"I also admonish and exhort the brothers that in their preaching their words be studied and chaste, useful and edifying to the people, telling them about vices and virtues, punishment and glory; and they ought to be brief, because the Lord kept his words brief when he was on earth." - Saint Francis of Assisi - Chapter IX, Approved Rule

Homily of the Day

April 2025

4th Week of Lent – Saturday C

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord give you peace. As we gather today, on this Saturday dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are invited to reflect on the gradual persecution faced by our Lord Jesus Christ, which leads us toward the solemnity of Holy Week. The readings give us a good sense of the weight of conflict and misunderstanding that surrounded Jesus, which would merely be a foreshadowing of the great sacrifice that He would soon make for our salvation.

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4a Settimana di Quaresima - Sabato C

Cari fratelli e sorelle in Cristo, il Signore vi dia pace. Oggi, in questo sabato dedicato alla Beata Vergine Maria, siamo invitati a riflettere sulla progressiva persecuzione affrontata da nostro Signore Gesù Cristo, che ci conduce verso la solennità della Settimana Santa. Le letture ci danno un buon senso del peso del conflitto e dell'incomprensione che circondava Gesù, che sarebbe stata solo una prefigurazione del grande sacrificio che avrebbe presto compiuto per la nostra salvezza.

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4th Week of Lent – Friday C

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the Lord give you peace. My apologies for the past few days of audio-less homilies due to internet outages, but we are now back to normal, glory be to God. As we reunite to reflect on the powerful readings chosen for this Friday, wherein we see Jesus and the Apostles heading into Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. This feast, also known as Sukkot, is a time of joy and remembrance; it commemorates the Israelites' forty years of wandering in the desert, during which they lived in temporary shelters. It is a festival that celebrates God's provision and presence, as well as the call to dwell with Him.

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4a Settimana di Quaresima - Venerdì C

Cari fratelli e sorelle in Cristo, il Signore vi dia pace. Mi scuso per gli ultimi giorni di omelie senza audio a causa di interruzioni di internet, ma siamo tornati alla normalità, gloria a Dio. Ci riuniamo per riflettere sulle potenti letture scelte per questo venerdì, in cui vediamo Gesù e gli Apostoli dirigersi a Gerusalemme per la festa ebraica dei Tabernacoli. Questa festa, nota anche come Sukkot, è un momento di gioia e di ricordo; commemora i quarant'anni di vagabondaggio degli israeliti nel deserto, durante i quali hanno vissuto in rifugi temporanei. È una festa che celebra la provvidenza e la presenza di Dio, nonché la chiamata a dimorare con Lui.

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4th Week of Lent – Thursday C

My brothers and sisters, may the Lord give you peace. Our poignant readings today at mass inspire us to ask ourselves some questions as to where we stand in our response to God’s demonstrable goodness in our lives. In both readings, God shows himself to be long-suffering to a stiff-necked people – those whom he saved with the strength of his hand, and yet who reciprocated this incredible love with incredulity and stubbornness of heart when conversion was being asked of them.

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4th Week of Lent - Wednesday C

As we find ourselves in the 4th week of Lent, the intensity of our liturgical readings increases, beckoning us to prepare for the solemnity of Holy Week. The readings today, from the prophet Isaiah, the responsorial psalm, and the Gospel of John, resonate with themes of hope, comfort, judgment, and ultimately, the profound power of God's love.

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Reflect and pray on the Word of God, and allow it to penetrate your heart as it did the Poverello from Assisi, Saint Francis. God's Word is sent to set us free, to experience life in abundance as His sons and daughters. Each week, homilies will be posted ahead of time as regards the daily mass readings! We are currently in Year B of the Liturgical Cycle.

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USCCB Daily Readings

Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Reading 1 Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22

The wicked said among themselves,
thinking not aright:
"Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;
he sets himself against our doings,
Reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.
He professes to have knowledge of God
and styles himself a child of the LORD.
To us he is the censure of our thoughts;
merely to see him is a hardship for us,
Because his life is not like that of others,
and different are his ways.
He judges us debased;
he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.
He calls blest the destiny of the just
and boasts that God is his Father.
Let us see whether his words be true;
let us find out what will happen to him.
For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him
and deliver him from the hand of his foes.
With revilement and torture let us put him to the test
that we may have proof of his gentleness
and try his patience.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death;
for according to his own words, God will take care of him."
These were their thoughts, but they erred;
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they knew not the hidden counsels of God;
neither did they count on a recompense of holiness
nor discern the innocent souls' reward.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 34:17-18, 19-20, 21 and 23

R. (19a)  The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
Many are the troubles of the just man,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.
He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted.

Verse Before the Gospel Matthew 4:4b

One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Gospel John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Jesus moved about within Galilee;
he did not wish to travel in Judea,
because the Jews were trying to kill him.
But the Jewish feast of Tabernacles was near.

But when his brothers had gone up to the feast,
he himself also went up, not openly but as it were in secret.

Some of the inhabitants of Jerusalem said,
"Is he not the one they are trying to kill?
And look, he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him.
Could the authorities have realized that he is the Christ?
But we know where he is from.
When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from."
So Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said,
"You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me."
So they tried to arrest him,
but no one laid a hand upon him,
because his hour had not yet come.

 

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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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