Blog - Homilies

April 24, 2022: "This tradition of celebrating the Sunday after Easter as Mercy Sunday was started by St. John Paul II, inspired by the visions of St. Faustina who, as we know, was a religious sister and visionary who lived in Poland and was canonized by St. John Paul II on April 30, 2000."

April 16, 2022: "Jesus Christ is alive! This Jesus, who we have accompanied in these days, through the final week of his earthly life; this Jesus, who we witnessed just three days ago, being beaten and nailed to a cross, where we watched him die. This Jesus, is alive!"

April 15, 2022: "On the cross, Jesus bears every burden for us — every evil and every sin, every sickness and suffering, every heartache. He becomes weak, so we can overcome our weakness. He is crushed for our sins, so we can overcome our own sinfulness."

April 11, 2022: "The Church is all of us together — bishops and priests and deacons, religious and consecrated men and women, seminarians, the lay faithful. We are, as we know, the family of God. And that is what we celebrate tonight in the Chrism Mass."

April 10, 2022: "We know that Jesus Christ suffered and died for our sins. This week we want to move from “knowing” this, to “feeling” this. We want to allow his sufferings to speak to us, to move our hardened hearts. This week, we want to walk with him, and to suffer with him; we want to sacrifice for him."

April 2, 2022: "Two hundred and fifty years ago, this mission was founded by St. Junípero Serra and his Franciscan brothers, together with the noble Tongva natives, who are the first peoples of this land. These men and women trusted in God — completely. St. Junípero and his brothers left behind their homes and families, knowing they would never be coming back. So today, let us pray to have that kind of trust, that kind of courage!"

March 19, 2022: "The world has been through a lot in these past two years. And the Church also has been through a lot. But it has been beautiful to witness, everything that all of you have been doing, carrying out your ministries during this pandemic. Thanks to your courage and apostolic zeal, and by the grace of God, you have helped our people to keep their faith, and even to grow their faith, in this time of trial."

March 17, 2022: "Lent is this wonderful time that the Church gives us to think about our lives, to reflect on our journey with Jesus. It is a time for asking ourselves: How are we doing? Are we living the way Jesus wants us to live? What are we doing well? What can we be doing better?"

March 6, 2022: "On this first Sunday of Lent, our Gospel leads us into the desert with Jesus. Of course, as we know, during Lent we are remembering those forty days that Jesus spent in the desert after his baptism, forty days that he spent making himself stronger, through prayer and fasting, preparing for his ministry."

March 2, 2022: "Our Lord is inviting us today — to come home. Just as he does every year during Lent. “Return to me,” he says. And he speaks these words to us with such tender affection."

February 27, 2022: "So today, as we get ready for Lent, Jesus finishes his teaching. Again, we hear him tell us to stop worrying about other people. He says: 'Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?'"

February 20, 2022: "as we turn to our Gospel today, that beautiful passage of the Gospel that we just heard this morning — from St. Luke’s Gospel. And it is, as we just heard, some of our Lord’s most challenging teachings."

February 19, 2022: "Mercy is the heart of God, and mercy is the name of God. The whole Bible is the story of divine mercy. His mercy is written on every page. His mercy fills the earth and it is all around us; his mercy extends to the heavens and watches over us."

February 13, 2022: "This is a beautiful moment as we celebrate this World Marriage Day for us to reflect on the importance of marriage in God’s beautiful plan for creation and for the human family."

February 12, 2022: "So today we celebrate this year’s World Day of the Sick, knowing that our whole world has been bearing the burden of sickness and death, overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic. So we pray today, in a special way, for those who have died and for all those who are suffering, in body and mind, in this pandemic. And we especially ask Our Blessed Mother, to intercede and deliver us from this affliction."

January 30, 2022: "The saints teach us that we must imitate the life of Christ in our own life. This is why Jesus came down from heaven. He came to share in our humanity, our human life — so that we can live our lives through him, with him, and in him."

January 30, 2022: "Dear sisters and brother jubilarians, for so many years now, you have been our leaders — showing us by your example, how we should live as followers of Jesus Christ. By the humility and simplicity of your lives. By your love for God and for those in need."

January 22, 2022: "In this requiem Mass tonight, we mourn the innocent lives that were taken in Los Angeles through the evil of abortion. In their presence, in the memory of these little ones, we commit ourselves once more to the noble struggle for the rights of the unborn child. We commit ourselves to the task of creating an America where human life is cherished and cared for, an America where the family is recognized as the true foundation of society."

January 16, 2022: "So, today, in this wedding at Cana, we again have a “miracle of water.” As I said, last week we had the Baptism of Jesus with water and so today we have another miracle of water. Jesus turning the water into wine. And in this beautiful sign of turning water into wine, Jesus is revealing something about himself, and also something about our relationship with God."

January 16, 2022: "We especially entrust ourselves to the Divine Infant, Santo Niño, as we continue to give thanks to God for opening the door of faith to the people of the Philippines, five hundred years ago."