Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
Saint Peter’s Cathedral
June 29, 2025
It’s not often that we have the opportunity during a Sunday celebration to reflect upon the lives of the two heroes we celebrate each year on June 29th – Saints Peter and Paul. … As two of the very first leaders within the Church, they make an interesting pair, conveying two very different approaches to life and ministry. Yet both are unwavering in their commitment to serve the Lord.
Today’s gospel passage finds Peter confessing faith in Jesus as Messiah. He expresses his allegiance to Christ even though he does not yet fully grasp all that such an affirmation of faith will require of Jesus, much less himself. Time and trials will teach Peter the full meaning of the faith that he so boldly confessed.
While the gospel presents Peter at the beginning of his life as a follower of Jesus, our second reading from Saint Paul’s letter to Timothy presents Paul near the end of his. He reflects upon how his life has been poured out for the sake of the gospel and how God has stood by him and has given him the strength that he’s needed to face the struggles that have confronted him with hope.
Two disciples of the risen Jesus are presented to us today. Though different, both were convicted in their resolve to preach Christ crucified and raised from the dead – the only source of true life, meaning and purpose for a struggling and broken world. Their determination to proclaim the good news of Jesus’ saving ministry was unwavering – even though they understood very well that the cross of Jesus would be placed upon their shoulders before they would ever glimpse in their own lives the glory of the resurrection.
Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles finds Peter in prison for proclaiming – in both word and deed – the gospel of Jesus. The first persecution of the Christian community came quickly in the Church’s two-thousand-year-old history.
Now fast forward to this gathering of the Church – to this moment of prayer two thousand years later. One would think that for as refined and sophisticated a people as we have become down through the millennia, religious persecution would have diminished more than it has throughout our world. One would think that we would have come to realize the futility of war – the vital need to treat one another with dignity and respect – and the urgency of caring for the lives given to us, all made in the image and likeness of God. But we haven’t, have we?
More than ever, we need to pause and reflect upon the lives of men and women of faith who have given of themselves so fully and completely as to make a difference for good in our world in a lasting way. Peter and Paul – heroes of the earliest days of the Church – remind us of who and what we are called to be as followers of Jesus. We are called, like them, to proclaim Jesus Christ and to live our faith, not just in the creed that we profess or in this moment of prayer but through love and service of our sisters and brothers.
Despite its flaws and imperfections, the Church has always sought to follow the example of Jesus and to embrace his mandate to serve those most in need. All of our vast charitable works, including health care, social services and education, exist because of our faith in Jesus. They are not optional gestures but essential fruits of our faith.
Our late Holy Father, Pope Francis, captured this reality of our faith best in simple words that he would often share as he called us to embrace the heart of the gospel for which Jesus gave his life. “We cannot be inactive Christians. To sit on the sidelines as a follower of Jesus makes no sense. No, we must become courageous Christians and seek out those who need our help the most, beyond the doors of our churches. The moment we step outside of ourselves, we will find poverty and we must respond.”
My sisters and brothers, today we are given both the privilege and challenge of reflecting upon the foundations of our faith tradition as Christians, recognized so profoundly in the lives of Saints Peter and Paul. May their example prompt us to recognize the urgency of living our faith today – of reverencing the lives that God places within our own – and of treating them with respect and dignity not only in our words but by living Jesus’ example in our service to all.
Peter put it best when he spoke these words to Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? We have come to believe that you have the words of eternal life.” … Our union with Jesus will become most authentic when we give him space at the very center of our lives – like Peter and Paul – and allow all our actions to be patterned by his love, grace and mercy.
HOMILY
Ordination to the Priesthood – 28 June 2025
Isaiah 61:1-3; I Peter 5:1-4; Matthew 10:1-5
Brothers and sisters, today is a day of great joy for the Church of Scranton and particularly for you, Tom and Andrew, together with your family and friends, your brother deacons and soon to be brother priests, as well as countless numbers of faithful souls who have journeyed with you to this day.
On behalf of the Church of Scranton, I offer thanks to those of you present in our cathedral this morning who have helped these men discern and respond to God’s call. In particular, I thank their pastors and the faithful of the parish communities in and through which their faith was nurtured and sustained. … I thank those who have been involved in their formation – Father Alex Roche and priests, deacons, religious and members of the Christian faithful from throughout the Diocese of Scranton and beyond, including Father William Burton and the faculty of St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. … And I especially thank Tom’s and Andrew’s parents, Tom and Stephanie and Todd and Judy. How grateful we are for your support and the gifts of your sons to the Church.
Finally, Tom and Andrew, thank you for saying “yes” to the Lord’s call to serve his Church as priests.
By now, both of our ordinands should know that their presence in my life at least, will always in some way be linked to an incredible adventure that the three of us undertook during a visit two years ago to the Diocese of Sunyani in Ghana, Africa. As the two most senior men in seminary formation at that time, I asked Tom and Andrew to accompany me as I traveled to Ghana to preside at the ordination of fourteen new priests on the occasion of the Diocese’s 50th anniversary of its founding.
For all its unique cultural adaptations, including the four and a half hour duration of the Mass, what struck me from the Rite of Ordination that I celebrated in Ghana, was the way those to be ordained priests responded when their names were called, as we just witnessed a moment ago with Tom and Andrew. Each man was accompanied by his family – his parents and siblings – who walked forward with him in the midst of an assembly of thousands of people, reverenced the bishop and then stood with their son for a significant portion of the ordination ritual.
In a very vivid way, what we so often affirm about priestly vocations was ritualized for me that day. Priests don’t just miraculously emerge in the Church. They are born into families and nurtured within them. They come to the Church with faith, buoyed by the wisdom and values imparted to them by parents, grandparents and other family members. And they also come with baggage – baggage packed by their families – filled with blessings and challenges, skills and struggles. Yet, baggage that when used wisely and transformed by God’s grace, equips each priest to respond in unique and generous way to Jesus’ call to service in his Church.
Today’s gospel, chosen by Tom and Andrew presents a straightforward roster of names and facts. Just the other day, I asked them why they chose it, presuming that they must have had some profound rationale for doing so. Their response: “Both our names are mentioned in it!” … I guess your course on the synoptic gospels was pretty early in the morning!
But in fairness to our ordinands, scratch the surface of this passage and probe its context within Matthew’s gospel and we discover so much more than merely a roster of names. We discover that the apostles – and all of us – are called by the love of God as we are – from particular families and parishes and walks of life. And we are called for a purpose: to embrace the great mission of evangelization – the mission of proclaiming Jesus, his life and his saving grace.
Just look at the individuals on the list of the apostles that Matthew presents. James and John, along with their mother, were ambitious. Matthew’s career as a tax collector speaks for itself. And Peter, who seemed to have a soft spot in his heart as he asked Jesus to heal his mother-in-law, denied even knowing Jesus as he embraced his passion.
Yet, what becomes clear throughout the scriptures is that the obvious liabilities of the men whom Jesus chose as his apostles proved to be their greatest asset. Despite their shortcomings, they quickly came to understand that they were being invited into a unique fellowship of believers that based its very existence on its radical dependence upon the one who called them to mission. Saint Paul put it best in his letter to the Church of Corinth, noting that the very treasure of the ministry entrusted to him by the Lord is held in “earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.”
As encouraging and hopeful as Jesus’ willingness to accept us as we are may be, it is the urgency of his invitation to the twelve, discovered in the context for today’s gospel, that is far more compelling. In the verses just prior to what was proclaimed this morning, Matthew describes Jesus being moved with pity for the crowds “because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.” One respected translation describes the crowds as “harassed and torn apart.” And so, for the sake of a suffering world not at all unlike our own, after calling his apostles, Jesus sends them – and us – out into this world with these instructions: “Make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.”
Our Holy Father, Pope Leo, put Jesus’ invitation to mission into perspective during a priestly ordination homily just a few weeks ago. “Dear ordinands,” he began, “imitate Jesus! Conceive yourselves in the way of Jesus! Being of God – servants of God, people of God – binds us to the earth: not to an ideal world, but to the real one. Like Jesus, those whom the Father places on your path are people of flesh and blood. Consecrate yourselves to them, without separating yourselves from them, without isolating yourselves, without making the gift received a sort of privilege. Pope Francis has warned us against this many times, because self-referentiality extinguishes the fire of the missionary spirit.”
He went on, “The Church is constitutively directed outward, just as the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus are directed outward. In every Eucharist you make his words your own: for you and for many’. No one has ever seen God. He turned to us; he went out of himself. The Son became his exegesis, his living narrative. And he gave us the power to become children of God. Do not seek, let us not seek, another power!”
Tom and Andrew, today you declare your willingness to embrace this divine power and to do the work of God within the life of the Church. You affirm your desire to participate in Jesus’ work as Teacher, Priest and Shepherd, by embracing his priesthood and joining as co-workers with the Order of Bishops in service of the People of God. In so doing, trust in the grace of God present to you in this sacrament. But always remember, when you teach in the name of Christ the Teacher – when you work for justice, truth and freedom – when you gather others into the Church through Baptism – when you forgive sins in the name of Christ and the Church – when you comfort the sick and the dying – when you serve the poor – and when you celebrate the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist – you are both a servant of the Church and a member of the People of God. So be faithful to the teachings of the Church. But remember too, that while you are appointed on behalf of the Christian faithful for those things that pertain to God, you, like all of us, need God’s presence, God’s life and God’s saving grace. So nurture your relationship with the Lord and listen carefully as he speaks to your heart.
As a priest, the Church will call you “another Christ.” Remember well, however, that this title has little to do with rank or status among the People of God. Instead, it carries with it a perpetual challenge to be like Christ. If, then, you truly desire to effectively lead God’s people, always hold in your heart the same selfless commitment to love and service that so characterized Jesus’ ministry. Seek to live with integrity the life of celibacy, obedience and simplicity. Lead a life that is characterized by the way of thinking and acting that is proper to Christ. And embrace beyond this Jubilee year the spirit of hope that must permeate the ministry that you share.
Recently, in an address to the Italian Bishops Conference, Pope Leo offered words that should be seared into the heart not only of every bishop but of every priest. He called them to return “to the foundations of our faith, to the kerygma. … This means placing Jesus Christ at the center, and, following the path indicated by Pope Francis’ exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, helping people to live a personal relationship with Him, so they may discover the joy of the Gospel.”
Tom and Andrew, God’s People are looking for meaning, purpose and peace in their lives. While today, they will love you, encourage you, and embrace you with pride, tomorrow, they will look to you for answers to their questions. And they will look to you to find Jesus and the joy of his Gospel – in your words of forgiveness – in your service of the poor – in the simplicity of your life – and in the depth of your love. So, for all that you will preach and teach and do on behalf of the People of God, make certain that at the heart of your ministry is an authentic relationship with the person of Jesus whom you have not only come to know well but gladly share for the sake of the people God gives to your care.
Brothers and sisters, let us give thanks to God for calling these two men to be his priests. And Tom and Andrew – know and believe in your heart as you embark upon this life-long journey, that God who has begun the good work in you will bring it to fulfillment.
HOMILY
Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus – June 27, 2025
80th Anniversary of the Sacred Heart Guild
I will be ordained a priest for 42 years this coming November. During all those years, I’ve been privileged to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and hear the confessions of countless numbers of faithful souls. Those sacramental encounters are filled with God’s grace, aren’t they? They are filled with the pledge of God’s redemptive, selfless love promised to every soul who seeks a way forward through God’s mercy. They are filled with the forgiveness that Jesus won for us through his death on the cross.
Yet, to this day, I am always brokenhearted – as I know my brother priests are as well – when a poor soul approaches this life-giving sacrament and begins by saying, “Father, I know I confessed this sin before, but I just want to be certain that it’s been forgiven.” … My response to such words is typically to assure such a penitent that if that sin was confessed with a sincere heart and purpose of amendment, it’s not only forgiven, but long forgotten by God. … The heart-breaking element of such a confession is that sometimes we simply cannot forgive ourselves and, in the process, we put limits on God’s mercy and fidelity.
Isn’t it interesting how we often perceive God? … The best of us at times put limits on God’s capacity to love and care for us, don’t we? … We judge ourselves – or worse yet, others – by our own understanding of life and justice and not God’s. … And while we all know of the truth of the Gospel message, so very often, we miss what permeates all that has been revealed about God in the scriptures – both the Old and New Testaments. … “God is love.”
If we’re not convinced by these words, go back in the Old Testament, to a passage written hundreds of years before the gospels and listen again to the Word of God that we just heard from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel: “Thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. … I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered. … I myself will give them rest. … The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will hear.” From Old Testament times, the core of salvation history is God’s unfailing love and election, and our human answer to that love.
These words remind us that our faith is not simply the result of our searching for God. In Jesus Christ, it is God who comes to find us – the lost sheep of his flock – to speak to us and to show us the way to himself.
Earlier today on this solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, in a Mass during which he ordained he ordained thirty-two men to the priesthood, our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, referenced words of his predecessor, Pope Francis. They were taken from our late Holy Father’s final encyclical letter published just six months prior to his passing. In Dilexit nos – On the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, Pope Francis reflected: “In a world where everything is bought and sold … and we are constantly being pushed to keep buying, consuming and distracting ourselves, … the love of Christ has no place in this perverse mechanism, yet only that love can set us free from a mad pursuit that no longer has room for a gratuitous love. … The wounded side of Christ continues to pour forth that love, which is never exhausted, never passes away, but offers itself time and time again to all those who wish to love as he did. For his love alone can bring about a new humanity”
What a blessing we’re given in the gratuitous love that flows from the Sacred Heart of Jesus!
Yet, make no mistake; the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus that flows into our lives is not a cheap love. It was born on the cross and cost Jesus his life. In turn, it becomes for us the very source of our life and salvation. Recall the words from our second reading from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. … It is precisely in this that God proves his love for us: that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Once captured by God’s love, we have no choice but to respond in the same spirit that gives us hope. While God’s love doesn’t cause us, at once, to be perfect nor does it wipe away in an instant the brokenness of our human frailty, it does enable us to assume, more and more, the pattern of Jesus’ life and mission in our own lives and hearts.
But lest we romanticize this notion, reflect with me for a moment on the heart of Jesus. … Yes, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity when he saw broken, hopeless people before him. Yet when he brought them healing and hope, his heart was also wounded by criticism and broken by a lack of gratitude. … Yes, Jesus’ heart moved him to tears over the lack of love so evident in the streets of Jerusalem. Yet when he tried to call the people to repent and to be gathered into the loving arms of God, he was marched out of the city as a criminal and hung upon a tree.
True followers of Jesus will come to know this tension well. They will know the consolation that comes from opening our hearts to the heart of Christ. But they will also know the pain that so often accompanies the conviction to live the Gospel of Jesus in the midst of a world that so often disregards its values. That pain, my brothers and sisters, is the cost of discipleship.
And it is in this very tension that we discover the mystery of faith that emerges from the loving heart of Jesus. “God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Jesus’ total gift of himself – seen most powerfully in his love poured forth from the cross – is the gift that gives us true hope. … It is the gift that enables us to move beyond ourselves in love and service of our brothers and sisters. … It is the gift that allows us to see through the pain of this world to the promise of life and peace. … Saint Francis of Assisi captured it best in these familiar words: “It is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
As we embrace the gift and responsibility that come from opening our hearts to the love that flows from the humble, sacred heart of Jesus, may each day find us accepting with renewed confidence the words spoken by God to Abraham at the beginning of the patriarch’s long and incredible journey of faith: “Fear not.” … May we trust the goodness of God and allow life to unfold, even in unexpected ways. … May we come to know the depth of God’s love for us in Jesus. … And through the gift of our lives, may we, in turn, be living images of the God who is love and faithful witnesses to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
HOMILY
Corpus Christi Sunday – June 22, 2025
Today, we join with the Church throughout the world to celebrate the great Feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus – Corpus Christi Sunday – a day that calls us to reflect upon the gift of God given to us in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist – a day that in so many ways captures the heart of our Catholic faith and why we so often gather at the table of the Lord as we do this morning.
And so, our hearts should indeed well up in praise of God for the sublime gift of his presence, found in the simple gifts of bread and wine. And likewise, our spirits should gratefully claim the promise of Jesus to be with us always and to give us food for the journey of faith that we are called to live with and for a broken world – our struggling sisters and brothers.
Early on in his pontificate, Saint John Paul II wrote to the bishops of the world about the treasure of the Eucharist. He spoke of the gift of God found in the sacramental presence of Jesus that we honor and receive this day. He also said this: “The authentic sense of the Eucharist is that it becomes the school of active love for my neighbor. If authentically received, Eucharist must make us grow in awareness of one another.”
In the gift of the Eucharist, then, we are given nothing less than the very presence and life of Jesus. Today’s feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord reminds us never to take this gift for granted; never to see it as a routine element of our worship – but to maintain a sense of wonder and awe at the gift of God’s presence – here – in the midst of our broken world; here – in the midst of our fragile lives; here – in this parish community.
Yet, in the same gift of the Eucharist, we also discover something else. We discover the essence of who we are and what we are called to be as Christians. Recall again the words of Saint John Paul II. Yes, he spoke of the awesome presence of God in the Eucharist. But he also called Eucharist “the school of active love” for our neighbor.
So, when God’s people assemble in faith as we do today, yes, we are called to recreate the ritual meal of the Last Supper. But we are also called to do something else. We are called to open our lives to the presence of Jesus that we receive and give him room to transform our lives. The great Saint Augustine put it best: “Become the mystery you celebrate.” … Become the broken Christ whose life was poured forth for those that he loved. … Become the loving, compassionate Christ who multiplied loaves and fish and fed the hungry multitudes, satisfying not only their physical needs, but their desire to be nourished by the God.
Receive Christ, the living bread that sustains us on our journey of faith. Receive Christ and so become Christ in loving service to one another. … Become Christ for your husband/your wife. Become Christ for your mother/your father; your son/your daughter. Become Christ for your neighbor, for the stranger, the unborn child, the hungry, the immigrant, the forgotten. … Become the Christ whom you adore and whom you worship.
In short, the great sacrament of the Eucharist that we celebrate this day is both a gift to be cherished and a responsibility to be embraced by all who seek to follow the Lord Jesus with sincerity of heart.
The great Saint John Chrysostom put this in perspective when he spoke of the bond between reverence for the sacramental presence of Christ and our relationship with his mystical body: “Would you honor Christ’s body? Then do not permit him to be despised in his members, that is, in the poor who are in need of clothes. Do not honor him here in church clothed in silk, while outside, you neglect him when he is cold and has no clothes. … What advantage is it to Christ if the altar is covered with gold vessels while he himself is starving in his poor? First, feed those who are hungry and only then, adorn the altar with what remains.”
Our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis, in reflecting upon the Eucharist, called us to deepen our understanding of this great gift of God. “In the Eucharist, Jesus gives Himself totally; He keeps nothing for Himself, not even His life. At the Last Supper, with His friends, He shares the bread and distributes the chalice for us. He consigns His Body and his Blood into our hands to be with us always, to dwell among us. … So, what does this mean for us? It means that Jesus’ way is my, your, our way. … It means that we must reach out to others, to be the first to move towards our brothers and sisters, especially those who are most in need of understanding, consolation and help. There is so much need to bring to our world the living presence of Jesus, merciful and full of love!”
And so, my brothers and sisters, may our prayer on this great day in the Church embody these simple words: As we receive Christ in the Eucharist, may we, in turn, become Christ for others. Amen.
HOMILY
Women’s Conference – June 7, 2025
Acts 28:16-20, 30-31; John 21:20-25
What a wonderful day to gather as God’s daughters and sons in praise and worship! This morning, we stand on the threshold of the great solemnity of Pentecost and the culmination of the Easter event, beginning with the resurrection of Jesus, his ascension into heaven and finally the sending forth of the Holy Spirit – God within us – as close to us as our own very lives! And it is only in and through our openness to the Spirit that we are able to embrace the message of salvation, to build Church and to give God’s love and mercy a voice, hands and a heart in a world that so desperately needs to recognize and accept God’s enduring presence. How blest we are!
Today’s scripture passages, taken from the readings of the day for Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter, bring both the Acts of the Apostles and particularly Saint John’s gospel to a close – thereby setting the stage for the Spirit to pour forth into the lives of Jesus’ disciples and to begin the mission of evangelization and the proclamation of the gospel of life.
Let’s look carefully at the gospel – these verses that recount Jesus’ final exchanges with his disciples before this fourth and last gospel to be written comes to a close. It’s interesting that what we hear is not some lofty exhortation on how the disciples are to open their lives to the Holy Spirit and take the gospel message to the ends of the earth. Rather, we’re presented with a somewhat perplexing conversation between Peter and the risen Jesus. On the heels of Peter’s threefold assertion of love for Jesus – a clear reference to his threefold denial of the Lord in the midst of his passion – Peter once again reflects his personal woundedness and need for Jesus’ saving grace in his life.
Notice that Peter seems overly concerned – even reflecting a bit of jealously – about the status of the disciple John, whom Jesus loved. Jesus had just reminded Peter that in the unique role of leadership that he was being given within the emerging Church, he would face the same kind of suffering embraced by the risen Lord. And yet, during this incredibly intimate exchange, Peter amazingly questions Jesus about John. “What about him, Lord?” – implicitly asking Jesus whether John will have to suffer as well. Of course, we heard Jesus’ response: “What concern is it of yours?” … And in those words of Jesus, we are reminded of his final command to Peter in the verses just prior to today’s gospel: “Peter, do you love me? If so, then follow me!”
Throughout the latter part of John’s gospel, both Peter and John were often linked and it’s the beloved disciple who is inevitably presented in the more favorable light. … Peter denies knowing Jesus – not John, even though he too accompanied Jesus throughout his passion and journey to Calvary. … It’s John who stands with Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of the cross. Peter is nowhere to be found. … Yet, the question placed on the lips of Peter about the disciple John does not denigrate him in any way despite the apparent sharpness of Jesus’ response.
What is important to take away from this climactic gospel passage is that for all his waxing and waning, Peter is still a disciple of the risen Lord. He is still called by Jesus to pastor the flock entrusted to his care. While some suggest that John, the beloved disciple, represents the ideal follower of Jesus, Peter may well represent the situation confronting all disciples – including you and me. For no matter how diligently we seek embrace the message of the gospel – no matter how righteous we may see ourselves to be – no matter how meticulously we engage the rituals and practices of our faith – we are all like Peter. We are all fragile followers and pastors in need of the mercy and love of God.
This realization, my friends, is hardly meant to deflate our spirits. To the contrary, it places us within the great communion of saints, from Peter – and John – and countless other disciples of the risen Lord who have lived and loved and served through two millennia – to this very gathering of God’s people who have been humble enough to open our hearts to his love and saving grace.
Indeed, the realization that we are all fragile, broken souls in need of God’s mercy ought not lead us to a place of never-ending self-denigration in our relationship with God. No! Such a recognition on our part places acknowledges the mystery and wonder of God’s great love for creation, revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. … For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (John 3:16).
This gathering today, with its theme of Heart to Heart Prayer, is an invitation for all of us to engage in the vital practice of opening our hearts to God and placing before the Lord our lives – with all their blemishes, joys, blessings and brokenness – trusting that God will ever and always receive us in his tender embrace. Recall these words of our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis: “We can ask God everything, explain everything, recount everything. … God is always close to our heart’s door and he waits for us to open it to him.”
I was blest to have a wonderful spiritual director for almost twenty-five of my forty-two years as a priest – Father Joseph Neville of the Society of Jesus – a Jesuit. For all the many insights, challenges and words of consolation that he shared with me throughout my journey as a priest and bishop, these words have remained with me to this day, despite his passing in 2016. He would often say to me, “Joe, you’re too hard on yourself. You think you have to do it all. But you don’t! Let God be God. And in your most intimate moments of prayer, repeat these words of the Lord that he speaks to you. Repeat them over and over until they are etched into your heart. ‘There will never be a time when I will not love you!’ … ‘There will never be a time when I will not love you!’”
What about you, my friends? Do you believe those words? Do you believe that Jesus accepts you as you are? Do you believe that he died for you – not because you are perfect – but because you – like me – like Peter – and like every soul who has journeyed through life – are in need of a savior? … I hope you do! I hope and pray that we all believe those words of Jesus as he speaks to our hearts.
In his final encyclical letter, Dilexit Nos – On the human and divine love of the heart of Jesus Christ, Pope Francis reflected on the nature of God’s love for us. “The knowledge that we are loved, and our complete confidence in that love, in no way lessons our desire to respond generously, despite our frailty and our many shortcomings. … Jesus asks us for love. Once the faithful heart realizes this, its spontaneous response is one of love, not a desire to multiply sacrifices or simply discharge a burdensome duty. … No, the love of Christ ‘moves us to return love for love … and to realize that our best response to the love of Christ’s heart is to love our brothers and sisters.”
My friends, may this blessed day enrich your life of prayer. May it deepen your belief in the boundless love and mercy of God for you – as you are! And may the power of that love draw each of us closer in love and service of our sisters and brothers and ultimately to the God of all grace who embraces us as his very own!
HOMILY
Ordination to the Diaconate – 24 May 2025
Acts 6:1-7b; Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; John 12:24-26
As we continue to give thanks for the great gift of Easter, it is in Jesus’ name and through the power of his resurrection that we call forth our brother – Jan Carlo Perez – to the Order of Diaconate for service to this local Church of Scranton. What a blessing this day is for Jan and for his family, our Diocese and particularly for all those who have helped him to arrive at this faith-filled moment.
To Jan’s parents, Alex and Liana, and to his family, thank you for your steadfast commitment, example, support and the gift of your son to the Church.
And to the faith community of Saint Matthew in East Stroudsburg, to the parishes where Jan has served and the institutions of learning and formation that have been instrumental in bringing him to this day, particularly Saint Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, to our diocesan vocation team led by Father Alex Roche and to all of the priests, deacons, religious, and faithful who, through your example and concern have helped to prepare Jan for ministry in the Church, know how grateful we all are to you.
Jan, I know that this has been a long journey for you. But I also know that it has been a journey well worth the time, the hard work and the deep commitment that you have given to it. It is so apparent that you have grown tremendously in your relationship with the Lord and have found your place in his plan. And so, we give thanks to God for the wonders that he works in our midst as he continues to call his sons and daughters to unique roles of service in his Church.
Jan, you are about to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders at a unique and critical moment in the life of our Church. So carefully consider the call to which you’ve responded. In so many ways, our people are hurting, disillusioned and unsettled. They’re deeply affected by the divisions that exist among peoples – by wars that continue to rage in our world – and by the proliferation of values that increasingly disregard those of the Gospel for which Jesus gave his life. Yet, far more people than we might even imagine continue to look to the Church and to the Lord whom we proclaim as their greatest and only hope. … Jan, the Church needs you now, more than ever! Give God’s people reason to hope.
Recall Saint Paul’s words from his letter to the Church at Ephesus proclaimed just a moment ago: “Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” Believe with all your heart, Jan, that God’s Spirit rests upon you this day and will pour his grace and mercy into your life, enabling you to bring hope, healing and peace to the people God gives to your care. For your part, be steadfast in holding on to the treasure of God’s love.
The nature of your calling, Jan, is further articulated by Jesus in today’s gospel. Its image of the grain of wheat provides an essential lesson rooted in the very nature of the love of which we speak. While the reward of God’s love carries us to eternal life, it is nonetheless a love that demands a response here and now. It is a love that comes at great cost! The risk of being hurt, of being broken, of losing some part of ourselves is the price of authentic, Christ-like love.
This particular gospel passage is situated at a pivotal moment in John’s narrative. It marks the end of his “Book of Signs” and prefaces the “Book of Glory,” which points to the reality of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. Jesus compares his glorification to a grain of wheat that is buried and dies to itself in order to produce new life. He then goes on to proclaim that the sacrifice and harvest of the grain of wheat are the fate and glory of anyone who would be his disciple. Indeed, the call to discipleship begins by dying to our doubts and fears, dying to our self-centered wants and needs, dying to our immaturity and prejudices. It then redounds to this challenge of the grain of wheat: only by loving is love returned, only by reaching out do we learn and grow, only by giving to others do we received, and only by dying do we rise to new life.
Our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, in his first homily to the cardinals who elected him, invited those who serve in roles of leadership in the Church to discover where our true and lasting peace is found. It rests solely within our commitment to serve with humility and joy and our willingness “to move aside so that Christ may remain, to make oneself small so that he may be known and glorified (cf. Jn 3:30), to spend oneself to the utmost” – like the grain of wheat – “so that all may have the opportunity to know and love him.”
So, if you want your ministry as a deacon to be fruitful, Jan, you must root yourself in Jesus’ life and love. The disciplines of prayer, obedience and celibacy that you are called to embrace this day are meant to enable you to grow in the same spirit of service and mercy that so characterized Jesus’ ministry. These disciplines are not obstacles, hurdles or distractions that are somehow detached from what it means to be an ordained minister of the Church. They are not meant to set you up as being better or greater than others. Rather, they are the vehicles that will carry you to a deeper union with Jesus.
Your service to the People of God as a deacon is a threefold ministry: service to the Word of God – service at the altar of the Lord – and service to the poor. Let’s reflect a bit on the ways in which you are called to serve.
As a deacon, you will proclaim the Gospel, preach homilies, convey the needs of the people of God in the General Intercessions and offer many other forms of instruction. You are to be an agent of the New Evangelization and proclaim Christ to the world. In receiving the Gospel of Christ, remember that your role is to proclaim the truth of the message of Jesus – a truth that you must first come to know and experience in your heart to convey it with authenticity.
As a deacon, you will also serve at the altar of the Lord, preparing it for the banquet of Christ’s sacrifice, distributing Holy Communion to the faithful, as well as to the sick and homebound. You will baptize, preside at weddings and funerals and other prayer services. … Be a good servant of the Church’s sacramental life and help God’s people to grow in their faith. Always point to Jesus who is our life and our hope – not yourself. And for as much as you seek to invite others to open their eyes in wonder and awe of Lord’s gift of himself, never become so immersed in the routine of ministry that you fail to marvel at the treasure that you have been given as a servant of the incarnate Lord.
Finally, as a deacon, you are called to be the living and working expression of the charity of the Church. To you, then, is entrusted in a special way the ministry of charity that is at the very origin of diaconal ministry. Never be reluctant to go to the margins of our world, our society and our Church where you will find the poor, the alienated and the broken. Be generous in your service, Jan, imitating the Lord who washed the feet of the apostles at the Last Supper.
And so, with great joy, Jan, the Diocese of Scranton calls you forth for the sacrament of Holy Orders. While you have been given tremendous gifts and talents, we pray that you will always rely upon the grace of God to fill up whatever may be lacking in you to carry out fully the ministry entrusted to you this day.
I now ask that you proclaim your intentions before the People of God and trust that God who has begun the good work in you will bring it to fulfillment.
HOMILY
Mass of Thanksgiving for the Election of Pope Leo XIV
Jeremiah 1:4-9; Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13; Matthew 16:13-19
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Six days ago, the life-giving winds of the Holy Spirit swept through our world and into the hearts of the cardinal-electors of our Church, prompting them to call forth from their midst Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to lead the Church as the 267th successor of Saint Peter.
And so, we give thanks to God this day for our new Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV. His very election is testimony to the words he proclaimed in his first meeting with the cardinals of the Church two days after his selection as Pope. “It is the Risen Lord, present among us, who protects and guides the Church, and continues to fill her with hope through the love ‘poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.’”
In reflecting upon the historic nature of the selection of Pope Leo, our first scripture reading from the prophet Jeremiah is a reminder of the unique, challenging and miraculous ways in which God continues to work in our lives. Jeremiah protests God’s desire for him to speak on his behalf to the nations. “Ah, Lord God, I know not how to speak; I am too young.” Jeremiah gave whatever excuse he was able to muster to avoid his calling – and then conceded to the words of the Lord, “Have no fear, because I am with you to deliver you.”
While Pope Leo himself acknowledged that the call to lead the Catholic Church is clearly beyond his own limited abilities, like Jeremiah, he put aside his fears, trusted in God’s mercy and wisdom – and said yes to lead our Church.
What is so compelling, however, about Pope Leo’s election is that it not only speaks to the continuity of the papacy for two millennia – it not only speaks of the mystery of God’s plan for salvation – but in a very consoling and encouraging way it speaks to our lives – here in North America – doesn’t it?
We have an American pope! A man who was born in the same neighborhood of South Chicago – as my grandfather – was called by God to stand before us as Peter – the rock upon which Jesus chose to build his Church! … A man, who heard the same call to priestly ministry as a teenage boy in his parish church, that countless numbers of us have and will hear, is our Holy Father! … A White Sox fan who enjoys playing tennis and Wordle was able to discern the voice of God speaking to his heart and said yes to God’s plan, despite his fears and apprehensions.
This unexpected choice to lead our Church through the grace of the Holy Spirit has much to say to us today, brothers and sisters. Pope Leo’s selection is a sign to all the world that despite our shortcomings, the Church in the United States is vibrant and strong. It acknowledges that for generations, American Catholics have truly sought to embrace the Gospel with compassion. It also speaks to the goodness that has grown in the church of North America – a goodness bearing fruit in service and evangelization. Finally, it affirms the hope that is ours – especially when I look at so many of you who have joined with me for today’s Mass – the young Church of the Diocese of Scranton.
But, the choice of Pope Leo, whose very roots are among us, calls us as Christians to much more than merely celebration and pride. His election is an opportunity for us to reflect upon what we have done with the grace of Baptism that we’ve been given. His election challenges us to renew our commitment to discipleship, as noted by Saint Paul in his letter to the Church of Ephesus, proclaimed in our second reading this afternoon. “I urge you – all of us – to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
At the heart of today’s gospel passage from Saint Matthew, Jesus asks his disciples – and ultimately Peter – a question. “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” In reflecting upon Peter’s response to Jesus and the meaning of the gospel Jesus embodies, we start to understand who we are and what our lives are about, don’t we? Essentially, today’s gospel asks us exactly what we mean when we say the “we believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son and our Lord.”
In his first homily to the cardinals who elected him, Pope Leo reflected upon these same words from Saint Matthew’s gospel as well as the challenges of the world in which we find ourselves – a world in which, sadly, the Gospel message and the truth that it proclaims is often cast aside – a world where mercy is neglected and respect for human dignity has diminished. In the face of such a world, Pope Leo asserted, “We are called to bear witness to our joyful faith in Jesus the Savior … and to repeat, with Peter: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
How blessed we are to have been given another Shepherd to lead us in the spirit and example of Jesus. Let us pray that God will bless and sustain Pope Leo in his ministry to our Church and the world. And may we find consolation and hope in these simple words which he shared with us when he was announced to the world as the 267th successor of Saint Peter and Vicar of Christ.
“God loves us and evil will not prevail! All of us are in God’s hands. So, let us move forward, without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with one another other! We are followers of Christ, who goes before us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge that can lead us to God and his love. Help us, O god, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people, always at peace.”
HOMILY
4th Sunday of Easter – May 11, 2025
Mother’s Day Adoption Mass
Most of us appreciate the scripture passages that speak of Jesus as the Good Shepherd – the guardian of God’s flock. We appreciate them even though in our day and age – in our culture – most of us aren’t at all familiar with shepherds and sheep. Why, then, does this image of Jesus resonate so much with our spirits?
I suspect that the answer is found in the very words of Jesus: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. … No one can take them out of my hand.” … “I know them, and they follow me.”
What Jesus implies in these words is that there is familiarity – a God-initiated relationship with every member of his flock, regardless of how closely that member follows the shepherd or how far that member may stray. Jesus’ words capture the essence of our Christian faith, don’t they? “God – not us but God – so loved the world – so loved you and me – that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
With a foundation for faith rooted in God’s initiative, Jesus beckons us to embrace life in a very different way than how we and our world often engage it. … He calls us to listen consciously and deliberately for his voice in the depths of our hearts – in the midst of love and joy, pain and anguish, and the cries for mercy and justice that we see and hear all around us. … And he assures us that we are always safe and accepted in the embrace of his God and Father who has loved us first.
In 2018, our beloved Pope Francis issued a beautiful exhortation on the call to holiness in today’s world. It’s entitled Gaudete et Exsultate – “Rejoice and be glad.” The Holy Father began his reflections by reminding all of us that this great goal of holiness is well within our reach. He spoke about the saints who accompany us on our journey of life and faith and then pointed out that not every saint who is worthy of our attention is already beatified or canonized. Instead, he spoke of “the saints next door.”
Listen to his words: “I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. In their daily perseverance, I see the holiness of the Church. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbors, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them ‘the middle class of holiness.’”
Today we celebrate and give thanks for those women – our mothers – who, by the grace of God at work within their lives, have accepted the call to holiness and have sought to live it authentically: Mothers who have given us life – mothers, who, though unable to care for the lives they bore, for love of God and life itself, entrusted those precious gifts to the care of others – mothers who opened their hearts to children desperately in need of a loving and nurturing home – grandmothers – foster mothers – and all who have nurtured and cared for life.
It is a common truth that we learn how to love from being loved and from seeing love in action. It’s as simple and profound as that. And that’s why it’s so important for us to recognize that underneath all the commercialism that can easily attach to this day, there lies a deeper, sacred reality: we honor mothers because in almost every case, our first encounter with love came from our mother. That love is hardly a sentimental love – but rather, a sacred love – a selfless, sacrificial, forgiving love – a God-initiated love that mirrors the very love of our good shepherd, Jesus.
Once again, Pope Francis demonstrated his gift of being able to tap the sentiments that so many of us embrace this day. “To love like Jesus,” the Holy Father begins, “is not easy because we are often so weak. But just to try to love as Christ loved us shows that Christ shares his own risen life with us. In this way, our lives demonstrate his power at work – even in the midst of human weakness.”
We give thanks today, then, for the blessing of those who have tried to the best of their God-given abilities to protect, support, sustain and love God’s gift of life – a blessing that has been so generously given to each of us through the lives of our mothers.
By their example, they teach us that it is possible to love as Jesus loved – generously and selflessly. … They also remind us that they – and we – become signs of the Good Shepherd’s presence in the world when we open our lives to his love and make it our own.
HOMILY
Opening of the Papal Conclave
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Isaiah 61:1-3a; John 15:9-17
Welcome to our cathedral for this noon time celebration of the Holy Eucharist – a tradition that we have maintained in this sacred space for at least half a century. … Some of you have been coming to this mass for all those years and more. … Others typically join us from your homes thanks to Catholic Television. … And still others have made an effort to be with us this day as we pray for the cardinals of the Holy Catholic Church who, at this very hour in Rome, have begun the sacred task of electing a successor of Saint Peter as our new Pope.
For as familiar as this moment is for most of us, today this Mass assumes a special significance as we reflect upon our place in the universal Catholic Church.
First and foremost, this celebration reminds us of who we are as Catholic Christians. My presence here today as the Bishop of Scranton is not merely to add an element of solemnity to this occasion. No. My presence links us to all the People of God who are a part of over one hundred parishes in the eleven counties of this local Church.
But it also binds us to the broader, world-wide Church – to the college of Bishops – and ultimately to the Bishop of Rome, who stands on the shoulders of countless successors of the Apostles and ultimately Peter himself – who was called by Jesus our Savior to be his instrument in building the Church and proclaiming its message of life and salvation to all. … You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the nether world shall not prevail against it.
Brothers and sisters, no matter how fiercely independent we may be, we are not an island unto ourselves. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are all brothers and sisters united under the leadership of the Vicar of Christ and successor of Saint Peter.
We belong to a vast community, linking us to the past and the present. Through the mystery and power of God, we are a part of the communion of saints, the saints of this world and the next. We are bound to every soul who has ever been a part of the Church throughout its existence for two millennia. We are bound to our mothers and fathers, to grandparents and great-grandparents, to every heart filled with hope that ever prayed as we do this day. We are bound together because of the Eucharist that we celebrate on this altar and because of the words of faith that we proclaim in its presence: “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”
And so, as members of the Body of Christ and with great hope in the power of his resurrection – a hope that permeates this Jubilee Year proclaimed by our late Holy Father, Pope Francis – we pray that the Holy Spirit – the living God – may pour forth wisdom and courage into the hearts of the cardinal-electors who have been set apart to call forth from their midst a new successor of Saint Peter.
As they turn to our God in prayer – as we do at this hour – may they be mindful in their deliberations of the great commandment proclaimed by Jesus in today’s gospel, specially chosen by the Church for the election of a new Pope.
Love one another as I love you. … Not a suggestion – but a command given by the Savior himself – with no qualifications, conditions or limitations. Love one another – even the mean-spirited, the petulant, the ungrateful, the unreasonable, the lives that are different than our own and those lives that live, as Pope Francis so often reminded us, on the margins of our world. Love as we have been loved and bring healing and peace to our world.
This command, brothers and sisters, is given to each of us. We pray that as we feebly seek to make it our own, the one who will be called forth by God in these sacred days to lead our Church will open his heart to power of Holy Spirit. May he, in turn, be for us a firm foundation for the unity of God’s people, a messenger of the truth of the gospel and a vehicle of God’s mercy, forgiveness and peace.
Previous Homilies 2025
Memorial Mass for Pope Francis April 22, 2025
2025 Lenten Deanery Holy Hour – Jubilee of Hope
Rite of Election March 9, 2025
Disabilities Mass – 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord January 5, 2025