Umd Newman Catholic Campus Ministry

Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Lent. A heart that is too soft has to be protected. A heart that is too tough can’t be touched. What good is it to have a heart that can be hurt by this world? Many choose to numb themselves rather than feel the pain of life. But becoming numb leaves us with a heart that is unable. Unable to feel pain but also unable to feel joy. As Christians, we are called to have a heart like the heart of Jesus: vulnerable and able. Mass Readings from March 21, 2021: Jeremiah 31:31-34 Psalms 51:3-4, 12-15Hebrews 5:7-9 John 12:20-33 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Lent. A hidden heart is a homeless heart. The people of Israel were brought into exile. It was imposed from the outside. But after King Cyrus game them a way home, many of them chose to live in self-imposed exile. The same is true for all of us who have been exiled by our sin and slavery to death. Jesus has made it possible to step into the light and come home, but many choose to live outside the light...many of us live in self-imposed exile. Mass Readings from March 14, 2021: 2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23 Psalms 137:6Ephesians 2:4-10 John 3:14-21 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Third Sunday of Lent. Is the question, “Can I trust God?” Or is the better question, “Can God trust me?" There is something that all of us discover about ourselves the moment we have a minute of self-reflection: we have the capacity to do the things we hate. In spite of our best efforts and sincere desires to be consistently good, we have this thing in our chests that ought not to be trusted. We have treacherous hearts. And yet, Jesus entrusts His Heart to ours at every Mass. Mass Readings from March 07, 2021: Exodus 20:1-17 Psalms 19:8-111 Corinthians 1:22-25 John 2:13-25 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Second Sunday of Lent. Obedience precedes understanding. We are made for adventure. But adventure means mystery and uncertainty. Often, what holds us back from action is a lack of knowing why. But what if there is a better question than “why?”? What if the adventure of obedience means asking “how?”? Mass Readings from February 28, 2021: Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 Psalms 116:10, 15-17, 18-19Romans 8:31-34 Mark 9:2-10 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the First Sunday of Lent. God is not safe, but He is good. Trust is a challenge for all of us. Trust in God is a battle that every person faces at some point in their lives. Often, we might find is easier to trust God if He were a “tame god”, but He is not. This Lent, our invitation is to not only trust in God’s mercy, but also in His justice. Mass Readings from February 21, 2021: Genesis 9:8-15 Psalms 25:4-91 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15 Download the Homily Study

Homily from Ash Wednesday. Return to the Lord with your whole heart. We are often tempted to run away from God and from difficult moments in life. We might even be tempted to escape from all that has been taken from us over the past year. But to choose to embrace this moment is to choose to embrace the Lord and His Providence. Mass Readings from February 17, 2021: Joel 2:12-18 Psalms 51:3-6, 12-13, 14 and 172 Corinthians 5:20—6:2 Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Every choice comes at a cost. Looking back, there are some things we could have known. And looking back, there are some things we could never have known. But one thing is unfailingly true when seen through hindsight: every decision comes at a price and every choice has a cost. Making the decision is risky, but there are things that are more important than staying safe. Mass Readings from February 14, 2021: Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46 Psalms 32:1-2, 5, 111 Corinthians 10:31—11:1 Mark 1:40-45 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Good times don’t last…and neither do bad times. One of the many things that life teaches us is that life is always changing. To grow is to change. There are times that are good and there are times that are bad. All of us go through good times and bad times and neither of them are permanent. In both good times and bad, Jesus is Lord and He loves the person in a desperate situation and the person in a bright situation. Mass Readings from February 07, 2021: Job 7:1-4, 6-7 Psalms 147:1-61 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23 Mark 1:29-39 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. I learned, but I didn’t grow. Knowledge is powerful. Having lived through this past year, and looking back on what we have been through is essential. We can have learned a great number of things over 2020. But unless we are willing to act on that knowledge, hindsight will be powerless. Mass Readings from January 31, 2021: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 7-91 Corinthians 7:32-35 Mark 1:21-28 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Editing is the enemy of how we remember the story. We look back so that we can see clearly and learn from our past. But we also have a temptation to edit the story we tell ourselves. We might edit how we tell the story, but we must not edit how we remember the story. Mass Readings from January 24, 2021: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalms 25:4-91 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. We can’t predict The Moment, but we can prepare in the moment before The Moment. While no one can predict the future, all of us can learn from the past. While none of us can control when the big moments of our lives are going to happen, all of us can choose what we are doing in the moments before The Moment. Mass Readings from January 17, 2021: 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-101 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20 John 1:35-42 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Baptism of the Lord. At the Incarnation, God joined His divinity to humanity...at the Baptism of Jesus, God identifies with our brokenness. What difference does the Baptism of Jesus make? It means that God doesn't stay away from our sins, but that He takes them upon Himself. Mass Readings from January 10, 2021: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Psalms 29:1-4, 9-10Acts 10:34-38 Mark 1:7-11

Homily from the Mass of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Parents are not powerless. It can be so easy for parents to feel powerless when it comes to passing on the faith to their families. But there are four powerful tools every parent can employ to help their families become holy families. Mass Readings from December 27, 2020: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 Psalms 128:1-51 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20 Luke 2:22-40

Homily from the Mass of the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas). Why is He there? We have become more comfortable with the "completed" past than the unknown future. Rather than desiring to launch into the challenge of the future, many of us have become paralyzed by fear of the future. When we are rooted in the Word of God each day, we become more rooted in God Himself each day. When we are rooted in the Lord, there is no room for fear of the future. Mass Readings from December 25, 2020: Isaiah 52:7-10 Psalm 98:1-6Hebrews 1:1-6 John 1:1-18

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Advent. Silence magnifies and waiting purifies. Waiting is not meant to be wasted. The chance to wait in silence is often given by God to serve a purpose...above all to change our faith into something new. Mass Readings from December 20, 2020: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 Psalms 89:2-5, 27, 29Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38

Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent. No one can take from you what doesn’t belong to you. We all have the temptation to pretend to be someone or something other than we are. To pass ourselves off as someone else…to be an imposter. We do this most often when we know the truth but live in fear of the truth. John the Baptist shows us what it looks like to know the truth and live in the freedom of the truth. Mass Readings from December 13, 2020: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 Luke 1:46-50, 53-541 Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28

Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent. We can’t go back to the beginning of the story, but we can start where we are and change the ending. Saint Peter reveals that the Day is coming when The Story will have been written. On that day, everything will be revealed and we will know God’s hidden role in every moment of The Story…and we will know the truth and consequences of our roles in The Story. We will know our legacy. Mass Readings from December 6, 2020: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 Psalms 85:9-12, 13-142 Peter 3:8-14 Mark 1:1-8

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent. God will not just get us through this moment…He has brought us to this moment. Too often, we find ourselves just wanting this moment to be “done." We miss out on the miracle of the moment because we see what is happening as something that is getting in the way of life. But this is life. There is not another one we are waiting for. We need to learn to trust that God is not just going to help us get through this moment, but that He has brought us to this moment. Mass Readings from November 29, 2020: Isaiah 63:16-17, 19; 64:2-7 Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-191 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:33-37

Homily from the Solemnity of Christ the King. What you do with the delay makes all the difference. We have a destination: to be who we are and to be that well. We have a Roadmap and a Rule of Life. What remains is one last question: Is there any room in your Rule for the Ruler? Mass Readings from November 22, 2020: Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17 Psalms 23:1-3, 5-61 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28 Matthew 25:31-46 Download the Homily Study

Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. What have you done with what you've been given? No one ever sets out to lose. But losing is entirely possible: in business, relationships, and in the spiritual life. It is possible to lose one’s soul. No one wants to lose, but many people do. Even with a great roadmap, we need regular checkpoints to make sure we are on course and haven’t gone off track. Mass Readings from November 15, 2020: Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 Psalms 128:1-51 Thessalonians 5:1-6 Matthew 25:14-30 Download the Homily Study