09/27/26 Blind Spots: Complaint

Homily from the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Concern asks, "What can I do?" Worry asks, "What if?" Worry can feel useful, responsible, even protective. But it keeps us rehearsing futures we cannot control. Concern moves us toward the next right thing. We can do what is ours to do, give God what we cannot control, and choose hope: not because we know what tomorrow holds, but because we know that God will be there. Mass Readings from October 4, 2026: Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20Philippians 4:6-9 Matthew 21:33-43

Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Training ourselves to notice the negative. Many of us have a default stance to notice the negative. When it comes to our assessment of ourselves or of any given situation, our default setting can often be complaint. And yet God calls us to rise above, to stop noticing the negative and begin approaching His world with wonder and praise. Mass Readings from September 27, 2026: Ezekiel 18:25-28 Psalms 25:4-9Philippians 2:1-11 Matthew 21:28-32

Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Training ourselves to notice the negative. Many of us have a default stance to notice the negative. When it comes to our assessment of ourselves or of any given situation, our default setting can often be complaint. And yet God calls us to rise above, to stop noticing the negative and begin approaching His world with wonder and praise. Mass Readings from September 27, 2026: Ezekiel 18:25-28 Psalms 25:4-9Philippians 2:1-11 Matthew 21:28-32

Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. God does not owe me anything. Entitlement does not always look like entitlement. Sometimes, it simply feels like getting what we deserve. Whether it comes from pride or pain, we can believe that we are owed more. But grace is, by definition, an undeserved gift. The cure for entitlement is to stop asking what we are owed and to start asking what God has entrusted to us...and then receive it with gratitude. Mass Readings from September 20, 2026: Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a Matthew 20:1-16a

Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. God does not owe me anything. Entitlement does not always look like entitlement. Sometimes, it simply feels like getting what we deserve. Whether it comes from pride or pain, we can believe that we are owed more. But grace is, by definition, an undeserved gift. The cure for entitlement is to stop asking what we are owed and to start asking what God has entrusted to us...and then receive it with gratitude. Mass Readings from September 20, 2026: Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a Matthew 20:1-16a

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time There's angrily resisting reality...and there is saying "yes" to Life. Anger as a Blind Spot doesn't necessarily mean "rage" or "seething". But sometimes the Blind Spot os anger is the subtle, chronic disposition towards Life. Rather than responding to Life, a person can choose to embrace the attitude of resenting Life. Mass Readings from September 13, 2026: Sirach 27:30—28:7 Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12Romans 14:7-9 Matthew 18:21-35

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time There's angrily resisting reality...and there is saying "yes" to Life. Anger as a Blind Spot doesn't necessarily mean "rage" or "seething". But sometimes the Blind Spot os anger is the subtle, chronic disposition towards Life. Rather than responding to Life, a person can choose to embrace the attitude of resenting Life. Mass Readings from September 13, 2026: Sirach 27:30—28:7 Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12Romans 14:7-9 Matthew 18:21-35

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Gossip is speaking of someone else's faults and flaws with no intention to help them at all. Gossip can be easy to recognize when someone else is doing it—and surprisingly difficult to see in ourselves. There are times when we need to speak about another person’s faults. But when there is no intention to help them, our words reveal a blind spot of our own. Mass Readings from September 6, 2026: Ezekiel 33:7-9 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9Romans 13:8-10 Matthew 18:15-20

Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. You cannot become the person you were meant to be without the Cross. No one likes to lose. But there is a difference between getting beaten and forfeiting. Because Jesus has won, the only way we can lose our souls is if we forfeit. Mass Readings from August 30, 2026: Jeremiah 20:7-9 Psalm 63:2-9Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27

Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. You cannot become the person you were meant to be without the Cross. No one likes to lose. But there is a difference between getting beaten and forfeiting. Because Jesus has won, the only way we can lose our souls is if we forfeit. Mass Readings from August 30, 2026: Jeremiah 20:7-9 Psalm 63:2-9Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27