Reflecting on Ash Wednesday (2/18/2026)

On Ash Wednesday, I had the blessed opportunity to serve at Mass and distribute ashes and Holy Communion at Saint Mary Cathedral and at my home parish of Saint Albert the Great. Because I served at two Masses, I was able to use both "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return" and "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" when I made the cross on people's foreheads with ashes.

As I look out at the sea of people in the pews (as I often do during Mass) with crosses of ash on their foreheads, people who I call my brothers and sisters in Christ and fellow sojourners in the desert during Lent and the journey of life, I cannot help but think to myself: "You being here now means that you are able to find and make time in the busyness of your life (if you wanted to) to come to Mass and spend time with Jesus. If you are not already coming to Mass on Sunday, then please come and join us for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, to encounter our Lord Jesus Christ in the Word of God and the Eucharist and know that Jesus loves you. Lent is a blessed to come home to Rome."

There are many Catholics who, for one reason or another, have either stopped practicing their Catholic faith all together or stopped coming to Mass but say that they still believe in God. Some received the gift of their Catholic faith from their parents or grandparents but never took responsibility to cultivate their Catholic faith for themselves. I also know several non-practicing Catholics - from family members to friends to co-workers - some of whom even call themselves "recovering" Catholics. Hearing them call themselves "recovering" Catholics hurts my heart to hear. I wonder to myself, was their lived experience as a Catholic such a "drunken stupor" that they are "recovering" from that experience? I pray for them if that was their experience with the Church and Catholicism early on in their lives.

I also find myself pondering a deeper question, how have they been wounded by Catholics in their lives that they are now projecting the wounds inflicted upon them, by the person(s) in their lives, onto our Lord Jesus Christ and his one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. I say this, because I once heard a parishioner say that they did not know the Father's love because they never received that love from their own father. Like a marriage between one man and one woman, two imperfect people that God has brought together and, through the graces of the sacrament they received, called to be witnesses of Jesus' perfect love for his bride, the Catholic Church, the Church is made up of imperfect people - ordained and laity. For many, because of their past experiences with people that make up the many parts of the one Body of Christ, the Church, they do not want anything to do with the Church. However, to them, I say, the Holy Spirit protects the Church as Jesus tells us this in the Gospel of Matthew: "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" (16:18). I would encourage them not to let Judas keep them from coming to Jesus.

In the first reading for Ash Wednesday, from the Book of the Prophet Joel, we hear the Lord inviting us to return to Him:

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart,

with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments,

and return to the LORD, your God.

For gracious and merciful is he,

slow to anger, rich in kindness,

and relenting in punishment.

Moreover, we hear Moses say to the people:

“Today I have set before you

life and prosperity, death and doom.

If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,

which I enjoin on you today,

loving him, and walking in his ways,

and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,

you will live and grow numerous,

and the LORD, your God,

will bless you. . .

If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,

but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,

I tell you now that you will certainly perish;

you will not have a long life. . .

I have set before you life and death,

the blessing and the curse.

Choose life, then,

that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,

heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.

For that will mean life for you,

a long life for you to live. . ."

Which brings me to this beautiful message from Fr. Henry Cuellar (2/18/2026):

I know that many people sometimes feel like they are on the outside. Like they aren’t good enough. Like they don’t belong. Like they’ve made too many mistakes. Like the Church is for “better” people.

The truth is this: we all belong.

Every one of us is a beloved son or daughter of God. Every one of us is a sinner who needs grace. The Church is not a museum of saints — it is a hospital for sinners. And none of us walks in perfectly put together. We all come in need of mercy.

I want you to hear this clearly: God loves you. No one is so far removed from His love and mercy that they cannot come back. There is no sin greater than His mercy. There is no distance too far for Him to cross.

Yes, we are a work in progress. We will fall. We will struggle. But the answer is not to stay away. The answer is to keep coming back — back to the fountain of grace, back to the Eucharist, back to Confession, back to His mercy. Let Him keep transforming you.

Whatever is holding you back — shame, fear, a past mistake, a complicated situation — bring it to Him. Don’t carry it alone.

And if you need help, I am here. Not to judge. Not to condemn. But to walk with you and to be an instrument of God’s grace in your life.

Come home.

He’s waiting for you.

Fr. Cuellar's message reminded me of these words from Saint James:

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,

when you encounter various trials,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

And let perseverance be perfect,

so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,

for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life 

that he promised to those who love him.

And so, to those who have been away from the Eucharist, come home.

10 Things for a Transformative Lent (UPDATED 2/18/2026)

Homily for Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 2/16/2026)

We are two days away from Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, a penitential season in the liturgical calendar, “a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection at Easter,” in which we “seek the Lord in prayer by reading Sacred Scripture; we serve by giving alms; and we practice self-control through fasting” (USCCCB). Today’s first reading from the Letter of Saint James reminds us of the importance of prayer because prayer is a "vital and personal relationship with the living and true God" (CCC 2558).

St. John Damascene said that "[prayer] is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God" (CCC, no. 2559, citing St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth. 3, 24). The hinge is, we “should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a man of two minds. . .” Thomas Merton explains what it means to be “a man of two minds” in prayer, saying: “‘double-minded’ (or “of two minds”) [is] hesitating between the world and God. In this hesitation, there is no true faith. . . We are never quite certain, because we never quite give in to the authority of an invisible God. This hesitation is the death of hope. . . This hesitation makes true prayer impossible - it never quite dares to ask for anything, or if it asks, it is so uncertain of being heard. . . What is the use of praying if at the very moment of prayer, we have so little confidence in God that we are busy planning our own kind of answer to our prayers.”

In other words, let us not be like the Pharisees who “[seek] from [Jesus] a sign from heaven to test him” because our lack of confidence in God when we pray will cause Jesus to “[sigh] from the depth of his spirit”.  Rather, let our prayer be a “a surge of the heart. . . a simple look turned toward heaven. . . a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy" (CCC 2558, citing St. Therese of Lisieux, Manuscrits Autobiographiques, C 25rr). As we prepare for Lent, may our personal relationship with God through prayer give us the strength and courage to “encounter various trials” in our lives with hope and respond with faith in God who loves us because we “know [in our hearts] that the testing of [our] faith produces perseverance” that perfects and completes us so that we lack nothing.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021626.cfm

Homily for Monday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 2/9/2026)

In the Book of Deuteronomy, we read Jewish men were to “put tassels on the four corners of the cloak that [they] wrap around [themselves] (22:12). This requirement came from the law of Moses (Numbers 15:37-41):

“The LORD said to Moses: ‘Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels for the corners of their garments, fastening a violet cord to each corner. When you use these tassels, the sight of the cord will remind you of all the commandments of the LORD and you will do them, without prostituting yourself going after the desires of your hearts and your eyes. Thus you will remember to do all my commandments and you will be holy to your God. I, the LORD, am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I, the LORD your God.’”

And so, when we hear in today’s Gospel that “[whatever] villages or towns or countryside [Jesus] entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed,” we can understand this to mean that by touching the “tassel on his cloak” the people were reminded of God’s covenant with them in salvation history. They are reminded of how God continued to remain faithful to them despite their unfaithfulness to Him. Moreover, we hear throughout the Gospel Jesus telling those who he healed of their afflictions that it was their FAITH in God that healed and saved them. The tassel on his cloak does not possess magical healing powers, it is Jesus who heals and saves.

My sisters and brothers in Christ, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ desires to heal us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The question is, do we believe this, or better yet, do we believe and love the Lord our God with all our heat, with all our soul, and with all our mind (Matthew 22:37). Faith is our response to God’s revelation of His love for us, especially in the Sacraments of the Church, particularly the Eucharist and Reconciliation. The question for us is, we will respond like the Twelve, whom Jesus sent and “instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts” (Mark 6:8), and trust in God completely for their every need? Or, are we like the people in Jesus’ “native place” who amazed Jesus by their “lack of faith” and “he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them” (6:5-6)?

As we prepare for the penitential season of Lent, which starts next Ash Wednesday, let us pray to have faith like the Twelve who trusted in God completely for everything they needed in their journey to preach repentance and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let us believe and trust in Jesus Christ and know in our heart, soul, and mind that He can bring us healing body, mind, and spirit. Jesus, I trust in you.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020926.cfm

Homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Year A - 2/2/2026)

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which marks the ritual purification of Mary and Jesus’ presentation as the firstborn Son. A “woman’s purification following childbirth was necessary before she could worship in the Temple or hand holy objects again” (Didache, 1356). However, the circumstances of Mary’s conception and of the Birth of Christ did not render her impure under the Law but, similar to how Jesus did not need to be baptized by John the Baptist but allowed him to be baptized under the Law (Matthew 3:13-15), Mary followed the Law nevertheless” (Didache, 1356).

When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple, it was the fulfillment of what Malachi prophesied: “And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek.” Moreover, the feast of the Presentation of the Lord is also called Candlemas (or “Candle Mass”) to emphasize that “Christ is the Light of the World” as predicted by Simeon who said: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a LIGHT for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” Jesus is the “light for the nations” so that God’s “salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 42:6, 49:6). This “salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles” (Acts 28:28).

Bishop John the Serene once said that "[we] should then in the fullest sense not only with our voice but with our very soul cry out, The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? If he enlightens and saves me, whom shall I fear? Even though the dark shadows of evil suggestions crowd about, the Lord is my light. They can approach, but cannot prevail; they can lay siege to our heart, but cannot conquer it. Though the blindness of concupiscence assails us, again we say: The Lord is my light. For he is our strength; he gives himself to us and we give ourselves to him."

My sisters and brothers in Christ, our Lord Jesus Christ is the light that must not be “put under the bushel basket” but the light that should be “set on a lampstand,” a light that “must shine before others” (Matthew 5:15-16). At our Baptism, the Light of Christ, which is symbolized by the baptismal candle that is lit from the paschal candle, is entrusted to us to be kept “burning brightly, so that [we], enlightened by Christ, may walk always as a child of the light” (Order of Baptism). In other words, we are called to let the Light of Christ shine forth in our words and actions so that others may see our “good deeds and glorify [our] heavenly Father”  (Matthew 5:15-16). How? In the words of Saint Teresa of Calcutta: “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020226.cfm

Homily for Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 1/19/2026)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus identifies himself as the bridegroom, which makes the Church the bride. In the Sacrament of Marriage, husband and wife are called to be the outward, visible sign of the invisible reality that is Jesus’ love for the Church. When a man and a woman enter into the Sacrament of Marriage, they are entering into a covenant between each other and with God, keeping Jesus Christ at the center of their marriage and, thus, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide them in their vocations as husband and wife. They are called love each other in the same way that Jesus, the bridegroom, loves the Church, his bride - freely, fully, faithfully, and fruitfully.

Unlike Saul who did not obey God, as we heard in the first reading, Jesus, of his own freewill, submits himself in obedience to his Father in heaven, obedient even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Husband and wife enter into the marital bond of their own freewill. In his Passion, Jesus gave of himself completely, or fully, even to shedding his blood on the cross. Husband and wife are called to sacrifice and give of each other to each other, their very being until death do them part. In the same way that Jesus continues to be faithful to his Church and sustains her, husband and wife are called to faithfulness and chaste living in marriage. Finally, Jesus’s love for the Church bears much fruit in the world in the same way that the bond of love between husband and wife bears fruit with biological children or fruitfulness in other ways in how they live their out their marriage as witnesses of Jesus’ love for the world.

Martin Luther King, Jr., who we celebrate today, once said that “To put this new life into the old patterns of thinking was like putting fresh flowing wine in a dry and rotten bottle. It is inevitable that the bottle will break and the wine will run out. The old will not hold the new” (October 17, 1954). And so, when we give of ourselves freely, fully, faithfully, and fruitfully to God, as husband and wife give of each other freely, fully, faithfully, and fruitfully in the bond of marriage, as Jesus gives of himself freely, fully, faithfully, and fruitfully to his Father in heaven, we open our hearts to our Lord Jesus Christ and give him permission to transform our hearts from “old wineskin” to “fresh wineskin” to receive the “new wine.” We do this by attending Mass regularly to receive the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ given to us at the Last Supper and at every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and by frequent reception of the sacrament of reconciliation to prepare our hearts to receive the “new wine,” the abundant blessings, that God desires for us.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011926.cfm

Homily for Monday of the First Week in Ordinary Time (Year A - 1/12/2026)

With these words - “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” - our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to conversion, to turn away from sin, and gain the “Kingdom of heaven” or “the eternal happiness to which God calls his people” (Didache, p. 1264). As I mentioned in my homily last Monday, the Greek word for “repent” is “metanoia”, which is a “profound change of heart accompanied by a turning away from sin.” Moreover, repentance is not “reserved for only the beginning of the Christian life [which started with our Baptism] but must be a constant disposition throughout each day of our lives” (Didache, p. 1316).

This “profound change of heart” is essential for us to answer Jesus’ call to discipleship, to come after him. We see this in the conversions of Simon and his brother, Andrew, and John and his brother, James, who left their nets, their father, their boats, and their hired men to come and follow Jesus. Saint Basil wrote this about becoming a Christian: “A disciple is, as the Lord himself taught us, whoever draws near to the Lord to follow him - to hear his words, to believe and obey him as Lord and king and doctor and teacher of truth. . . So, whoever believes in the Lord and presents himself ready for discipleship must first learn to set aside every sin and everything that distracts from the obedience owed to the Lord.” (Healy, p. 43).

My sisters and brothers in Christ, to follow Jesus is to answer the question that Hannah’s husband asked her, in today’s first reading: “Am I not more to you than ten sons?” For us, this is the question that we must ask ourselves: “Is Jesus not more to me than everyone and everything else in my life? Is he the Lord of my life? What in my life must I leave behind to come and follow Jesus?” One of the ways that we can discern these questions is through prayer, especially the prayer that is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Mass is where we come together not only to hear God speak to our hearts in the inspired words of Scripture but also in the Eucharist in which Jesus Christ gives of himself to us - Body and Blood. And, for our part, we respond wholeheartedly, saying: “My Lord and my God,” acknowledging that Jesus is the Lord of our lives. When we acknowledge that Jesus is the King that reigns in our hearts, we find the courage to repent and come and follow Jesus as Simon (Peter), Andrew, John, and James did in today’s Gospel.

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011226.cfm

Homily for Memorial of St. John Neumann, Bishop (Year A - 1/5/2026)

As we heard in today’s Gospel, after John the Baptist was arrested, Jesus left Nazareth and went to Capernaum and “[from] that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” This is the same message that John the Baptist preached to the people during his own ministry (Matthew 3:2); however, there is something more, something greater here. While John the Baptist was the “voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’” (3:3), Jesus is “the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. . . I am baptizing you with water, for repentance. . . He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire” (3:11).

Jesus did not waste any time growing his ministry as he called on fisher men and brothers, Andrew and Peter and John and James, to come after him. From that time on, Jesus taught in the synagogues, proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom, and cured every disease and illness among the people. Jesus’ message was simple and yet profound: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Greek word for “repent” is “metanoia”, which is a “profound change of heart accompanied by a turning away from sin.” With these words, our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to conversion, to turn away from sin, and gain the “Kingdom of heaven” or “the eternal happiness to which God calls his people” (Didache, p. 1264).

Today, we celebrate the Memorial of St. John Neumann, Bishop, who once wrote: “For in truth we are not called once only, but many times, all through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to repent; if we are striving to fulfill our calling, He calls us on from grace to grace and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us.”

My sisters and brothers in Christ, this is what Jesus desires for all of us: “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me” (John 12:26, 14:3). Recall this prayer of Jesus to the Father for his disciples and for us: “Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world” (17:24). And so, as we continue in this new year 2026, let us resolve to repent and “seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010526.cfm