Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute HomilySaints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen,Bishops and Doctors of the Church
January 2, 2025, John 1:19-28https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010225.cfm Our Voice. If someone walks up to us and says, “What is your name? We respond by giving them our name. Not John the Baptist. He didn’t say, “I am John, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah.” Nor did he claim to be the One who was coming who would usher […]
Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute Homily for the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
January 1, 2024, Luke 2:16-21 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010125.cfm The Shepherd Went in Haste. Watching the Tampa Bay Lightning or the Bucs is a great pastime, and I record the games when I know I can’t watch them. When I catch a live game and our team scores or makes a great play, I can’t call a friend […]
Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute Homily Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas
December 31, 2024, John 1:1-18 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/123124.cfm The End Comes Before the New Beginning. On this last day of 2024, where does the Lord want to make a fresh start in our lives? How appropriate that Mother Church chooses the opening Gospel of St. John with the words, “In the beginning.” And from his first letter, […]
Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute Homily for the Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas
December 30, 2024, Luke 2:36-40 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/123024.cfm An Emptiness That Is Full The widow in today’s gospel makes me ponder how often I go out of my way to visit Jesus in the Chapel. She was 84 years old and a widow after only seven years of marriage. Girls were married at the early age of […]
Father Rick’s Three-Minute Homily for The Feast of the Holy Family
December 29, 2024, Colossians 3:12-21, Luke 2:41-52 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122924.cfm Mary Kept All These Things In Her Heart. I am so happy to celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus with you, our parish family, on this Feast of the Holy Family. When I read the Gospel for the first time a few days ago, I was reminded of […]
Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute Homily Feast of the Holy Innocents
December 28, 2024, Matthew 2:13-18https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122824.cfm Pray for Innocence. Oh, what a priceless treasure we have in this Christ Child. We must do everything we possibly can to protect Him living in us. When we don’t protect Him and live in his innocence, we see the horrors that come upon us. We hear mothers crying hysterically […]
Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute Homily Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, December 27, 2024
John 20:1a and 2-8 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122724.cfm John is running. Peter is running. Why? John and Peter ran to the empty tomb, and John ran faster. The disciples on the road to Emmaus look different, walking with their heads down and depressed. The two disciples thought they had lost everything when Jesus died. But not John. Remember […]
Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute Homily Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr, December 26, 2024
Matthew 10: 17-22 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122624.cfm St. Stephen First Martyr With each choice, the Word of God becomes more flesh in our words, looks, touch, and how we listen to people. We might wonder at first why Stephen infuriated the crowd so much. Was it because he won the debate? St. Luke tells us that it was […]
Fr. Rick’s Two Minute Homily Christmas December 25, 2024 Mass During the Night
Luke 2:1-14 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122524-Night.cfm One of the books I was required to read during my religious studies was the Autobiography of St. Teresa of Lisieux. She longed to be a missionary, but poor health kept her within the convent’s walls. She suffered from Tuberculosis, a long and painful disease at the time. So, she also offered […]
Fr. Rick’s Two-Minute Homily, December 24, 2024
Luke 1:67-79https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122424.cfm From Blindness to Sight. Zechariah can be a great companion in our journey with the Lord through life. He doubted his wife could bear a son in her old age. Because Zechariah couldn’t surrender to the way of the Lord, he couldn’t speak a word to anyone. Look what happened when he surrendered […]