21C Sunday homily (24 August 2025) Heaven is our home

 

21C Sunday Homily Luke 13:22-30, August 24, 2025

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM

 

1) STORY

A widowed mother loved her four children very much.  She wanted them to be holy, healthy and happy.  She decided that the best way she could achieve this goal was to attend daily Mass for them.  This required great effort on her part.  Not only did she have heart trouble but she also had to walk up and down 300 steps to get to the church and return home each day.  After several years of attending daily Mass for her children, her doctor was amazed that her heart condition had improved.  He asked her what she had done over the past years resulting in her improved condition.  She told him about having to walk daily up and down 300 stairs on her way to church and back.  He now knew that this daily exercise was the cause of her improved health.  In helping her children, she helped herself.  This story shows us that this mother had a clear goal and a method, hard work, to achieve her goal.

 

2) GOSPEL, Luke 13:22-30

A) WHO WILL BE SAVED?

This question asked of Jesus reminds us that there is eternal life after death.  Life is like a journey and our final goal is heaven.  This is the meaning of being saved.  Are we clear about this goal?  Do we wish to achieve this goal of being saved?

B) ENTER BY THE NARROW DOOR  

Jesus tells us that to get into heaven we must enter by the narrow door.  This means we must make a great effort in our lives to reach heaven.  There is no room for laziness or indifference.

 

3) APPLICATION TO LIFE

A) MY GOAL IN LIFE

We must be clear about our goal in life.  We must resist other goals such as money, pleasure, fame and power.

B) ENTER BY THE NARROW GATE

We must take every effort to do the following three things.

i) Love God by daily prayer; attend Sunday Mass and periodic confession.

ii) Love our neighbor by kind words and generous, helpful actions.

iii) Love oneself by eating properly, exercising and getting enough rest. 

 

4) CONCLUSION

Our goal is heaven. Just as the mother in the story had a clear goal and hard work was her method to attain that goal, so we must make every effort to achieve our goal of getting to heaven by following the example of Jesus who loved God and neighbor.

20C Sunday homily (17 August 2025) Helping Jesus

 

20C Sunday Homily, Luke 12:49 -53, August 17, 2025 

1. STORY

While praying in the dilapidated chapel of San Damiano, Francis of Assisi heard a voice speak to him. “Francis, repair my church, which has fallen into disrepair.”  He began physically to repair the ruined building.  To pay for the church’s repair, he took cloth from his father’s warehouse without asking for his father’s permission.  As a result, his father was angry and had Francis arrested and brought to trial before the bishop.  Francis admitted his fault and returned his father’s money.  From that time on, he left his family to follow Jesus, to work for Jesus.

 

2. GOSPEL, Luke 12:49 -53

A) CHRIST HAS WORK TO DO

“I have come to set the world on fire.” Fire gives us light, warmth, and is useful in cooking and for cleaning.  Christ has come to purify us of our sins.  He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He must continue this work today.

B) JESUS NEEDS HELPERS

“A father will be divided against his son.”  Jesus invited others to follow him as he invited Francis to follow him.  One leaves his family to follow Jesus but not because of disrespect for the family.  A person can leave his / her family and still have great love and concern for the family members.

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE

A) WORK TO BE DONE

Many people are like a building in need of repair.  Just as the weather damages a building, so does life damage people.  Difficulties, failures, poor health, sin and poverty damage people.  Such people need the help of Jesus who has come to set the world on fire, to cleanse the world of sin. 

B) JESUS NEEDS OUR HELP

Just as Jesus asked Francis for help, he also asks for our help.  A person can repair a building, so we can help repair the body and soul of someone in need.  We do this when we are kind to others, forgiving and understanding, just as Jesus was.

 

4. CONCLUSION

Jesus asked Francis for help in building his Church.  He left his family while loving his family to work for Jesus.  Jesus asks us today to help others as he did.  For some, this means leaving their family.  For others, they help Jesus while still living with their family.  Let us help Jesus build the church, the family of God.

19C Sunday homily (10 August 2025) Be prepared

 

19C Sunday Homily, Luke 12:35-40, August 10, 2025

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM

 

1. STORY

A ship sank with the only survivor, John.  He was able to swim to a nearby island and thus save himself.  To his great surprise, he was welcomed by the natives.  They had a tradition that one day a stranger would come, and they would make him king for one year.  Naturally, John was very happy to know that any reasonable request he made would be granted.  He asked what would happen after one year.  He learned that he would be sent to a nearby barren island where he would starve to death.  Though shocked when hearing this news, he knew what to do.  He had to prepare well for his future.  He commanded that boats be built to transport good soil, trees, grain for food, and lumber to build a home for him.  He then would be able to live comfortably after being king for one year.

 

2. GOSPEL, Luke 12:35 -40

A) Servants: Jesus tells the story about a master and his servants.  The servants must be ready for the master’s return.  “Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.”

B) Master: The master will reward the servants who are prepared.  “He will have them recline at the table and proceed to wait on them.”

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE

A) The servants: We are servants, disciples of Jesus, with a task to perform.  We must love God, be good to others, and ourselves.  We must give time to God by going to Mass and praying daily.  We care for others by giving them our time, concern and being kind.  We are good to ourselves by caring for our spiritual and physical health.

B) Christ our Master: Christ is always with us, protecting, guiding, and caring for us.  He will give us peace of heart and strength to live as he lived.

 

4. CONCLUSION

John was vigilant and so he prepared well for his future.  We, the servants of Jesus, must be ready for his sudden return by faithfully carrying out our duties.  Jesus, our master, will reward us with peace of mind and eternal happiness.

18C Sunday homily (03 August 2025) Greed

 

18C Sunday Homily, Luke 12:13-21, August 3, 2025

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM 

1.  STORY

A landowner informed his servant that he would share some of his vast land with his servant.  He could have as much as he wanted and had from sunrise to sunset to encircle as much land as he desired.  He had to be back home by sunset.  Overjoyed, he planned to run as fast as possible and acquire as much as possible.  At noon, he began the return trip.  As sunset he reached home.  He was so exhausted that he fell to the ground and died.  All his newly acquired land was useless.  It does not pay to be greedy. 

 

2. GOSPEL, Luke 12:13-21

A) The gospel tells us of a greedy man who stored up treasures for himself.  Because of his vast wealth, he planned to rest, eat, drink and be merry.  But God had other plans for him as he died that night.

B) Another type of man is one who is rich in what matters to God.  God wants us to use our wealth not for ourselves but in a prudent way.  He wants us to be generous. 

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE 

A) A greedy person is like a child who likes candy and is willing only to eat candy.  This is detrimental to his health.  He must change his ways so as to be healthy.  Greed makes us blind to things that are important to God. 

B) A generous person remembers three things:

i) God comes first.  We must give God the love and respect he deserves.  We must go to Mass, pray, and stay close to him.

ii) We must help those in need.  We must share our wealth with those less fortunate.

iii) We must take care of our health and not work so hard that we deprive ourselves of sleep, proper food and relaxation.

 

4. CONCLUSION

Wealth is a blessing from God which must be used wisely.  A greedy person thinks only of himself.  Wealth becomes his master.  A generous person uses his wealth wisely.  He remembers God, his neighbor and himself.  Wealth becomes his servant.

 

17C Sunday homily (27 July 2025) Prayers

 

17C Sunday Homily, Luke 11:1-13, July 27, 2025

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM

 

1. STORY

A pastor saw John come to church each day at noon.  John would stay for only a few minutes and then would leave.  Wondering what he could do in such a short time, the pastor asked John what he did.  John told the pastor he would enter the church and say, “Jesus, this is John.”  He would wait for a minute and leave knowing that Jesus heard him.  John was hospitalized but was always happy.  When asked why he was happy, he replied that his friend visited him daily.  Though John had few visitors, he asked who his friend was.  John replied that his friend visited him at noon, would stand at the foot of his bed, and would say, “John, this is Jesus” and would then leave.  John knew that praying was speaking with Jesus. 

 

2. GOSPEL, Luke 11:1-13

A) In the Our Father, Jesus teaches us to ask for our daily bread, which is necessary for our body and teaches us to ask for forgiveness, which is necessary for our soul.

B) Jesus teaches, in the story of a friend looking for help, that we must persevere in prayer.

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE

A) We must pray for the food that we need to live.  We must pray for the Eucharist which is the spiritual food that our soul needs.  We receive forgiveness through the wonderful sacrament of penance.  It is necessary for us to periodically go to confession.

B) We need help each day and we must pray each day.  When you get up, say “Jesus, please help me and my family today.”  At night say three Hail Mary’s: one for your family, one for the sick, needy or deceased, and one for yourself.

 

4. CONCLUSION

Praying to Jesus brings happiness into our lives. It takes only a few minutes to ask for God’s help each day.

16C Sunday homily (20 July 2025) Work and Play

 

16C Sunday Homily, Luke 10:38-42, July 20, 2025

By: Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM

 

STORY 

There was an elderly man who used his rowboat to ferry people across a small river.  The work “work” was written on one of the oars and “pray” on the other oar.  One day a young man got in the boat and noticed the oars with the two words.  He commented to the elderly man that in today’s world what was important was “work.”  “Pray” was not necessary.  The elderly man said nothing but used only the oar marked work to row the boat.  The result was that the small boat only went in a circle making no progress toward the other shore.  The young man learned that to get to his goal both “work” and “pray” were necessary.

 

2) GOSPEL, Luke 10:38-42

A. Martha was a wonderful host seeing to all the needs of her guest, Jesus.  She prepared a meal and made Jesus feel right at home.  However, she was upset with her sister Mary for not helping her in her work.

B. Mary was not idle.  She was listening very attentively to every word spoken by Jesus.  She was listening to the words of life.  Jesus informed Martha that what Mary was doing was very important, and it should not be taken from her.

 

3) APPLICATION TO LIFE

A. Work is important  

It provides us with our livelihood.  We should do our work whether in the factory, office, school, or home with care and responsibility.  We should respect our superiors and co-workers and work in a spirit of cooperation to get the job done.

B. Pray

We always need God’s help to get the job done so we must pray.  Here are some suggestions on how to pray in our busy lives:

i) When you awake pray, “Jesus, please help me and my family during today.  “Before going to bed pray, “Thank you Jesus for helping me and my family too.”

ii) Say one Hail Mary or Our Father for yourself, one for your family, and one for a sick or needy person.  If time permits, you could say the rosary, attend Mass or read the bible.

 

4) CONCLUSION

As two oars were needed to reach the goal and Jesus appreciated both Martha’s and Mary’s role when he visited them, so we, too, must remember that to reach our goal of a happy life and heaven, we must both work and pray.

15C Sunday homily (13 July 2025) Love your neighbor

 

15C Sunday Homily, Luke 10:25-37, July 13, 2025

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM

 

STORY

A four-year-old boy, whose next-door neighbor was an elderly man who had recently lost his wife, upon seeing the man cry, went over to the old man’s yard and climbed on his lap. hen he returned home, his mother asked him what he said to the neighbor.  He answered, “Nothing. I just helped him cry.”

 

GOSPEL, Luke 10:25-37

A) The story of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveler who was robbed, stripped, beaten and left for dead by robbers.  He was a man in desperate need of help.

B) Three people saw him and two just looked at him but offered no help.  The third person, a Samaritan, had compassion on him and stopped to help him.  He cared for his wounds, took him to an inn, and paid for the expenses of his stay at the inn.

 

APPLICATION TO LIFE

A) There are many people who are in need, just like the wounded traveler.  I have selected three examples: the lonely, the depressed and those unhappy in life.  You may know such a person.

B) We, like the child in the story, have the ability and opportunity to help.  What can you do?  You can start by praying for that person.  You can say a kind word to him/her.  You could give that person a phone call to say that you are thinking about him/her.  You might send a note to say hello.

 

CONCLUSION

Jesus tells us the great commandment is to love God, your neighbor, and yourself.  Ask Jesus to give you the strength to carry out this command.