Either you know this person, or you are this person who goes through Netflix, scrolls through all of the TV shows and all of the movies, and can never find the perfect show to watch. And those people are so annoying. But the spiritual reality of a moment like that is Jesus knocking out our hearts, reminding us that he’s the only one who can satisfy us.
That’s why the second reading today from St. Paul is so beautiful: whether in life or death, I am the Lord’s. He’s the one that satisfies. We will never be truly satisfied with entertainment, our sports team, or our significant other. It’s ultimately Jesus who fulfills the desires of our hearts. When you have those moments when you’re not satisfied, go to Jesus. And the next time you are enjoying a sweet maple bacon donut and want another one afterward, usually, it’s not that you need another donut. You need Jesus.
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Keep It Simple
A couple of weeks ago, a student approached me after mass and told me, “Hey, Father, you’re homily today. It has many overly complicated words. Next time, make it simpler.” And then they left, and then I cried myself to sleep. A lot of the time, we overcomplicate things. All we have to do is make things simple. This is precisely what the apostles do in the gospel for this Sunday. Jesus told the…
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Jesus In The Present
So it is finally Advent, which means it is a new church year. So happy New Year, Mother Church. Happy New Year, Bing Crosby. Happy New Year to you all. What I love about Advent is that the church teaches us that we experience three Advents and three comings of Christ. He comes in the past. Jesus is also coming in the future. But the third Advent is that Jesus always desires to come into our hearts…
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Fear of Being Less of Ourselves
One of my favorite scenes from The Lord of the Rings is when Gandalf heals King Theoden from Saruman’s possession. This is such an awesome scene of healing. At one point, the possessed King Theoden says to Gandalf, “If I go, Theoden dies.” And that’s precisely what we see in the gospel today. The demon spirit tells Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” We say that to…
