Homilies about conversion

A Priest's Story: How God Loved Me as a Sinner and a Loser

Father David

The homily, delivered by a new parochial vicar, Father David, focuses on God's immense patience and unconditional love for sinners, drawing parallels with the Gospel parable of the weeds and the wheat. Father David shares a deeply personal testimony of his youth, marked by a struggle for acceptance, alcoholism, promiscuity, and resentment towards his parents, culminating in a suicidal crisis. He recounts how a simple question from a friend on a pilgrimage, "Don't you know there is a God who loves you as you are?", transformed his life, leading him to believe in God's mercy and eventually to the priesthood.

Đức Maria: Người Môn Đệ Đầu Tiên và Hoàn Hảo Nhất (Đức Ông Phạm Mạnh Cương)

Đức Ông Phạm Mạnh Cương

This homily, delivered as part of a conference on Mary, emphasizes Mary as the first and most perfect disciple, highlighting her unwavering faith, contemplative spirit, and missionary zeal. The speaker uses personal anecdotes about his family's journey as refugees and his own vocational discernment to illustrate themes of trusting God's plan amidst adversity and the importance of compassionate presence in ministry. He urges listeners to emulate Mary's 'yes' to God, her ability to see others' needs, and her steadfastness in suffering, rather than focusing on external religious practices.

How Brain Cancer Led Me to the Priesthood

Father Dan Kushner

Father Dan shares his personal vocation story, which began with a childhood brain cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. He connects this profound suffering to the Gospel's parable of the pearl of great price, emphasizing that this experience revealed God's unconditional love and the limitless potential available through Christ, leading him to fully commit his life to God.

Clearing the Rocky Ground of Your Soul: A Homily on Receiving God's Grace

Father Enrique Salvo

Father Salvo's homily connects the day's readings about the sower and the seed to our spiritual lives, emphasizing that God's grace is always abundant, but our reception of it depends on the 'soil' of our souls. He uses a personal anecdote from his time as a seminarian in Medjugorje, where he had to clear a rocky field to plant pomegranate trees, to illustrate the effort required to remove spiritual 'rocks' and 'thorns' (sin, worldly anxieties, ego, unhealed wounds) that prevent us from bearing fruit.

God's Forgiveness: A Lesson from the Brooklyn Bridge

Bishop Qualin

This homily connects God's forgiveness, as described in Psalm 51, to a recent news event where a police officer saved a woman contemplating suicide on the Brooklyn Bridge. The homilist emphasizes that God's forgiveness is not about condemnation but about building us up, and that accepting help is a courageous act of strength, mirroring the police officer's message to the woman.

What Oscar Schindler Teaches Us About Eternal Life

This homily uses the story of Oscar Schindler, a deeply flawed man who converted his priorities to save over a thousand Jews during the Holocaust, to illustrate the Gospel's parable of the unjust steward. It emphasizes the urgency of investing in spiritual relationships and eternal salvation rather than corruptible earthly possessions, urging listeners to make 'friends for heaven' through prayer and sacrifice.

The Wheat, The Weeds, and the Vigilant Parent: God's Patience and Our Role in Raising Children

Père Gilbert

The homily emphasizes God's patience and mercy, using the parable of the wheat and weeds to illustrate how God allows good and evil to grow together, giving everyone a chance to convert. It challenges Christians to be good 'trees' that provide shade (guidance and counsel) to others, especially children, rather than being passive or allowing 'weeds' (negative influences) to take over their lives and communities. The priest shares a personal anecdote about parents needing to be vigilant with their children to prevent them from falling into bad company or dangerous situations.

Why Your Soul Needs Daily Care: Lessons from the Parable of the Sower and an Exorcism

The homily emphasizes the importance of cultivating our souls as 'rich soil' for God's grace, drawing parallels from the parable of the sower. It stresses diligence in prayer, frequent reception of the sacraments (especially confession and Eucharist), and striving for holiness, using examples of saints and a personal anecdote about an exorcism to highlight the gravity of sin and the power of forgiveness.

Are You Too Comfortable in Your Faith? The Parables of the Treasure and Pearl

The homily emphasizes that the parables of the treasure and the pearl call us to active discernment and engagement in our discipleship, rather than complacency. It highlights the importance of prioritizing God's call in our lives, drawing from both old and new teachings, and illustrates this with the story of Mother Antonia, who sold everything to serve in a Mexican prison.

Why You Must Reject All Forms of Superstition (Even if it's Gold)

This homily, delivered during a Holy Hour, emphasizes the importance of rejecting all forms of evil and superstition, including witchcraft, amulets, and the Santa Muerte. The priest shares personal anecdotes about encountering items related to the occult and stresses the need to dispose of them to avoid spiritual contamination, even if they have monetary value, prioritizing spiritual freedom over material gain.

¿Qué Tipo de Tierra Eres? La Parábola del Sembrador y Tu Vida Espiritual

The homily uses the parable of the sower to encourage listeners to reflect on the 'soil' of their own hearts. The priest shares personal anecdotes about farming with his grandfather to make the ancient parable relatable, emphasizing that the focus should be on preparing one's soul to receive God's word and bear fruit. He urges self-examination to identify and remove 'thorns' and 'stones' like vices, bad habits, criticism, and lack of prayer, and to 'fertilize' their spiritual lives through prayer, scripture, retreats, and service.

From Addiction to Freedom: The Power of God's Healing Grace

Tadeusz Dzieszko

The homily reflects on the parable of the wheat and weeds, emphasizing that evil (weeds) often grows alongside good (wheat) in our lives. The priest shares the powerful testimony of Wiesław Indraszek, a former drug addict who found healing and conversion in Medjugorje, and also mentions St. Camillus, who similarly turned his life around to serve the sick. The core message is that God offers a chance for change and healing from addictions and moral failings until the very end of life, and that prayer, sacraments, and community are vital in this ongoing spiritual battle.

Carpe Diem: Seizing God's Grace in Your Life

Father Hank

The homily emphasizes the importance of 'Carpe Diem' or seizing the moment in our spiritual lives, drawing parallels from the day's readings about finding treasure and Solomon's request for wisdom. The priest uses a personal anecdote about a broken sailboat mast to illustrate the urgency of acting when grace is offered, and extends the concept to national historical events like the Louisiana Purchase. He encourages listeners to identify areas in their lives where God is offering grace and to commit to conversion and growth without delay.

How One Gospel Changed a Man's Life in Communist Ukraine

The homily begins with a personal reflection on the priest's own vocation and then delves into the Parable of the Sower, illustrating the power of God's word to transform lives, even in hostile environments. He shares a compelling story of a Ukrainian priest, Father Igor, who converted to Catholicism after reading the Gospel of Mark in communist Ukraine. The homily concludes by connecting the parable to the 'world, flesh, and devil' and offering a practical spiritual communion prayer as an antidote to temptations of the flesh, emphasizing immediate rejection and embracing Christ's love.

The Couple Tree: How Our Relationship with God Grows Over Time

Father Ray Reyes

The homily uses the metaphor of a 'couple tree' in Japan, formed by two trees growing together for over a century, to illustrate how our relationship with God develops. It emphasizes that faith often begins with doubt and questions during difficult times, but through persistent prayer and participation in the Eucharist, God's presence, initially unrecognized, becomes a treasured and transformative part of our lives, shaping us to reflect Christ's peace and compassion to others.

A Priest's Stroke, a Lifelong Dream, and the Mission to Care for the Abandoned Elderly

Father Dason

The homily is a deeply personal account of the priest's lifelong dream to build a home for the homeless, which evolved into a mission to prepare elderly souls for their last hour, especially those abandoned by family. He shares how a personal stroke opened his eyes to the true suffering of the elderly and the importance of reconciliation with parents, urging the congregation to support this mission through prayer, care for their own parents, and financial contributions.

The Weeds Among the Wheat: How God's Patient Love Transforms Us

The homily emphasizes God's patient and merciful love, using the parable of the weeds among the wheat to illustrate how God allows good and evil to coexist, giving sinners a chance to repent. It highlights the Church's growth from humble beginnings despite persecutions and 'weeds' within, guided by God's hand. A personal story of an older brother's sacrificial love for his wayward younger brother, leading to the younger brother's conversion and vocation, underscores the transformative power of love and faith.

The Transforming Power of God's Word: A Murderer's Story

Phô Nguyễn Tất Hải

The homily emphasizes the power and generosity of God's word, which is sown everywhere, even in seemingly infertile ground. It highlights that God's word is not a word of force but of love and forgiveness, capable of transforming even the hardest hearts, as illustrated by the story of a Japanese murderer who converted in prison. The priest encourages listeners to open their hearts to God's word daily, allowing it to guide and illuminate their lives amidst the distractions and falsehoods of the modern world.

Beauty Always Wins: Finding God's Infinite Value in Every Person

Father Kevin Moabius

The homily uses the parables of the Kingdom of Heaven and the story of Beauty and the Beast to illustrate that God sees infinite value in every person, transforming us from our 'beastly' choices to our noble, divinized selves. It emphasizes that the Church's mission, exemplified by the Sisters of Life and various social innovations, is to reveal this inherent beauty and worth to all, leading to a life of truth, joy, and hope, with a happy ending in Christ.

Are You Sleeping on Top of Your Faith? A Homily on Deepening Your Relationship with God

Father Chris

Father Chris uses the parable of the sower and a humorous personal anecdote about Disney princess bed sheets to illustrate the importance of actively cultivating one's faith beyond superficial engagement. He challenges parishioners to move beyond a surface-level understanding of their faith and to deeply engage with God's word through prayer and study, rather than letting distractions or discomfort prevent spiritual growth.