and today.

In the homily, I mention St. Peter’s Bones. There is a new book about the excavation of the bones of St. Peter, The Fisherman’s Tomb by John O’Neil. Read more about it here.

I also mentioned Bl. Pope Paul VI’s Encyclical Humanae Vitae. It happens that this week is the 50^th anniversary of its writing! For more on this encyclical, you can visit the Dubuque Archdiocese website here.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time 7/15/18 – Fr. Kevin’s first homily as pastor.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time 7/1/18

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time 6/17/18

Ascension 5/12/18 In this homily, Fr. Kevin referenced the 1% Challenge. To learn more about it, visit here. He also referenced Kristin and the Turquoise Table. To see the video and learn more about it, click here.