22A Sunday homily (30 August 2026) The Cross and the Crown in our lives

 

22A SUNDAY HOMILY, MATTHEW 16:21-27, August 30, 2026

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM 

1. STORY

John was the only survivor of a shipwreck on a small, uninhabited island.  He prayed to God to rescue him, but no help came.  He was able to build a small hut for protection.  One day, as he was out looking for food, he saw smoke rolling up to the sky.  He was stunned with grief to find his hut burned down.  Early the next day, he heard the sound of a ship approaching the island.  It has come to rescue him.  John asked them how they knew there was someone on the island.  They replied that they had seen the smoke signal.  His cross had turned into a crown.

 

2. GOSPEL, MATTHEW 16:21-27

A. CHRIST MUST SUFFER

Jesus tells his disciples two things.

i. He must suffer at the hands of the leaders and that he will be put to death.

ii. He will be raised up on the third day.  Jesus must carry his cross and also will wear his crown.

B. PETER REJECTS JESUS’ TEACHING

The gospel tells us two things about Peter. 

i. He is shocked to hear that Jesus will suffer.  “God forbid that such things are to happen to you.” 

ii. Jesus scolds Peter because he is “not judging by God’s standards but by man’s.”  Peter rejects the idea that such a good man as Jesus must suffer.

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE

A. SUFFERING IN LIFE

There are two things we must remember.

i. Suffering is a part of everyone’s life.  Everyone must carry his cross.  Some carry heavy ones while others carry lighter ones.  Christ has told us that those who wish to follow him must “take up his cross.”

ii. Jesus will bless us if we are willing, freely, and obediently accept our cross.  He will reward us with a crown, eternal life.  He has said “whoever loses his life (suffers) for my sake will find it (receive eternal life).”  Like Jesus, we must carry our cross and will wear our crown.

B. WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

Unlike Peter, we must do two things.

i. We must accept the fact there is and will always be suffering in life.  Some think it is a punishment from God for their sins.  Good people are surprised that they suffer as they live by God’s law of love.  Some think that God is cruel and merciless.  All are wrong. 

ii. We must not be like Peter who judged by man’s standards.  What we must understand is that God loves us, cares for us, and gives us the strength to carry our crosses.  He is our loving father who wishes us to be happy.  We ask Jesus to strengthen our faith and illuminate our minds to see clearly that after carrying our cross in this life we will wear the crown of eternal happiness.  No cross, no crown.  No pain, no gain.

 

4. CONCLUSION

John realized that the burning of his hut was the way he was saved.  Jesus, after suffering on the cross, would be raised from the dead and earn salvation for all.  Peter failed to understand this.  We also must follow Jesus in that we must suffer, but, finally, we will enjoy eternal life.  We must carry our cross, but we will also wear the crown of eternal life.

 

21A Sunday homily (23 August 2026) Peter is the rock

 

21A SUNDAY HOMILY, MATTHEW 16:13-20, August 23, 2026

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM

1. STORY

Next to the church where I was living, a company was preparing to put up a new building.  The first thing was to dig out a hole as deep as a ten-storey building.  After this very time-consuming job was finished, a steel frame was constructed in the hole and then the hole was filled with a great amount of concrete.  When this deep and strong foundation was finished, the construction company put up a 30-storey building.  I was sure that this building with such a strong foundation, could withstand any typhoon, storm, or earthquake.  As a building needs a strong foundation, so does a Church need a good leader.

 

2. GOSPEL, MATTHEW 16:13-20

A) JESUS IS THE MESSIAH

There were two types of people.  There were those who knew who Jesus was and the vast majority who did not know who Jesus was.  Some thought he was John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  Peter and the disciples knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

B) PETER IS THE ROCK

Jesus gave Peter a new job.  He was the Rock and on that rock, Jesus would build his new Church.  This means that Peter would be the leader of this new Church, and along with the disciples, they would preach the Good News about Jesus and invite them to be followers of Jesus.

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE

A) KNOWING JESUS

What a blessing it is for us to know Jesus, the Son of God.  It’s like having an opportunity to know the Pope or the president of a country.  There are two things we must do.  First, we must love Jesus, obey him, and continue his work.  Second, we must help others to know and love Jesus.  The greatest things we can do for others is to introduce Jesus to them.  Their lives will change for the better.

B) WE ARE MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH

Just as the leaders of the Catholic Church have a responsibility to the whole Church, we as members also have a responsibility toward the Church.  First, we must live in peace and harmony with our brothers and sisters.  Second, we must help needy members of our community.  Third, we must invite others to know Jesus and become his followers by becoming Catholics just as the disciples did.

 

4. CONCLUSION

A building needs to be built on a strong foundation to withstand storms, rain, and earthquakes.  Only a few people knew Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God.  Jesus selected Peter to be the rock, the foundation, the leader of the Catholic Church.  We are blessed knowing Jesus.  We need to help others to know Jesus, and we must be good members of the Catholic Church.

 

20A Sunday homily (16 August 2026) A mother pleads for help

 

TOPIC: A MOTHER PLEADS FOR HELP

20A Sunday HOMILY, MATTHEW 15:21­-28, 

AUGUST 16, 2026

By: Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM

 

1. STORY

There were two tribes who were always fighting.  One lived in the lowlands and the other in the high mountains.  One day the mountain people invaded the lowlands, stole many items, and kidnapped a baby.  Though the lowland tribe did not know how to climb the mountains nor the mountain trails, they sent their best fighting men up the mountain to bring the baby back.  After several days of effort, they made little progress.  They felt hopeless and helpless so decided to return to their village below.  As they packed their gear for the descent, they saw the baby’s mother walking toward them with her baby strapped to her back.  They were amazed and asked her how she did this when they failed.  She replied, “It wasn’t your baby.”  The mother made every effort to rescue her child.

 

2. GOSPEL, MATTHEW 15:21­-28

A)   A MOTHER HELPS HER DAUGHTER

The mother could not cure her daughter but helped her in two ways.  First, she used her power of speech to make known her need and to ask for help.  “Lord, my daughter is terribly troubled by a demon.”  Second, she had great faith in the power of Jesus to cure her daughter.  She knew if she kept on asking, Jesus would help her.

B) JESUS HELPS THE MOTHER 

At first Jesus refused to help her because he was sent to help the Israelites, and the mother was not one of them.  But because of the woman’s strong faith, Jesus had a change of heart.  He cured the daughter.  “Woman you have great faith.  Your wish will come to pass.  That very moment her daughter got better.”

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE

A)  WE CAN HELP OTHERS

There are many people who need our help.  Our family, our friends, the sick, the elderly, the lonely, the confused, the poor, and many more.  We may not solve their problems, but we can help them.  First, we pray for them daily asking God to care for these needy persons.  Second, we pray with faith in Jesus that he will definitely help them in his own way and in his own time.  We follow the example of the mother in the gospel.

B) JESUS WILL HELP THE NEEDY

We believe that Jesus loves us, cares for us and has the power to help us.  We know that he listens to our prayers.  We must not expect immediate results.  We must not be discouraged but must persevere in praying.  Jesus will give us the strength to accept his will.  He may not cure the needy person but will give them strength to accept their cross.

 

4. CONCLUSION

The mother whose child was kidnapped made every effort to find her child.  Because of her determination to find the child, she finally succeeded.  We, too, should have the same desire to help those in need.  We do this by praying daily that Jesus will help in his own way and in his own time.

 

19A Sunday homily (09 August 2026) Jesus saves Peter

 

19A SUNDAY HOMILY, MATTHEW 14: 22-33, August 09, 2026

By Fr. Vincent Corbelli, MM 

1. STORY

John, a young sailor, was asked by the captain of the sailing ship to climb to the top of the mast when the sea was stormy.  The first half of the climb was easy. But halfway to the top, he made a mistake.  He looked down at the stormy sea and grew dizzy and was in danger of falling.  The captain called out to him to look back at the sky. John followed the captain’s instruction and finished the climb safely.

 

2. GOSPEL, MATTHEW 14:22-33

A) THE DISCIPLES WERE IN FEAR

It was natural for the disciples to be fearful late in the night as their boat “was being tossed about in the waves raised by a strong wind.”  Even Peter, who attempted to walk on the water, cried out to Jesus, “Lord save me.”

B) JESUS SAVES THE DISCIPLES

Jesus shows his great power as he “came walking toward them on the lake.”  Jesus saved the frightened and sinking Peter as “he stretched out his hand and caught him.’  Jesus told them, “How little faith you have,” exposing their greatest weakness which was a lack of strong faith in him.

 

3. APPLICATION TO LIFE

A) FEAR IN OUR LIVES

Just as the storm on the lake caused the disciples to fear, so do we fear which is caused by many storms in our lives.  Here are some storms or difficulties we encounter: poor health caused by aging or sickness, not enough money to meet our expenses, job insecurity or job dissatisfaction, family disharmony or worry about aging parents or children growing up properly, difficulty in getting along with people, etc.  Such fears cause unhappiness in our lives.

B) JESUS HELPS US

Just as Jesus helped the frightened disciples, so does Jesus help us.  The more we rely on Jesus, the stronger we will be facing and overcoming our difficulties.  Here are some suggestions that may help us.  First, put Jesus into your mind remembering that He loves us, cares for us, and has the power to help us.  This requires us to push out of our minds the worries that are presently bothering us.  Second, speak to Jesus as Peter did say “Lord save me.”  Ask Jesus to increase our faith in him who is our savior.  We must do this every time we are gripped with fear.  Jesus will help us as he helped his disciples.

 

4. CONCLUSION

The captain helped John reach the top of the mast by instructing him to look up to the sky.  Jesus helped the worried and frightened disciples on the stormy sea and told them they needed a stronger faith in him.  Jesus will continue to help us face and solve all the problems and worries we encounter in life.  We thank him for his loving care and ask him to strengthen our faith.