Sunday Homily
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030826.cfm
Looking for Love in All the Right Places. Fr. Bob – Third Sunday of Lent March 8, 2026
In 1980, Johnny Lee had a hit song called “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.” That line describes very well the life of the woman we meet in today’s Gospel.
The Samaritan woman in the Gospel was looking for love, for meaning, for purpose, for direction, for peace, and for salvation in her life — but she wasn’t finding it. Her life, quite frankly, was a mess.
It would began with her marriages. In the longer version of the Gospel, Jesus reveals that she has been married five times, and the man kshe is now living with is not her husband. Marriage had not worked out for her.
Then there were friendships. Friendships were not working out for her either. She goes to the well at noon — the hottest time of the day — and she goes there alone. In that culture, the women of the village would normally go to the well early in the morning when it was cooler, and they would go together. It was a time for community and conversation.
But she goes alone. She apparently has no friends. She is isolated.
And then there is religion.
Even her religion is not working out for her. Jesus points out that the Samaritans do not fully understand how to worship God. Their worship is incomplete, and to the Jews the Samaritan faith was considered both ritually and racially impure.
So in many ways nothing in her life seems to be going well. With all of this, she likely had a very poor self-image.
Until she meets Jesus.
Saint Gregory once described this Gospel by saying that Jesus is the “thirsty fountain.”
At first that sounds strange. How can a fountain — something that pours out water — be thirsty? But when it comes to Jesus, it makes perfect sense. The water flowing from Christ is the overflowing grace of God. And Jesus is “thirsty” in the sense that He deeply desires to give that grace to anyone who wants it.
When Jesus encounters this woman, He recognizes in her a deep longing — a desire for something more meaningful in life. And she finally finds it in Jesus, who is God made flesh.
What a beautiful and powerful message this is — not only for our catechumens, but for all of us.
It invites us to ask ourselves an important question: What are my deepest desires in life?
And even more importantly: Do I recognize that my deepest desire is for Christ?
Do I desire to drink the life-giving water that Jesus offers — the water that comes to us every Sunday in His Word and in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist?
Because it is there that we find the love our hearts so desperately seek.
Not only love, but meaning. Purpose. Direction. And that deep and lasting peace that only Jesus can give.
Jesus speaks to us today just as He spoke to the Samaritan woman.
He promises the gift of living water — the grace that satisfies the deepest longings of the human heart.
Some people come searching for that meaning. And if that is what you are searching for, our Lord will not disappoint.
There truly is a recipe for happiness in life.And that recipe is Jesus Christ.
Because Jesus is the life-giving water who longs to share His grace with every person who thirsts for it.
The Samaritan woman may have been looking for love, meaning, and fulfillment in all the wrong places.
But may we learn from her story. And may we always seek love, meaning, and fulfillment in the right place — in Jesus Christ.
Tithing and Helping the Poor
https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
Homily by Father Bob, Tuesday March 5
In today’s homily, Father Bob reflects on the Gospel call to care for the poor and explains the biblical wisdom of tithing. His message reminds us that while none of us can solve poverty alone, each of us is called to give what we can with a generous heart.
I think we all understand the meaning of this gospel, that we should not be blind to the needs of the poor.
And we get that, but this is the kind of big gospel that often evokes a bit of scrupulosity or concern on the part of even the most generous Catholics who feel that they’re not doing enough for the poor.
And I know this because they tell me.
Oftentimes they’re elderly, they’re on a fixed income, and on a yearly basis they get hundreds of solicitations from charities and the mail.
“Father, I feel so guilty because I just can’t help everyone.”
Well, when it comes to helping the poor, the Catholic Church, in her wisdom, gives us the biblical guidance of tithing, which is really pretty brilliant when you think about it.
It’s giving 10% right off the top.
God gets the first 10 cents of every dollar.
You get to keep 90 cents.
And this is how that wisdom works out, and it’s been promulgated in our dioceses for a period of time.
An Example of Tithing
So let’s say that you have $30,000 of income.
10% of that is $3,000 that you intend to give to God in the course of the year, to God and the poor.
So you divide that 10% up.
5% to Your Parish
5% of your $30,000 income is $1,500.
That goes to your parish church, fulfilling the precept of supporting your church, and in turn, your church helps to support the poor, for example, with our contribution to LCCM and other monetary gifts.
So by giving to your parish church, you’re invariably helping the poor.
3% to the Diocese
Now you have 5% left over, so you take 3% of that, which is $900, and that goes to the DAC, the Diocesan Annual Campaign, formerly known as the Lenten Appeal Campaign, which goes specifically to some services and ministries which help the poor.
2% to Charity of Your Choice
And now you’ve got 2% left over, which is $600 of your $3,000 you’re giving to God and the poor.
Now you can give that $600 to one charity or six charities.
You can put it in the poor box.
You get to do what you want with that 2% that’s left over.
What This Accomplishes
And now notice that in every way you are doing the gospel mandate to help the poor, you are fulfilling the precept of the church, which is to help the church.
You’re helping your diocese, and you are directly helping the charity or charities of your choice.
If Money Is Tight
And if you say, “Well, money’s a real problem. I’m on a fixed income,” well, you have to determine what you can give to God and to help the poor.
But if you can’t offer financial support, maybe you can volunteer to help the poor.
And if you can’t do that, there’s always prayer.
And on top of prayer, there is fasting.
Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are Lenten disciplines.
There is always some way to help the poor.
Our Responsibility
And let us remember, Jesus said:
“The poor you will always have with you.”
So no one of us is required to solve the problem of poverty, but all of us are required to do something to help the poor.
And so we do what we can.
And as that verse before the gospel reminds us, that God loves a charitable giver, and He would love it for our hearts to be open and generous in helping the poor.
And if you need a way to sort that out in your life, think about our diocesan wisdom, the biblical wisdom of a tithe, and how that helps us, what God is asking us to do, and to do it with a generous heart.
The Transfiguration and the Call to Resilience
Genesis tells us the why of the Transfiguration.
The Transfiguration happened so that Jesus could reveal His glory to the Apostles so they would have the strength to face the scandal of the Cross and understand that it is necessary to pass through many tribulations in order to reach the Kingdom of God.
“Jesus revealed His glory so the disciples could face the scandal of the Cross.”
He Didn’t Bring Them Up to Enjoy the View
When I went to the Holy Land and we went up the Mount of Transfiguration, our tour guide, Father Stephen Doyle—a Franciscan biblical scholar—told us:
“Fellas, Jesus did not bring Peter, James, and John up here to pray a retreat and enjoy the view.”
Jesus brought them up there to change their view.
He wanted them to understand that the glory of the Resurrection would only come through the suffering and scandal of the Cross. The Transfiguration was intended to strengthen the disciples for that moment.
“Jesus brought them up the mountain to change their view.”
A Spiritual Word We Don’t Use Enough: Resilience
When we talk about being strengthened, I think of a word we do not often use in the spiritual life:
Resilience.
When the disciples came down from that mountain, Jesus needed them to be resilient as they made the difficult journey from the mountain of glory to the little hill of Calvary.
Resilience involves the whole person.
Mental Resilience
Jesus needed His disciples to be mentally resilient—mentally tough for what was coming.
They had to embrace the new reality Jesus was introducing. They had to live in that reality and not escape it by creating fantasies of their own.
They also needed to hold on to the kingdom patterns Jesus was preaching and teaching.
Emotional Resilience
The disciples also needed to be emotionally resilient.
They needed to be in control of their emotions—lest their emotions control them.
How would they respond when people said:
“I hate you because you are a follower of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus predicted that this would happen. Because they hated Him, they would hate His followers.
The disciples needed emotional stability to endure it.
Physical Resilience
They also needed to be physically resilient.
They needed strength and stamina.
Jesus taught that the road to heaven is narrow and difficult, and many are not strong enough to take it.
Following Christ requires endurance.
As the comedian Gary Bowman once joked, “The one thing they never tell you about life is that it’s every single day.”
Life can be exhausting. We need stamina and resilience to continue following Jesus.
Spiritual Resilience
Finally, we need spiritual resilience.
We need the ability to resist temptation and the evil that comes into our lives.
The Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl understood how important resilience is to human well-being. Frankl was imprisoned in several Nazi concentration camps.
You may have read his famous book Man’s Search for Meaning.
Frankl observed that one of the most important human qualities is resilience—our ability to survive and even thrive in difficult circumstances.
He noticed that those who woke up each morning and asked themselves:
“What is required of me today in order to survive?”
did much better than those who woke up complaining about how they felt or how they were being mistreated.
The people who had a plan survived.
“The people who had a plan survived.”
Sunday Mass Is the Mountaintop
Every time we gather for Mass on Sunday, we say the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.
Right now, we are at the summit.
This is the mountaintop of your week.
You are receiving grace through the Word and through the Sacrament.
But soon we will come down off this mountain—like the disciples—and begin our week out in the world.
And we will need resilience.
As Pope Benedict XVI said, the Transfiguration was meant to give the disciples strength to face the scandal of the Cross and understand that it is necessary to pass through many tribulations in order to reach the Kingdom of God.
Temptation & Stewardship
Father Bob’s Homily The First Sunday of Lent February 22, 2026
https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
“The temptation story is a descent into the perils that beset mankind, because it lays bare the nature of every temptation: to push God aside because we perceive Him as secondary — if not actually superfluous — compared with all the apparently more urgent matters that fill our lives.” Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth
The temptation of Jesus in the desert is a descent into the perils that beset mankind. That Gospel represents for all human beings a descent into those same perils — the perils of temptation. Demonic temptation.
On this First Sunday of Lent, we hear clearly:
Be aware. You may be tempted.
Jesus was tempted.
We may be tempted.
The way these temptations unfold in today’s Gospel exposes how the devil operates — his modus operandi.
First, he goes after the physicality of Jesus. He appeals to His physical hunger. Jesus has been fasting for forty days. He is hungry.
You might think, “What’s the problem? He has the power to turn those stones into delicious bread.” But the problem is this: once you give in a little bit, he takes a lot — until there’s nothing left.
Jesus knows this. He will not compromise His identity as the Son of God for a piece of bread.
And for us, this is about more than controlling our appetite for food. It is about our appetites in the spiritual life — our desires, what St. Thomas Aquinas calls the appetites. The things we want. The way we respond to the world around us. Our feelings.
From early childhood, we are taught to gain some control over this part of our humanity. It is one thing for a two-year-old to have a temper tantrum. It is another thing for an adult to have a temper tantrum.
This is Catholic Spirituality 101.
St. John of the Cross speaks of the “active night of the senses.” It is about understanding our humanity — the parts of us that are disordered — and learning, by grace, to reorder them so that they serve not only us, but God and others.
The devil then goes after the ego. He tempts our Lord with pride.
“If you are the Son of God… prove it.”
Pride can be very subtle. It can manifest itself as selfishness — which is really its root.
Self-recognition: “I’m better than you.”
Self-reliance: “I can do it myself.”
St. Teresa of Calcutta speaks of something she calls “inordinate zeal.” It sounds good — zeal! A desire to do something great for God. But even that can become disordered.
St. Ignatius of Loyola experienced something similar. On his way to Rome, filled with plans to do great things for God and the Church, he came to realize he could not put the world in order by himself. He had to do it in companionship with Jesus Christ — in a life of prayer — always keeping Jesus in the center.
That is a powerful reminder for us. Even our good intentions, even the good things we do for God and the Church, must be done in union with Christ. We cannot do it without Him.
May Jesus be our companion during these forty days — and beyond.
Finally, the devil tempts our Lord with possessions.
“I will give you all the kingdoms of the world.”
But Jesus does not fall for it, because His Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom.
We must be careful about our relationship with possessions — money, power, influence. God may give us much. Why? So that we may be good stewards.
To use what we have not only for ourselves, but for others.
To give greater honor and glory to God.
It is not about how much we have or how little we have.
It is about how we use it.
Am I using what I have for the Gospel?
Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, gives us this Gospel to remind us:
Jesus was tempted.
We will be tempted — in our humanity, in our egos, in our desires.
But we have hope.
Because of Jesus — His grace, and His example — we too have the power of hope.
Father Bob’s Homily February 18
Holy Mother Church, in her wisdom, has given us three beautiful disciplines to “return to the Lord with our whole heart” or in the words of Jesus,to “Repent and believe in the gospel” through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.
While these are spiritual exercises—spiritual things that we actually do—I think they also have very deep symbolic meaning.
For example, fasting is something that is self-referential. It is directed to oneself, right? When we fast—when we give up beer, chocolate, food, entertainment, or something else that we maybe love a little too much—what we are really doing is exercising a form of self-mastery over our habits, our desires, even our feelings.
Fasting symbolically is about ourselves—working on the self, doing that self-work with the help of grace that needs to be done.
And then there is prayer. Prayer is about a relationship with God. Over these next forty days, we hope and pray that by doing our part, that relationship will be deepened.
And then there is almsgiving helping the poor. That’s directed to the other.
Are you seeing a pattern here in the wisdom of Holy Mother Church in giving us these spiritual disciplines and their deeper symbolic meaning?
Fasting: about myself.
Prayer: me and God.
Almsgiving: me and the other, especially the poor.
What does that sound like?
The greatest commandment.
Love God.
Have a relationship with God.
Love others.
Be selfless, sacrificial, and helpful—especially to the poor.
Love yourself.
Take care of yourself.
Work on yourself.
Try to grow in holiness.
So the program for spiritual growth in the Catholic Church during these forty days of Lent is so beautifully planned out and organic, as it fits into the most important commandment Jesus gave us.
Love of God—by trying to foster, from our end, an intimate relationship with the Lord through prayer.
Love your neighbor—by being more selfless and sacrificial and helpful, especially to the poor.
And then to do that work in us—to know what we need to do in this spiritual life—to turn away from sin and turn wholeheartedly to God.
So Holy Mother Church lays it out so beautifully for us.
And tonight, the crosses that are just about ready to be placed on our foreheads are a sign that we are ready to do that work and make this sacrifice.
And it’s not just about us—it’s about our Lord too. As we receive the grace of the Eucharist, we begin these next forty days really very much spiritually energized to do the work that our Lord has placed before us.
So with that, let us pray that the grace of Jesus may be upon all of us, and that the Lord may truly help us to grow in faith hope and love—especially love.
Love of God.
Love of neighbor.
And love of self.
And we’re going to make a beautiful spiritual journey with fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.
Amen.
Father Bob’s Homily – 10:30 AM Mass Sunday, February 15
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021526.cfm
Have you ever considered your cell phone to be a near occasion of sin? At a previous Mass, someone immediately shouted out, “Yes!” — and I jokingly told her she could turn off the rest of the homily because she already understood the point. A cell phone is not sinful in itself. But how we use it can easily become a near occasion of sin. Our phones and the internet make sin incredibly accessible. They sit in our pockets and handbags, always within reach.In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about serious sins — anger, lust, and falsehood. Let us consider how our cell phones can become near occasions of these sins.
Anger
Anger can be a serious and destructive sin when it is not managed properly. The internet makes it very easy to act on anger. When we are upset, we can go online and “vent.” That venting can quickly turn into bullying, gossip, attempts to damage someone’s reputation, or saying cruel and hateful things. From a Catholic moral perspective, these actions are sinful.
Online, it is easy to hide behind a screen. It can feel as though there are no consequences. But there are consequences. People have lost jobs and damaged relationships because of something posted in anger.
Jesus calls us to manage our anger before it grows into something worse. We must be especially vigilant because the internet lowers our inhibitions and increases our impulsivity.
Lust and Pornography
Jesus also speaks about lust. Today, pornography is one of the great moral crises of our time. It is widespread, highly addictive, and extremely destructive. The accessibility of smartphones has made pornography available almost instantly and privately.
Lust is a disordered sexual desire. It objectifies people and undermines the dignity and holiness of human sexuality. It often begins in the imagination — what St. Teresa of Ávila called “la loca de la casa” — “the crazy one in the house.” If we do not guard our imagination, it can lead us into serious sin.
The pornography industry generates enormous revenue — larger than many professional sports leagues combined. It is powerful, pervasive, and designed to hook users.
If someone is struggling with pornography addiction, there is help. Recovery involves real work: therapy, the sacraments — especially Eucharist and Confession — spiritual direction, and accountability. Addiction rewires the brain, but with grace and effort, it can be rewired toward healing. If you need resources, please contact the parish office.
Truth and Falsehood
Jesus also speaks about truthfulness. When He says, “Do not swear,” He is not referring to profanity. He is speaking about swearing oaths by God to prove honesty. Jesus teaches that we should be so truthful that we do not need to swear by God for people to believe us. Our word should be enough.
On the internet, much of what we see is not true. There is deception, manipulation, exaggeration, and outright falsehood.
We even see examples of “deepfakes,” where someone’s image or likeness is digitally altered to make it appear they said or did something they never did. This has happened even to bishops.
Therefore, when we are online, we must be vigilant about what we consume, believe, and share.
Privacy and Our Young People
Our young people are often encouraged to share everything about themselves online. But Catholic morality does not require us to share everything with everyone.
We are not obligated to reveal every detail of our lives to all people at all times. That does not make us deceptive. It means we understand the value of privacy and personal dignity.
Each of us should have a sacred interior space — something reserved for God and not exposed to the entire world.
A Call to Vigilance
Cell phones are not evil. They can be wonderful tools. I am not telling you to throw them away.
But I am asking all of us — myself included — to raise our awareness.
Our phones make certain sins very accessible: anger, lust, and lies.
As we prepare to enter the Lenten season, let us ask ourselves:
How vigilant am I when I am online?
Am I being led into sin — or guided by God?
May we use these tools wisely, with discipline and with grace, so that even in the virtual world, we remain faithful to Christ.
Homily : Living in the Light of Christ. (February 8, 2026 Last Week)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020826.cfm
The Gospel writer John tells us in the Christmas Gospel that Jesus came into the world as the Light of the world.
But in today’s Gospel, Jesus says something striking:
“You are the light of the world.”
So which is it?
Is Jesus the Light of the world, or are we the light of the world?
The answer, of course, is both.
Jesus is the divine Light — the heavenly Light who has come into the world. And through Baptism, He shares that Light with us: the light of grace, the light of truth, and the light of love. That is a powerful and precious gift, and Jesus tells us that it is not meant to be kept to ourselves. We are called to share it with the world.
Those of you who are Confirmation candidates will soon receive seven special gifts of the Holy Spirit when you are confirmed by Bishop Senior: wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord. These gifts are given to help you share the Light of Christ with the world for the rest of your lives.
This calling is more than a metaphor. It’s more than a phrase that simply sounds nice. While our hymns express it beautifully, sharing the Light of Christ is a real and essential part of our lives. It means living our vocation of holiness — our call to become saints.
When we read the lives of the saints — especially the saints you have chosen, or will choose, as your Confirmation names — we see how differently each one shared the Light of Christ. Some were great theological minds. Others had enormous compassion and devoted themselves to caring for the sick. Some, like St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, founded religious communities right down the road in Emmitsburg.
Each saint shared Christ’s Light in a unique and beautiful way — and so are we called to do the same.
With Lent just days away, this is a good moment to practice what St. Ignatius of Loyola encouraged: an examination of conscience. We should reflect honestly on how well we are sharing the Light of Christ in our own lives.
Jesus tells us not to place the light under a basket. It is too powerful and too precious. What we share is the Light of Christ’s truth and His law — and our world desperately needs that light, especially in times marked by darkness, sin, fear, and hatred.
So we are called to be safe beacons of light in the world.
This examination begins with the very start of our day. When we wake up, what is our first thought?
Do we pray, “Lord, help me. Guard me and guide me by Your light” before even getting out of bed?
When we turn on the news or scroll through our screens, do we filter what we see through the Light of our faith?
When we go to work, are our business ethics guided by His Light?
When we go to school, do we test what we are learning by the Light of faith?
What about our relationships?
Our social lives?
Our political views?
Do we discern who and what belongs in our lives through the Light of Christ?
And when we face illness, suffering, or hardship, do we view those moments through His Light — trusting Him even then?
At its core, the question is simple and profound:
Am I living my life immersed in His Light?
That is what faith truly is. It is more than an idea or an analogy — it is a way of life. Living in Christ’s Light does not always make life easier, but it does make life better. It brings clarity — moral clarity and spiritual truth.
The Church has a name for this stage of spiritual growth: the illuminative stage of the spiritual life — when our lives are immersed in, guided by, and illuminated by the Light of Christ.
That is a great gift.
Very soon, our Confirmation candidates will receive the grace to live more fully as bearers of that Light in the world. And for all of us today, as we hear these powerful words and receive the grace of the sacraments, let us pray that we may truly live what Jesus teaches us.
As He says in the Gospel:
May His light shine before all,
so that they may see our good works
and give glory to the Father.
Amen.
