Do Not Be Afraid! Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

My dear brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ, a week ago I had the opportunity to meet two young women who expressed an opinion that is not uncommon: “why bring another life, an innocent life, into this ugly world?”

How was I, Catholic, and priest, supposed to respond? My immediate response was that their opinion demonstrated a lack of hope, perhaps because these young women lacked faith. Unsurprisingly, these two young women agreed with me, they did not believe.

I request your prayers for these young women, and the many millions of youth across the world like them, who live without faith and consequently without hope. Tossed around the stormy sea of life, without the anchor of faith, they will have no opportunity but to submit to the cynicism and hedonism that marks the contemporary world. We are flush with funds - and dare I say opinions! – but lacking in meaning!

It is, providentially, precisely this situation that the Gospel today speaks to us about :

… the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. 
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea. 

My dear brothers and sisters, the boat can be interpreted variously as us individuals, or all of us as members of our Holy Mother Church; the barque of Peter. Tossed about and threatened by the stormy sea of life, it is precisely when things seem darkest – the fourth watch of the night – that Our Lord comes walking to us, and he says to us:

“Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

There is no doubt that our world is facing a particularly dark time. The response of the young women I met is not a bizarre, but a perfectly comprehensible, response. However, it is not a response founded on Christian faith. It is also a response that is based on a fear of commitment. Getting married, birthing and raising a child, saying yes to the priesthood and religious life; these are grave commitments, and, as Pope Benedict XVI observed “each of us was created to make, not provisional and reversible choices, but definitive and irrevocable choices which give full meaning to existence.” But we live in a time marked by the fear of commitment.

At a purely natural level, it is when we make these commitments that we are more committed to changing the status quo and enhancing the common good. On the supernatural plane, we must remember that when we are sinking into the waters and call out to Our Lord, He will stretch out His hand to save us. For remember the words of the Gospel according to John (3: 16):

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The words are God so loved the world. He loves the world in its entirety, the people, the animals, plants, fish, rocks and stones. All of which he has created so that it speaks of His love. The boat, that is the world, may be buffeted by the waves born of diabolical action, but as He has also promised us “the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18). And remember, as has often been pointed out to us, this statement is not about hell attacking us, but the Church attacking hell itself. We are intended to be the offenders! And we will prevail, because when Our Lord is with us, when things are at their bitterest, the winds will calm down.

The lectionary for the past two weeks has given us the opportunity to reflect on the moral virtues: prudence, and temperance. Today, we are offered the privilege to think about the theological virtues: faith, hope and love. These virtues enable us to participate in the divine life of the Most Holy Trinity (CCC 1813). Faith and hope we have spoken about, but in the words of the apostle Paul, the greatest of these is love (1 Cor 13: 13).

God has already demonstrated that He loves us (1 John 4: 19), and he has planted the desire for Him in our hearts. It is now for us to demonstrate our love for Him. And there is no better way that doing so, that going to His Son. Like St. Peter, we too must cry out:

“Lord, save me!” 

But this will only happen if we make a practice of going to Him regularly. Like one goes to one’s lover, to one’s best friend. Meet Him in the daily reading of the lectionary, in long visits to the Blessed Sacrament, through an encounter with the sacrament of confession, and finally, the Eucharist – His testament of love.

And so, my dear brothers and sisters, I make my own, the words of Pope St. John Paul II, who at the start of his papacy encouraged us: “Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power…. Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ.”

Without loving Him there is no faith in Christ, and without faith, there is no hope, and so I urge you, brothers and sisters when faced with doubts, when you hesitate to commit, repeat these great words of St. Paul to the Philippians (4:13):

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end; Amen!

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the parish church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Caranzalem on 9 August 9, 2026.)

(Image reference: Allegory with the three theological virtues faith, hope and love, Okänd Konstnär, 18th/19th century, via Auctionet.com.)

Give Yourselves: Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!

My dear brothers and sisters in Our Lord Jesus Christ; reading these words from the prophet Isaiah in the first reading over the past week I was constantly reminded of the vice of gluttony. Superficially, gluttony is about overeating; taking more than you can eat (or drink), eating/drinking more than you need. But gluttony is not just about our relationship with food and drink, it relates also to our attitude of consumption of objects. How many of us have not had visceral responses normally associated with hunger when we see some object that we greatly desire? To quote the sixteenth century Jesuit Gaspar Loarte: “the full stomach and overly pampered flesh are easily lit on fire and make you fall into the stench of lust.” And this is precisely the point. As prudence is the Auriga virtutum – the charioteer of the virtues – gluttony is more than a disordered relationship with food, it is the gateway to the other vices, commencing with lust.

As with all things Our Lord provides a solution to the vice of gluttony. As he instructs us in the acclamation to the Gospel today:

One does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Too often, gluttony is the result of fear, when we fear the lack of food, we eat more. We fear the lack of money, we chase it, if we fear powerlessness, we chase power. But as St. Paul teaches us today, that neither anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword should tempt us into gluttony, for:

in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. 

In his catechesis on the vice of gluttony, Pope Francis recounted a proverb that he thought relevant: “We should eat to live, not live to eat.” And I ask you, what is it that we can eat to live, if not the Eucharist?

Indeed, the words from the Prophet Isaiah are in fact references to bread and wine that we are encouraged to eat. And we know that when scripture refers to bread and wine it refers to the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord, the Eucharist, which gives us eternal life.

Tradition teaches us that the opposite of the vice of gluttony is temperance. And Holy Mother Church teaches us temperance even in the consumption of the Eucharist. There was a time when our ancestors communicated perhaps four times a year, but definitely on Easter. More recently Pope Pius X (1903-1914) corrected this exaggeration and strongly encouraged the Catholic laity to receive Holy Communion frequently, and even daily. We can licitly receive communion upto twice a day, provided we have been present at each Mass.

And yet (and yet !), even this urging to regular communion is not without its own forms of temperance. We receive communion only if we are in a state of grace; that is, only if we have confessed our sins prior to communion. When we receive communion we receive it in a worthy and dignified manner, recognizing that this is the bread of life, Our Lord truly and really present in the host we consume.

In his catechesis on gluttony, Pope Francis teaches us that the way we eat is a manifestation of something inner. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to learn polite etiquette know this of course; which is why it is important to eat in a mannered way. Similarly, we need to follow manners and politeness when receiving the Most Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. The practice of receiving communion in our hands is permitted by the Church, but there are protocols that are to be followed. Protocols that are too often violated. One may not reach out and grab the host, for example. Neither can one’s hands be holding something else. Above all, we must make sure that not even the tiniest particle of the Most Precious Body and Blood remains on our hands or our fingers. Too often, people grab the host, casually put it into their mouths, even as they walk away! Which is why I recommend, my dear brothers and sisters, if you are not confident that you can prevent this sacrilege and disrespect to Our Lord, it is best to piously receive communion on your tongue.

Our Lord teaches not just temperance, but also self-sacrifice. In the Gospel today we heard him tell us:

give them some food yourselves.

In other words, having consumed of His Most Precious Body, Our Lord asks that we become a Eucharistic people and give to others not just the food, and resources, we may have, but our very selves! And he assures us that just as was with the case of the five loaves and two fish, there will be baskets left over.

May Our Lord give us the grace to avoid gluttony, adopt temperance, and give of ourselves to those starving for His Real Presence.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the Chapel of Nossa Senhora do Cabo, Cabo Raj Nivas, Dona Paula on 2 Aug 2026.)

(Image reference: The Wedding at Cana (detail), Paolo Veronese, 1562–1563, Louvre.)

On Prudence: Homily for the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

My dear brothers and sisters, for some Sundays in a row we have been reading through the thirteenth chapter of Mathew dealing with a lectionary urging the cultivation of the soil of our heart. We, in Goa, and in South Asia, are fortunate that this focus on cultivation comes in the time of the monsoon, allowing us to think of the fields that are prepared for cultivation and nourished with the rains that fall from heaven. The rains being metaphors for the graces that shower down from heaven to water the prepared heart.

And how do we prepare our hearts, normally so stony, or only superficially prepared with soil that will welcome the Word (of God)? The first reading today offers us an example of King Solomon in his youth, when his heart was focused entirely on God and not distracted by worldly temptation.

Encountering God who permits Solomon to ask for anything, Solomon responds:

Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart
to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.

There is one word that can capture the quality of a heart that can judge, and distinguish right from wrong; that word is Prudence; Solomon asked for the virtue of Prudence.

Most people often assume prudence to be the virtue of doing the right thing at the right time, but in the sense of not prejudicing our worldly interests. For example, it would be imprudent to contradict one’s boss in a meeting, even if he were wrong, because he might feel insulted and then make life miserable for one. It would be imprudent for a student to speak out when the teacher is being unfair, because this student would then bear the brunt of the teacher’s vengeance. As you can see, prudence involves judgement, and distinguishing the right, from the wrong move. Indeed, the world might often whisper that the right move in these cases might be to flatter the boss, or teacher, even in the face of their injustice, so that our own standing with them increases, and with it our worldly prospects.

The cardinal virtue of prudence, however, operates on a different register, and today’s Gospel illustrates this perfectly. The virtue of prudence is associated with the wisdom and understanding necessary for us to grasp the actions necessary for us to inherit the kingdom of God which as Saint Paul teaches us today has been promised to us from before we were born, and indeed, which we are heirs to, especially since the moment of our baptism.

The virtue of prudence, therefore, is:

…like a merchant
searching for fine pearls. 
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. 

Worldly prudence assures us that a bird in hand, is worth two in the bush. But when we find that one thing that will lead us to the kingdom of God, the virtue of prudence not only informs us that it is worth selling ALL we have, so that we can have that one pearl of great price, but ensures that we do so. In other words, the virtue of prudence is not only about an intellectual ability to distinguish, or discern between right and wrong, but also about the determination to physically realise that right, or truth. To echo St. Thomas Aquinas, prudence is “right reason applied to action” (II-II, 47, 2). 

This is what King Solomon failed to do as he grew older. Despite the great gift that was offered to him, he was seduced by his wives to offer worship to false gods, which he did, no doubt despite his knowledge of his error (1 Kings 11: 1-8). Prudence is about acting to secure that pearl of great price.

‘All we have,’ my dear brothers and sisters, this is what we are called to give up when we find that all we have is incompatible with the pearl of great price. To the eyes of the world, this make us look foolish, and they – your family and friends – will do their best to dissuade you. But to those who know better, it is the price worth paying for eternal life.

Let us pray, therefore, that we live our lives asking for the grace so that we can cultivate the virtue of prudence in the poor soil of our hearts.

Virgin most prudent, pray for us.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the Igreja Matriz da Nossa Senhora da Conceicão, Pangim, on 26 July 26, 2026.)

(Image reference: The Ten Evangelical Virtues of the Blessed Virgin, detail from St. Jeanne de Valois, António Joaquin Padrão, 18^th cent., Santuário de Nossa Senhora de Balsamão, Chacim, Portugal.)

The Heart of the Father: Homily for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The longer version of the Gospel that the lectionary offers us this Sunday ends with Our Lord offering an interpretation of the parable that we hear in the shorter version. Under these circumstances, it would take a brave, or foolish, man to offer another interpretation of the same parable. However, a parallel interpretation allows us to appreciate the richness of the genre of the parable, a parable is to be read not literally, but allegorically. As such, it can offer multiple readings. Secondly, the reading I offer is well within the interpretative frame offered by Our Lord, Himself. Third, this interpretation allows us to appreciate the first reading, and recognize how we can often use the first reading as an interpretative key to understand the Gospel, or vice-versa.

The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field

Reading these lines allegorically we recognize in them God who planted our first parents, Adam and Eve, in the field of the Garden of Eden. Made in the image of God, they were without sin, and were indeed, good seed.

While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. 

Now we know that God does not sleep, and so the “everyone” in these lines can only refer to our first parents, and their sleep refers not to physical sleep, but to their failure to stay alert and guard their hearts. The enemy, we can now tell (Rev 12:10) is the Devil who crept up on our first parents and sowed in their hearts, destined for the purest wheat, the weeds of sin.

The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
… 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?

The slaves refer to the angels, who, always faithful to God, the Father of the divine household, are always ready to do His bidding.

Faced with the concern of His angels, God responds mercifully, as only a careful gardener would:

He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.

At this point, we are able to glimpse the truth of the psalm this Sunday:

Lord, you are good and forgiving.

God so loved the world, that rather than destroy us, or our first parents, for our sins, He allows us the opportunity to correct ourselves.

Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn."'

Brothers and sisters, we often fail to recognize that in the face of the holiness of God, the smallest of our sins demands that we be thrown into hell. And yet, despite meriting an eternity in hell, Our Lord allows us the opportunity to grow both wheat and weeds in the soil of our hearts, hopeful that we will grasp the opportunities that He has offered us, through His Son, His Most Holy Mother, and His saints to focus on the wheat. 

At the end of our time on earth, when we will have to give account for our life, our wheat and weeds will be sorted out by the angels. And once again, He will show us His mercy, since rather than summarily send us off to hell for the weeds we will have nurtured, we will get to spend time in the fire – of purgatory – but it will be the wheat that we have nurtured in the garden of our hearts that will ensure that we will eventually get to paradise.

And why, and how, is it, that Our Lord can be so merciful with us? The first reading, from the book of Wisdom offers us an explanation:

your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all

In other words, and this is a lesson to all of us who are in positions of power, it is a mark of our weakness, that we seek to destroy those under us, when they disobey, or fail us. Our God of justice and mercy, shows us the way in which the power that is given to us must be wielded, with compassion. As the book of Wisdom teaches us today:

And you taught your people, by these deeds,

that those who are just must be kind;

and you gave your children good ground for hope

that you would permit repentance for their sins.

My dear brothers and sisters, Our God is the constant gardener who ensures that we are never without opportunity to cultivate the soil of our hearts so that we may produce the finest wheat and then live with Him for eternity, in paradise. Let us so cultivate our hearts, therefore, that we may yield “a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (Mt 13: 8).

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful on 19 July 2026 in the chapel of Our Lady of the Cape at Cabo Raj Nivas, Dona Paula.)

(Image reference: The Tares, Eugène Burnand, 1908.)