2023 archive of Homilies
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 8/15/23
1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-13a | Ps 85 | Rom 9:1-5 | Mt 14:22-33
One image of the Church is that of a boat. This is usually based on Noah’s ark, the great ship that God used to save Noah, his family, and numerous animals from being killed in the ... Read More »
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 7/31/23
1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12 | Ps 119 | Rom 8:28-30 | Mt 13:44-52
Every year on July 31, the Church celebrates the feast day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order (whose relics are encapsulated within the base of our altar). He was born into ... Read More »
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 7/29/23
Wis 12:13, 16-19 | Ps 86 | Rom 8:26-27 | Mt 13:24-43
In the early 1920s, in Kansas City, Missouri, a young man struggled to make ends meet. He felt he had great talent as an artist, especially as a cartoonist. He submitted various drawings to magazines and newspapers, ... Read More »
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 7/17/23
Is 55:10-11 | Ps 65 | Rom 8:18-23 | Mt 13:1-23
Any farmer would tell us that one of the most challenging parts of their work is preparing the soil so that it can receive the seed. It requires intense labor to clear the land of any trees, shrubs, ... Read More »
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 6/19/23
Ex 19: 2-6a | Ps 100 | Rom 5:6-11 | Mt 9:36-10:8
Most might be familiar with the proverb, “You cannot see the forest for the trees.” This saying has a saintly origin. Saint Thomas More, “the Man for All Seasons,” used it when arguing a legal case way ... Read More »
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 6/12/23
Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a | Ps 147 | 1 Cor 10:16-17 | Jn 6:51-58
Father Pedro Arrupe was a Spanish priest who served many years as the leader of the Jesuit order. He was a man of deep spirituality whom many people consider a saint. In his autobiography, he wrote ... Read More »
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 6/12/23
Ex 34:4b-6, 8-9 | Ps (Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56) | 2 Cor 13:11-13 | Jn 3:16-18
Today, we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity-three Persons, one God. The Holy Trinity is about relationship, God in three Persons living in total union and communion. They are, indeed, ... Read More »
The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 6/12/23
Acts 1:1-11 | Ps 47 | Eph 1:17-23 | Mt 28:16-20
The Ascension of the Lord is never an easy moment to preach about. The biblical accounts lack the same detail and narrative attentiveness that other major moments like Christmas, the Passion, or Easter receive. Part of this might ... Read More »
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 6/12/23
Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 | Ps 66 | 1 Pt 3:15-18 | Jn 14:15-21
If the word, “mission,” is spoken, especially as it pertains to our faith, it tends to evoke exotic places and visiting clergy and religious returning with hair-raising stories. Many people of faith still interpret “mission” as ... Read More »
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Posted by Fr Terry Grachanin on 6/12/23
Acts 6:1-7 | Ps 33 | 1 Pt 2:4-9 | Jn 14:1-12
We know that saying goodbye is difficult. Just look at the way children often struggle to end a playdate, or how they can just crumble at the end of a vacation; forget kids, any adult at the ... Read More »