My response to the desecration which occurred on January 6, 2021.

An irony: We who have been given the good news may, with great strength, resist it.  Thank God for crises.

God establishes the continuity of history.

On the unexpected power (not the expected male power) which results in the world's salvation.

At first I heard an echo in this recording.  I have, to my great relief, found that the recording was just playing twice on my computer.

Joy springs from within.

Does repentance bring comfort?

Considering the meaning of "the end," "it is finished," and so forth, in terms of completion rather than demise.

Are we like goats?  We make a lot of noise, and we will eat anything.

The word "talent" presents difficulties, since it seems to refer to performance.  Our God in fact wants us to go deeper than performance and recognize essential qualities which are not easily subject to observation.

"Stay awake!"  In fact, the point of the parable is the exercise of forethought, as opposed to vigilance.

On sainthood as a process.

The great commandments.

Every twelve years: "Caesar's Coin" just before a presidential election.

More perversity.

Perversity -- and a tribute to Joaquin Lavado (Quino), noted for his comic strip "Mafalda."

Of Brownies and brownie points.

"The parable that everybody hates": proof that Jesus intended his parables to be provocative.

The parable of the unforgiving debtor: Do we get it?

Campus minister Emily Rogers of the Newman Center of Eastern Illinois University interviews Fr. Kevin Laughery on racism.

Sorry, no audio for this Sunday.  You can hear the homily by viewing the St. Jerome live stream.  (My wearable mic wasn't working, but the ambo mic was.)

Part 2 of two parts.  Peter doesn't understand that the Messiah (and those who proclaim his name) has to suffer and die.

Part 1 of two parts.  Peter expresses faith in Jesus and Jesus calls him the "rock" on which he will build the Church.

Our lives are rich and full -- so much so that we could sing arias about them.

When we are afraid, we want people to affirm that they feel afraid, too.

Jesus is not the "victim" here.  He has something in mind when vast throngs come to him.

This was the weekend when we added a public Mass.  -- Does everything work out for good?  If we keep in mind the human family instead of a narrow focus on ourselves, we will be pleasantly surprised!

I can't recall why I don't have a recording for July 12.  -- Have you rebuked temerity lately?

Gentleness is needed to heal a raucous and agitated world.  

As important as family ties are, we must not allow them to impede us from proclaiming the Kingdom of Godl

We began having public Mass.  We are the assembly, and have always been such.  Fear no one.

I think that, for a time, I thought my recorder wasn't working, and I missed recording audio for two Sundays.  You can find the video recordings.  -- We focus on the physicality of eating and drinking and recognize that this food and drink feeds us more deeply than other nourishment.

My apologies to all who are looking for more homilies.  Particularly during this Easter season, I have been forgetful and have not always brought my digital audio recorder to church.  You can see and hear videos on Facebook, St. Jerome Catholic Church, Troy, Illinois.  The videos are archived on YouTube, St. Jerome Church, Troy, Illinois.

Heaven is not "up"!  Indeed, heaven is as close as the human heart when our God has made his dwelling there.

Mystery and conversion are things we surrender to, without trying to figure them out.

My apologies for not including Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter, neither of which I recorded (things have been weird here; have they been weird for you?).  Anyway, the theme of insight continues: things begin to come together and make sense for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Insight is something which occurs within us and which we must pay more attention to.  The fragments of life coalesce and begin to make sense.  This was the experience of Peter and John at Jesus' empty tomb.

"Untie him and let him go free."  These words of Jesus, regarding Lazarus, apply to us as well.

The Year A readings of the Fourth Sunday of Lent are loaded with irony -- all the more so in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

News was changing by the hour.  This homily ended up a little disjointed.  I meant to add -- to complete the thought about not being irrational -- that the current challenge is an opportunity for us to bring forth all that is most precious and beautiful within us.  As Jesus thirsted for the faith of the Samaritan woman, we thirst for an outpouring of love from us all.

"It's a good thing the world is far, far away!"  No, the world is with us, and we are with the world.  Jesus' Transfiguration is his pledge to be with us, whatever the world is suffering.

We must keep posing to ourselves the question: "Jesus -- he became human -- just like me?"  Yes, he is one with us when we are in the midst of temptation.

We take a look at St. John XXIII and all the renewal he initiated by calling Vatican II.

Generosity or codependency?; and why Easter should be one week later.  Also, my apologies for not including the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  I left the recorder on and the file ended up being 2.5 hours!

I had a letter to read.  Light and salt!

The One presented in the Temple comes with the power to change us, and his influence will feel astringent!  But he derives his authority from his complete union with humanity.

It's not just these four fishermen who are called by Jesus.  Every one of us has received a call to holiness.

Some housekeeping matters, and these readings feel like a repeat of last week.  First Corinthians feels familiar to us, because all church is local!

I was not able to record the homily; what you hear here is a summary.

As we survey the diversity of the nations, we recognize the ironies of people, supposedly of one community, to fail to communicate.  We talk to one another about projects before us, and we recognize the value of silence.

Family traditions are of various kinds, even in the Holy Family.

We consider the secrets which give depth to our life.

The cycles of time and the process of conversion.

What is the Kingdom which we await?  And how do we participate in its coming?

Fifty years of the Lectionary cycle; transforming your tools.

Getting a church dedicated, and the strangest conversation imaginable.  BONUS: I forgot to turn off the recorder, so you get to hear a baptism also!

"A church that looks like a church" vs. a church built upon martyrdom.

The Berlin Wall and scaling the wall of mortality.

Climbing trees and finding mercy.

It's time to examine the "interior monologue" that each of us carries on with ourselves.

Jesus' parable is hilarious.  For one thing, it is almost as if the unjust judge can overhear the narration about his turpitude.

The homilist was off last weekend. -- The Naaman incident gives us a picture of the evolution of the idea of God, who is supreme and not a "local god."  Naaman still requests two mule-loads of earth from Israel, so he can have a "local connection."

This was our "Mass in the Grass."  You may remember from last year that my homily was interrupted by a football game and the national anthem.  This year it didn't happen.  I did not say to the congregation, though I was sorely tempted to do so:  "Well, they didn't do civic religion, but they did have whistleblowers."

Cats have nine lives.  People re-invent themselves.  But our God wills that we be simply a person, not a persona.

Note the calf in the Old Testament reading and the Gospel.

So here's what I did at 10:30.

I've never done this before.  I am giving you two versions of my homily, focusing on planning, with a specific reference to planning at St. Jerome.  I left some things out of one, and I left other things out of the other.

The Gospel is not a mere etiquette lesson.  It is an opening onto a fuller life.

We cannot stand on the sidelines.  There are no sidelines.

Jesus is ironic when he speaks of "not peace, but the sword."

People are waiting for the return of the Master.  But will they recognize him?  Some thoughts on the vacuous, stupid idea called "white supremacy."

I registered displeasure with a lack of silence at the beginning of Mass, as we considered the honesty of Ecclesiastes.

I am using "Amazing Parish" with my pastoral staff currently.  I am finding that ASKING is a big part of my pastoral leadership.  Jesus says, "Ask and you shall receive."

We consider hospitality and limits while contemplating Guatemala and poor Martha.

What is our treasure?  What is abundance?  We consider the empty-handed 72 disciples and our own volunteerism.

Freedom is the opportunity to choose a direction and a commitment.

On the God who gets things done.

There's no "problem" with Jesus' Ascension.  We must take seriously our incorporation as the Body of Christ, alive and animated.

"That all may be one" -- a truly mind-expanding aspiration.

Sorry -- I forgot to turn the recorder off until I had reached the intercessions.  Jean Vanier, who died May 7, is the embodiment of Jesus' command "Love one another."

While you're at it, be kind to yourself.

Just be kind.

We gather following coordinated Easter Sunday attacks on Catholic churches in Sri Lanka.

We must consider the woman caught in adultery in light of the never-ending abuse of women -- and where is the man?

We must remember that a fattened calf is far more palatable than a golden calf.

Jesus addresses the issue of "theodicy," or the problem of evil and what God does about it.

"Let my people go!"  How did Moses find it possible to respond to that voice from a burning yet unconsumed bush?

Is life a pie or the sky?  (This is unrelated to the concept of "pie in the sky when you die," which we will have to treat at another time.)

Listen for Jesus' sly sense of humor as he proposes the image of a wooden beam in someone's eye.

Instead of a coughing fit, a brief summary of my homily.

The people who know their poverty will always remain connected with their God, in accord with the tree whose roots have a reliable source of water.

Can we find a hitherto unnoticed strength in ourselves?  Paul's reflection on love celebrates love as a strength!

A government shutdown is the opposite of the harmony described by Saint Paul in his description of the Christian community according to the "analogy of the body."

We want to know that we are "chosen" and "espoused."  Our God assures us that his love for us is of this quality.

Uncertainty about the identity of the Magi does not impede us from appreciating their role in "manifesting" the Savior to all nations.

Families allow children to become themselves.  Pain is necessarily part of the process, even in the Holy Family.

An exploration of how secrets indicate a rich interior life.

Joy is not anesthesia.  Joy acknowledges the depth and complexity of human life, including grief and pain.

On "bucket lists" and our need to be free from artificial goals.

What kind of kingdom is this "kingdom of God"?  It is not merely a glib bit of religious jargon.  It announces itself through the relationships we form.

Reflecting on "the end of days" helps us to rest in God's providence.

How freeing it is to discover that one's needs are few.