Non Clamor Sed Amor: Homily for the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord

he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;

My dear brothers and sisters, these words from the Prophet Isaiah chosen for the first reading on the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord offer us an image of a reformer unlike anything we are accustomed to. Isaiah assures us that the Messiah who will come will bring forth justice and be successful in doing so, but he will not do so by the methods that we are familiar with. No shouting in the street, no violence, no roughing up, or the smashing of heads.

This method must seem very strange for us, born after the French revolution, after the revolutions that have come since then, and who are used to the rousing anti-colonial nationalisms of the early twentieth century. It must seem strange to us who are used to the slogans of Inquilab zindabad (long live the revolution) and who are used to overturning, and killing, kings and setting others on the throne and seats of power.

And why will the Messiah not do this? In 1984, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued an instruction on Liberation theology a paragraph of which caught my eye, which I offer you in its entirety:

Nor can one localize evil principally or uniquely in bad social, political, or economic "structures" as though all other evils came from them so that the creation of the "new man" would depend on the establishment of different economic and socio-political structures. To be sure, there are structures which are evil and which cause evil and which we must have the courage to change. [However,] Structures, whether they are good or bad, are the result of man's actions and so are consequences more than causes. The root of evil, then, lies in free and responsible persons who have to be converted by the grace of Jesus Christ in order to live and act as new creatures in the love of neighbor and in the effective search for justice, self-control, and the exercise of virtue. To demand first of all a radical revolution in social relations and then to criticize the search for personal perfection is to set out on a road which leads to the denial of the meaning of the person and his transcendence, and to destroy ethics and its foundation which is the absolute character of the distinction between good and evil. Moreover, since charity is the principle of authentic perfection, that perfection cannot be conceived without an openness to others and a spirit of service.

There we have have it! It is, “the spirit of service;” which is the spirit of one who will not crush a reed, nor quench a wick. One could well call it caritas or love. Our Lord knows that setting up new kings, and beheading old ones, throwing away old systems in favour of new ones is not the solution. Rather, if we are to establish justice, it is the transformation of the heart that is called for. And what needs to be rooted out of the heart is nothing other than sin.

He went about doing good 
and healing all those oppressed by the devil, 
for God was with him.

These words from the Acts of the Apostles, offered for our second reading today, teaches us that we need to realise who the enemy is, and then choose our weapons accordingly. The enemy is not the various persons whose actions are definitely a part of the problem. Rather, the enemy is the devil, and it is with him that we must be ready to do battle. It is with the devil that Our Lord came to do battle, and he understood that the way to do this is to break with sin and introduce grace into the world.

This grace is available for us through the seven sacraments that have been instituted for us by Our Lord. Today we celebrate the institution of the sacrament of baptism – the first of the sacraments that lead us into the way of love, and provide us with the grace necessary to do battle with the devil.

Through baptism we are washed clean of original sin, made sons of God and fused into the mystical body of Christ, so that He may assist us to do battle with the devil against whom we will not succeed without the gift of grace. Grace abounds in the sacraments, and it is to this fountain – especially the sacrament of reconciliation – that we must rush toward if we wish to assist Our Lord in establishing justice on the face of the earth.

Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
    give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
    adore the LORD in holy attire.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the cathedral parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria on 10 Jan 2026.)

(Image reference: Triptych of the Mystic Bath, Jean Bellegambe, first third of the 16^th cent., Palais des Beaux Arts de Lille.)

Todos! Todos! Todos! Homily for the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

Since at least the latter parts of the nineteenth century, and into the twentieth, the Christian revelation has been done great disservice by interpretations of the scripture that are literalist, and – to make it worse – ideologically driven. For example, these interpretations consistently limit the poverty of those in scripture to their material poverty; and ignore the fact that a symbolic, mystical, or spiritual reading of the scripture would emphasize that the poverty that the Bible refers to is that of our poverty before God.

The problem with these readings is that it has produced Christians, Catholics even, who restrict their pastoral care to only those who are materially impoverished and either ignore, or actively discriminate against, those who are materially, or fiscally, rich. The preferential option for the poor, which is a wonderful direction for Christian charity, has, as a result, become a preferential option to ignore, and worse discriminate against, the rich and the privileged. This is a grotesque perversion of the Christian message, and we should examine our hearts to inquire if this is what our projects of Christian charity are motivated by, or perhaps result in.

The feast we celebrate today, the Epiphany, the adoration by the Magi, should help correct this tendency since we see that the rich, privileged and powerful too, have a role to play in the proclamation of the Gospel. Not only does Christ love them, and permit them to adore Him, but He actively reveals Himself to them. Indeed, He revealed Himself to them via the star, meaning he knew of the kind of knowledge they possessed – a knowledge born of a surplus of time, spent not in hard labour, but in contemplation. In so revealing Himself, He chose that they too should play a role in His revelation to humanity. His message was not restricted to Israel alone, but was directed towards all people. As St. Paul says to the Ephesians in today’s reading from the epistles:

it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Indeed, those who privilege a restricted reading of the scriptures, can be compared to Herod in the Gospel episode we read today. Reflecting on this episode, Pope St. Gregory the Great points out that Herod serves as a symbol of false devotion. St. Gregory points out what should be obvious, that Herod here represents a ruler who focused completely on the mundane, and forgetful of the transcendental realities we live in, seeks to protect his earthly, or material, kingdom from Him whose kingdom is not of this world. This must operate as an indictment of Christians who to the exclusion of all else, focus on social justice alone, and berate those who focus on the mystical, and transcendental.

An anonymous ancient Christian commentator reflecting on Herod observes that when the wicked want to do serious harm, they paint treachery in the color of humility. There is much false humility that abounds in the Catholic church today, and this false humility is, in part, the result of literalist, or materialist, interpretations of scripture, that encourage hate, and a false piety.

One extricates oneself from this situation by looking anew on the scriptures. The adoration of the kings, or the Magi, offers us rich reflections.

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.

First, the privileged have a contribution to make to the Church, not only in the propagation of the Christian message, but in the reception of pastoral care. Secondly, not only is Our Lord worthy of worship by the privileged, but He wishes to be honored as kings are honored – with precious gifts of gold, and incense and myrrh. This is to say, our formal acts of worship must be solemn and accompanied by precious, and high-quality, offerings. Silks, gold, silver. These are not just acceptable, but worthy of inclusion in our worship. We must bear in mind that finesse in products and services is often the product of patronage by the privileged. The products of their surplus, leisure and contemplation, like those of the Magi, must be offered to Our Lord, for their, and our, own good. Our Lord loves and esteems the shepherds, but he loves and esteems kings and members of the elite classes too.

In his message to the youth at World Youth Day, Pope Francis emphatically emphasized that in the Church there is room for everyone, “Todos, todos, todos” (everyone, everyone, everyone). "And when there isn't, please, let's work so that there is."

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful at the Cathedral parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria on 4 January 2026.)

(Image reference: The Adoration of the Magi, Gentile da Fabriano, 1423, The Uffizi, Florence.)

For the Love of Father: Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.

My dear brothers and sister, the gospel episode on this feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth – Jesus, Mary and Joseph – focuses entirely on St. Joseph. As is often observed, St. Joseph is silent through the entire Gospel, he speaks not once. Not only is he silent, however, but the gospels do not provide us with very many details about this man, charged with the care of Our Lord.

For these details, we must turn to the pious traditions of the Church. While not essential to the faith – we are not obliged to believe them – we do benefit from paying attention to these traditions as these deepen our faith. According to the venerable Mary of Ágreda (1602-1665), who received special revelations directly from Our Lady concerning the life of the Virgin Mother of God, and recorded these in a book called The Mystical City of God, we learn that, having lived with Our Lady for a little longer than twenty-seven years, St. Joseph died at the age of sixty years and a few days. This allows us to date the age of Our Lord at the death of St. Joseph at about twenty-seven years.

We can see, therefore, how this verse from the first reading, from the book of Sirach, applies to Our Lord and His relationship with His father. From these revelations, we can deduce that Our Lord began his public ministry only after the death of His father, choosing to be close to St. Joseph until his death. In any case, given the lack of biblical reference to St. Joseph during Our Lord’s ministry, we can be sure that the public ministry of Our Lord commenced only after the death of St. Joseph.

My dear brothers and sisters, owing to the intimacy with the lives of others that the reception of holy orders offers, I have realized the extent to which the institution of the family is challenged. I refer not to persons who choose to live outside of marriage, or other forms of life that are not ordered to Christ, but to the number of parents who languish alone in old age. It is not that their children do not care; but their parents, and the heathen society we live in, have formed them to pursue and privilege material benefits alone. This has ensured that these parents are now left alone in their hometowns, while the children are far away, across oceans and seas pursuing lucre and material success.

Left all alone, the scenario is worsened when they fall prey to the illnesses that precede death. They must now rely on the kindness of strangers, nurses and other caregivers, who at times may not be kind. In any case, however, we must remember that the caregivers, not being family, cannot provide the affection that comes specifically from the children one raises, or the family one has grown up with. Communication is complicated by different languages and more importantly cultural mores. When you are sick, and even more when you know that you are on the edge of the grave, it matters that the caregiver have a bedside manner that one is familiar with.

The feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth offers us, dear brothers and sisters, the opportunity to model ourselves on this holy family, and above all on the example of Our Lord. We must not abandon our aged relatives – and I do not mean just our parents – to the care of strangers in their final moments. And this care cannot be given unless our entire life, from the time we are earning and working adults, is shaped by the determination to be present at a moment’s notice for our families in their time of need.

There is a beautiful tradition of depicting the death of St. Joseph surrounded by his Son and wife. This is the death that we should all hope for. Some time ago, I was informed of the death of a pious nun I knew the Italian town of Bagnoregio. Her sisters in the convent assured me that she died at dawn, in her bed, surrounded by her community who accompanied her death with prayers and hymns.

This, brothers and sisters in Christ, was the kind of death that St. Joseph enjoyed, and one that we must all aspire for our loved ones. And not just our loved ones, but every Christian, and ourselves! We must mobilise to pray at the bedside of those who are in ICU, those who are clearly dying, so that they die accompanied by the prayers of those who care for them – whether related by blood or not. To do so would be to imitate Our Lord and the holiness of the family of Nazareth.

One last word inspired from a portion of the reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, 
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, 
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs 
with gratitude in your hearts to God.

How does one create the situation where despite being far away we are committed to our families? One sure way is prayer. I was recently edified by the example of a family that gathers virtually to pray the rosary of Our Lady – a great way to bind ourselves together and grow in holiness. The rosary is a prayer that is rich in the word of Christ, founded as it is on biblical episodes and facts. And our rosaries should not limited to the recitation of the Our Father and Hail Mary, but also as often as we can, accompanied by little reflections on the Marian mysteries we contemplate.

May the Holy Family of Nazareth bless you and aid you in your growth in holiness this Christmastide.

(A version of this homily was first preached to the faithful on 27 December 2025 at the parish of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Old Goa.)

(Image reference: The Death of St. Joseph, Bartolomeo Altomonte, 18^th century.)