Homilies about mercy

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.

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.

Debunking Divine Mercy Attacks: Horns, Wounds, Snakes, and Heresy Claims

Father Chris Alar

Father Chris Alar addresses numerous criticisms and misconceptions surrounding the Divine Mercy devotion, image, and chaplet. He systematically refutes claims that the image is satanic due to perceived horns, lack of wounds, or a snake-like hand, explaining the theological and artistic context. He also clarifies misunderstandings about the Divine Mercy Sunday grace, its relationship to Easter, and the nature of the chaplet prayer, emphasizing that these devotions are deeply rooted in Catholic tradition and do not contradict other established practices like the Rosary or Fatima.

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.

God's Mercy: Why You Need to Stop Binge-Watching Your Past Sins

Father Ibuka Ambun Nad

The homily emphasizes God's boundless mercy and forgiveness, urging listeners to embrace this attribute rather than dwelling on past sins. It connects the parable of the wheat and weeds to God's patience, allowing time for repentance, and highlights the 'insignificance' of the mustard seed as a metaphor for how God's kingdom and work often begin small and subtly in our lives, calling for an open heart to recognize and nurture this growth.

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.

God's Patience: Why He Doesn't Fix Everything Immediately

Fr. Michael Mononttoya

The homily emphasizes God's patient and merciful nature, contrasting human impatience and desire for immediate solutions with God's long-term formation. Drawing on the parables of the weeds, mustard seed, and yeast, the priest highlights that God sees potential and possibilities, not just current conditions. He shares personal reflections from 32 years of priesthood, affirming that God's faithfulness is revealed not in quick fixes, but in sustained, transformative love.

Are Some People Born Evil? A Homily on the Parable of the Weeds

The homily challenges the interpretation of the parable of the weeds, arguing against the idea that some people are inherently evil or 'weeds.' The priest emphasizes that all human beings are created as 'good wheat' in God's image and likeness, and societal injustices often create conditions that make people appear as 'weeds.' He calls for compassion, rehabilitation, and a rejection of any biblical interpretation that justifies judging others as irredeemable.

Finding the Pearl of Great Price: Why Serving the Poor Deepens Our Faith

Father Steve Lan

Father Steve Lan, a guest presider from Cross Catholic Outreach, delivers a homily in three parts. He shares his personal journey and the awakening he experienced visiting missions, highlighting global inequities. He then connects this to the day's scriptures, emphasizing the search for wisdom and faith, and concludes by inviting the congregation to support Cross Catholic Outreach's work with the poor, illustrating with a personal story about helping a paralyzed young man in Guatemala.

Why Your Imperfections Make You Precious to God

Bishop Luca

The homily uses the analogy of coin collecting to illustrate God's unconditional love and acceptance. Just as imperfectly stamped coins can be precious, all people, despite their flaws and sins, are priceless in God's sight. The homily emphasizes that our role is to gather and welcome others into Christ's net, not to judge or exclude.

The Wheat, The Weeds, and God's Patience with Migrant Families

The homily uses the parable of the wheat and weeds to discuss God's patience and our call to be patient with others, especially in the context of immigration and family separations. It emphasizes that final judgment belongs to God and highlights the Holy Spirit's intercession for those suffering, urging the faithful to stand with the vulnerable and trust in God's ultimate justice.

The Power of Stubborn Faith: Lessons from Mustard Seeds, Weeds, and Yeast

The homily explores three parables—the mustard seed, the wheat and weeds, and the yeast—to illustrate the nature of the Catholic Church and Christian living. It emphasizes the virtues of stubbornness in faith, non-judgment toward others, and invisible, transformative influence, drawing parallels with historical figures and personal anecdotes.

God's Patience and the Power of Confession

The homily begins with a humorous personal anecdote about the priest's second confession, highlighting the transformative power of the sacrament. He connects this experience to the Gospel parables of the weeds and wheat, the mustard seed, and the yeast, emphasizing God's abundant patience and desire to destroy sin, not just manage it. The priest encourages the congregation to return to confession, framing it as a place of mercy where God patiently waits to make them whole.

¿Por Qué Seguimos Mendigando Amor Cuando Dios Ya Nos Ha Puesto Un Lugar En Su Mesa?

Padre Juan Diego

The homily explores the nature of God's heart, emphasizing that despite human infidelity and disappointment, God's love remains constant and unwavering. It challenges the belief that God abandons us due to our sins and urges listeners not to confuse human failures with God's faithfulness, encouraging them to seek fulfillment in God alone rather than in human approval.

Why God Lets the 'Weeds' Grow: A Story of Mercy and Transformation

The homily uses the parable of the wheat and weeds to illustrate God's mercy and justice, emphasizing that we are not called to judge others. It highlights that God sees hope in everyone, even those who appear to be 'weeds,' and that our identity is in Christ, not our sins or addictions. The speaker uses the story of Michael Tolbitt, a man who overcame addiction and became a servant of God, to exemplify this message of transformation and hope.

Why God Lets the Weeds Grow: Lessons from St. Paul, Mother Teresa, and Carlo Acutis

Fr. James Mccclaclin

The homily explores the parable of the weeds and the wheat, emphasizing God's patience and mercy in allowing good and evil to coexist until the final harvest. It encourages trust in God's forgiveness, drawing parallels with St. Paul's 'thorn in the flesh,' Mother Teresa's spiritual darkness, and Blessed Carlo Acutis's disciplined use of technology, all as examples of perseverance in faith despite personal struggles and temptations.

Your Sins Are God's Hidden Treasure: A Radical Look at Christ's Love

Father Michelle Sega

The homily reinterprets the parable of the hidden treasure, asserting that Christ is the one who finds the treasure (our sins) within us and joyfully sells everything (his life) to purchase us, freeing us from the devil's dominion. The true treasure we receive in return is the Holy Spirit, enabling us to love ourselves and others as sinners, and to see God's action in our lives, fulfilling our deepest desire for unconditional love.

The Seeds Within: Why We Struggle to Choose Good

Father Michael Gthini

The homily emphasizes God's mercy and leniency, drawing on the parable of the wheat and weeds. It challenges listeners to recognize the 'good seed' and 'bad seed' within themselves, urging them to cultivate good potentials and be witnesses of the Gospel through their actions, rather than succumbing to evil inclinations or judging others. The priest uses a vivid story about a couple's confessions to illustrate how hidden sins and judgments can surface when faced with perceived death, highlighting the internal struggle between good and evil.

A Call from Tanzania: Supporting Education, Albinos, and Priests in Africa

Father Xavier

The homily, delivered by a visiting Augustinian priest from Tanzania, focuses on the mission and needs of the Archdiocese of Tabora. He outlines four key areas requiring support: education and protection for marginalized groups (especially orphans and albinos), formation of new priests, empowerment of lay Christians for catechesis and social transformation, and provision of clean water. The priest shares his personal story of being supported by sisters for his education, emphasizing the tangible impact of such aid.

Why We Shouldn't Judge Others: The Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat

Fr. Jeff

This homily, delivered on the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, uses the parable of the weeds and the wheat to emphasize that our role is not to judge others, but to bear fruit through holiness, goodness, compassion, and love. The priest illustrates this point with the story of William T. Crawford, a humble janitor at the Air Force Academy who was secretly a Medal of Honor recipient, highlighting how appearances can be deceiving and judgment belongs to God alone. The homily encourages listeners to focus on their own spiritual growth and to be 'wheat' in the world.