5th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A - March 22, 2026

5th Sunday of Lent – A 

March 22, 2026       8:30am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Resurrection on the Last Day 

 

Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, has died. 

 

His sister, Martha, says to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus replies: “Your brother will rise.”

 

And Martha responds with a sentence that is significant. She says: “I know he will rise in the resurrection, on the last day.”

 

Some Jews, in the centuries right before the birth of Christ, had come to believe in a resurrection. They believed that this would happen on the last day, at the end of time.  

 

So, Martha is asserting this belief. And her statement is significant because it sets up Jesus for declaring something dramatically new.   

 

“I am the resurrection…”

 

Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life.”

 

Notice that Jesus says: “I am” – not I will be “the resurrection.” This means that resurrection is a present reality, and not only something in the future.  

 

And also notice that Jesus says: “I am.” This is dramatic because it means that resurrection is in some way not just a belief for the future, but it is a person in the present.

 

So, resurrection happens now through a relationship with Jesus in the present. This is why Jesus says: “Whoever believe in me, even if they die, will live.” 

 

Jesus invites us to believe in him and then to live out of this relationship so as to live in resurrected life right now. The idea is that Jesus calls Lazarus and us out of the tombs we are in right now. 

 

Our Tombs  

 

For example, Jesus gently calls us out of our tomb of grief and loss. 

 

He knows what it is like to be abandoned and to feel the loss of those closest to him. He walks with us in that experience and assures us that he is always with us. 

 

He offers himself as our companion especially in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. He calls us, as we are able to do it, to come out of the tomb of grief and back into the current of life that God must still want for us. 

 

Jesus calls us out of the tomb of anxiety and worry.

 

He paints that touching and powerful image: “Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not more important than they?

 

“Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your lifespan?” He calls us out of the tomb of worry and anxiety and into a trusting relationship with God.

 

Then Jesus calls us out of the tomb of guilt and shame.

 

We may be burdened with guilt for something we have done or crippled in shame about who we are. Remember the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman that we heard here just two weeks ago.

 

She had a sordid past and felt guilty and ashamed. And yet Jesus takes her where she is and she emerges with a renewed sense of worth and dignity.   

 

One last example: Jesus may be calling us out of the tomb of self-absorption.

 

Self-absorption means that I am thinking only about myself and my concerns. I may not even be able to relate to the world or viewpoint or feelings of others.

 

Jesus calls us out of this tomb of self-absorption by teaching us the balance of loving others as we love ourselves. He brings us to the awareness that our true happiness is connected with the well-being of others.

 

“Do you believe?”

 

So, the real issue today is the question that Jesus asks Martha: “Do you believe this?” 

 

“Do you believe that I am the resurrection – that “I am the resurrection”? If we do, then he can raise us up and help us out of the tombs we are in right now.

4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A - March 15, 2026

 4th Sunday of Lent – A 

March 15, 2026       11am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

I Am Nameless

 

Did you notice that the gospel writer, Saint John, never tells you my name?

 

In the entire story that you just heard, John only refers to me as “a man blind from birth.”  He never uses my name.

 

I want to tell you why he doesn’t but first, I want to make two observations about what happens here.  After all, I’m the one at the center of the story, so I really experienced what happened.  

 

Observation 1: Seeing Spiritually 

 

First, did you notice that Jesus says that my blindness is not due to any sin, either my parents’ sin or my sin?

 

It just happened.  Period.

 

So, you are probably not responsible for any physical blindness.  But you may be, in fact you and all of us are probably responsible for spiritual blindness in ourselves.  

 

When I look in this story at my religious leaders and my neighbors and even my parents, I think they are afraid: afraid that they will have to change the way they think about Jesus, or afraid that their status will be threatened, or afraid of what others will think about them. That’s why they are unable to see and to say that Jesus healed me.

 

They remain spiritually blind and they are responsible for that. So, please don’t let that happen to you. 

 

Maybe you are afraid that if you really listen to Jesus, you will have to face up to some habit in your life, like talking negatively about people or a substance abuse problem. Or maybe you are afraid that you will have to deal with your part of a marriage problem.  

 

You know, this sort of spiritual blindness diminishes who you are and doesn’t make you feel any better about yourself. Jesus is so insightful when he says: “I came into this world so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” 

 

What Jesus means is: don’t be so certain that you are really seeing, because then you may end up spiritually blind. Instead, admit that you are blind to some extent, and then allow Jesus to help you to see – spiritually.

 

Observation 2: Seeing More

 

And that takes me to my other observation: Did you notice that I did not see fully all at once?

 

Oh yes, I instantly got my eyesight, my physical sight. But my spiritual sight – that was another thing.

 

At first, I saw Jesus as just another person; then as a prophet; then as one sent from God; then as the Son of Man or Messiah; and finally, as the Lord or God himself. It took me a while to see him for all that he is.

 

There’s a good lesson here for you. You need to grow in your faith – to keep seeing more and more and never stop growing.

 

So, don’t get stuck into thinking that your understanding of God or of the Mass or of Catholic traditions has to be the way it was when you were a kid. Keep your mind and your eyes open and trying to see more.

 

I’m telling you: it’s a lot more exciting to keep growing and to keep seeing more and more. And it will lead you, as it led me, to a much fuller relationship with Jesus – and that means with God.

 

Why I Am Nameless

 

Okay! I just had to make these observations about 1) seeing spiritually and 2) seeing more and more.

 

Now, I want to tell you why John never tells you my name. He does not do this because he wants each of you – each of you – to realize that you are me.

 

So, you – Mary, Michael, Rita, Robert – you are the “man blind from birth.” Jesus also wants to give you sight, and he will do this 1) if you are willing to admit that you may be spiritually blind and that you want spiritual vision and 2) if you are willing to keep trying to see more and more for as long as you live.  

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - February 15, 2026

6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – A 

February 15, 2026  8:30am 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Anger

 

For just a minute, imagine this.

 

At work, on your job, a coworker starts talking to others and maybe even the boss about what they did on a particular project. They pass themselves off as having come up with the idea or done a major part of the work, when it was really you who made it happen. 

 

You feel upset and angry. And this is natural, isn’t it?

 

Your anger signals that an injustice has occurred. So, what do you do with your anger?

 

In what I call a healthy and gospel-based response, you pause, you reflect, and then you address the issue as respectfully as you can. Perhaps you speak privately with the coworker and express your upset.

 

Or perhaps you speak with your supervisor and clarify your contribution to the project. Your anger motivates you to pursue fairness while still respecting the coworker’s dignity.

 

Healthy or Unhealthy 

 

The point here is that anger, by itself, is not sinful.

 

It is a human feeling, a part of who we are as human beings. Healthy or normal anger is an emotional response to something that is unjust, harmful, or wrong.

On the flip side, what is called unhealthy or sinful anger goes beyond recognizing what is unjust, harmful, or wrong. It becomes hurtful, even destructive.

 

Healthy anger is controlled and directed at the problem. But sinful anger attacks the person.

 

You may gossip about your coworker and label them as dishonest. You may hope that they fail and even want to take revenge.  

 

Jesus and Anger

 

This distinction helps explain Jesus’ words in today’s gospel. 

 

Jesus says; “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not kill.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with another will be liable to judgment.”

 

Jesus moves the focus from the outward act of murder to the inward attitude of the heart. The insight is that murder does not begin with a weapon.

 

It begins with contempt and hatred. When anger turns into contempt and hatred, it has  the spirit that leads to violence. 

 

So, Jesus is not condemning the emotion of anger in itself. Instead, he wants us to get in touch with our feelings of anger and express them in a constructive way.

 

Healthy anger seeks justice while preserving respect. Sinful anger seeks to wound, diminish, or destroy. 

 

There is a big difference. And basically, the difference lies in whether our heart remains aligned with God’s mercy or drifts toward contempt and hatred. 

 

Sexuality and Oaths

 

Jesus gives two other examples in this passage, and he wants us to deal with them in the same way – moving from just the outer act to our inner attitude. 

 

So, he speaks of marriage and sexual expression. He wants us to integrate our sexual drives – a part of who we are as human beings – he wants us to integrate them into a life lived by gospel values.

 

Jesus is calling us to lives of faithful love. And he is calling us to respect others as persons and not view them as objects for our own pleasure. 

 

And then Jesus speaks of oaths. He is not putting down the use of oaths in a courtroom.

 

But he is saying that there is no need for swearing oaths in ordinary life. Simply speak what is within you and say Yes if you mean Yes and No if you mean No. 

 

From Outer to Inner

 

So, to wrap it up, let’s go back to where Jesus begins today: “I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them.”

 

He wants us to go beyond the law, as something outside of us that we just must obey. He wants us to go within and live out the spirit of the law, the values and principles that are its foundation.

 

Living this fulfillment of the law will give us a sense of fullness. It will make us more at peace with Jesus and with one another.  

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - February 8, 2026

 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – A 

February 8, 2026    5:00pm 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Salt

 

Here is something very familiar to all of us – a box of Morton’s salt. 

 

We all know that salt, in its various forms, has a lot of qualities or uses. For example, if we run out of toothpaste, we can brush with a mixture of soda and salt because of salt’s cleansingqualities. 

 

If we get a sore throat, we can gargle with salt because of its healing qualities. If we’re hungry, we can cure a ham with salt because of its preserving qualities.  

 

We can flavor just about every food with salt. We can use it to melt ice on the sidewalk or street in the winter.  

 

We’ve seen a lot of that in the past few weeks! And we can also use it to put out fires.  

 

So, salt has lots of uses and these uses tell us a lot about why Jesus calls us “the salt of the earth.” His idea is that with his presence and following his way, we can be “the salt of the earth.”

 

“Salt of the Earth” 

 

For example, we can flavor our families with selflessness, by thinking in terms of our well-being and not just my well-being. We can cleanse our marriages by asking for forgiveness when we have offended our spouse. 

 

Like salt, we can heal a friendship by granting forgiveness. We can preserve the relationship with our older parents by making time to visit and assist them. 

 

Like salt, we can melt the coldness that can creep into work relationships by a few positive words. We can put out the fires that can flare up with our children by listening to feelings and dealing with the root of the issue.

 

And we cannot forget this one: we can give lightness to our relationships by not taking everything too seriously and by taking some things with a grain of salt. So, there it is, a box of salt, being “the salt of the earth” – they are some of the qualities that Jesus must have in mind here.

 

Light

 

Now, in today’s passage, Jesus goes on to call us also “the light of the world.”

 

This leads me to recall an article that I read some years ago about a prayer breakfast. The speaker was emphasizing our duty to be “the light of the world.”  

 

He said that he had an experience at home that really helped him understand this. He went down into his basement one day and made an interesting discovery.  

 

Some potatoes were over in the darkest corner of the basement, and they had begun to sprout. At first, he couldn’t figure out how they had gotten enough light.

 

He looked around and then realized what had happened. His wife had hung a shiny kettle from the ceiling near the basement window.   

 

That kettle was so shiny that it was reflecting the rays of the sun onto the potatoes in the dark corner. The speaker said that he learned a lot from this experience.  

 

He could be like a shiny kettle and reflect the light from Jesus onto someone in a dark corner of life. Well, that speaker gives us a good insight into what it takes to be “the light of the world.”      

“Light of the World” 

 

The kettle had to be facing the source of light.

 

Because it was facing the sun, it could also reflect light to the potatoes. The idea is that we also need to be facing our spiritual light who is Jesus.

 

We do this primarily through prayer. Our participating in Mass on the weekend, our reading the Scripture, our doing some spiritual reading, maybe like the book Holy Moments which you will receive today as you leave church – these are important ways for facing our source of light.

 

If we are doing that, we can then reflect God or Jesus to others. And this will include showing the qualities of salt in our relationships – flavoring, cleansing, healing, preserving, melting the cold, putting out the fires, and yes, even taking some things with a grain of salt.

 

So, being “the light of the world” will make us “the salt of the earth.” That’s why Jesus has connected both images and applied them to us.   

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - February 1, 2026

 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – A 

February 1, 2026     11:00am

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

The Barista 

 

On a weekday morning several weeks ago, I was standing in line at a coffee shop. 

 

The barista looked exhausted—dark circles under her eyes, moving quickly but without much joy. The man in front of me told the barista that he was in a big hurry.

 

He was fidgety and tapping his foot. The barista brought his order, he sipped it and immediately snapped that she forgot to add the vanilla to the coffee.

 

She apologized, fixed it, and he walked off without a word – no thank you. As I stepped forward, she looked up and said, almost embarrassed, “Sorry about that.”

 

I said, “You’re doing fine. Don’t worry about it.”

 

Her shoulders relaxed. She smiled—just a little—and said, “That means more than you know.” 

 

The Beatitudes

 

That was a small moment, a brief interaction, nothing heroic. 

 

But it occurs to me that this is the world Jesus is speaking to in today’s Gospel. These sayings that we call the Beatitudes are often not the way the world works. 

 

Jesus doesn’t say, “Blessed are the powerful, the admired, the successful.” He’s saying things that are quite different.

 

And he’s not giving us commands as God did when he gave the Ten Commandments. Instead, he’s giving us simple declarations. 

 

He is declaring, “God is already near to you at these times.” These Beatitudes reveal how and when God is near. 

 

The Eight Declarations

 

So, when we live with a sense of our need for God in a culture that tells us to be self-made and independent, when we admit our limits, when we stop pretending that we are fully in control and have it all together, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

When we suffer the loss of a job, when we grieve the death of a spouse or close friend, when we know how fragile life is, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn.”

When we choose not to dominate conversations, when we choose not to crush others to get ahead in an aggressive world, when we know that real strength is strength under control, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek” because meekness is not weakness. 

 

When we feel angry at injustice, when we ache for truth and honesty, when we respect human life at all stages and in all people, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” because our hearts are then aligned with God.  

 

When we are willing to let go of a hurt and move on, when we have the strength to refrain from a verbal put down to get back at someone, when we choose compassion over judgment, Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful.”

 

When we act with integrity with our actions matching our thoughts, when we try to discern what God wants us to do, when we value all of this more than what other people think about us, Jesus says, “Blessed are the clean of heart.”

 

When we take a step to heal a relationship, when we are even willing to talk with a counselor to work out a problem, when we advocate for ways of diplomacy and not warfare in our world, Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

 

And finally, when others call us weak for trying to be merciful and peacemaking, when they can’t see what we know is real strength, when we are ignored or put down because we are different from the ways of the world, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.”

 

Conclusion

So, these declarations of Jesus, these Beatitudes are not just a checklist.

Instead, first, they are a portrait of Jesus Himself. And then, they are a portrait of the kind of person we are to become. 

Sometimes, it will be as small as a kind word in a coffee shop. Something small, probably not seen or noticed by many. 

But real. And Jesus says: “Blessed are you."

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A - January 18, 2026

2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – A 

January 18, 2026    5:00pm

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

“Behold, the Lamb of God…”

 

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”

These are the words of John the Baptist in today’s gospel. This is how he identifies Jesus.

These words are familiar to us. The priest recites them at every Mass, as a proclamation of what or whom we are about to receive in Holy Communion. 

 

As with anything that we do regularly, it is easy to pass over these words without being aware of their rich meaning. And they are rich! 

“Behold...”

First, notice how John the Baptist begins with the very direct word: “Behold.” 

 

This is not just a casual comment. It is a command. 

 

John is saying, “Stop. Look. Pay attention.” The idea is that the Christian life begins not with what we do, but with whom we behold.

 

Salvation begins when our eyes are looking at Jesus. John does not point to himself, his preaching, or his ascetical life.

 

Instead, he points away from himself and toward Jesus. And he tells us to do the same thing: “Behold.” 

“The Lamb of God” 

John then calls Jesus “the Lamb of God.”

 

Why call him “the Lamb?” And on top of that, “the Lamb of God?”

 

For a Jewish listener, the image of the lamb would call to mind the story of the Passover. The Old Testament Book of Exodus tells the story.

 

On the night of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt, each family was commanded to sacrifice a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood. When the angel of death passed through Egypt, those houses marked by the blood of the lamb were passed over or spared. 

 

The lamb died so that the people might live. By calling Jesus the “Lamb of God,” John asserts that Jesus is the true Passover Lamb. 

 

His blood will not be placed on doorposts but will be shed on the cross. His sacrifice will not free just one people from political slavery.

 

Instead, it will free all humanity from a deeper kind of slavery. And that takes us to the next words that John speaks about Jesus

“Who takes away the sin of the world” 

He identifies Jesus as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” 

 

This expression is packed with meaning. For a Jewish listener, this expression recalls thesacrifices in the Temple.

 

Frequently, a lamb was offered to God for the sins of the people. These sacrifices kept being repeated because they could never fully take sin away. 

 

John calls Jesus “the Lamb of God.” He is not one lamb among many. 

 

Instead, his sacrifice, the sacrifice of himself is offered once and for all time. No other sacrifice is needed because His gift of Himself is perfect.

 

Notice also that John the Baptist says that Jesus the Lamb “takes away the sin of the world.” Notice that the word is “sin” in the singular and not sins in the plural.

 

The idea is that Jesus first takes away or removes our alienation from God. He does this because of who he is – the One who comes directly from God.  

 

And so, his presence and the sacrifice of himself takes away or removes all distance between the divine and the human. That’s what John’s words “the sin of the world” mean. 

 

These Words at Mass

 

So, here’s what I want to recommend. 

 

When we come forward to receive Communion, let’s repeat these words of John the Baptist silently to ourselves. Let’s repeat these words and allow them to remind us of who we are receiving and what he does for us. 

 

“Behold” – Stop! Look! Pay attention!

“The Lamb of God” – The one, once-and-for-all-time sacrifice.

“Who takes away the sin of the world” – The One who comes from God and is God and takes away the alienation or distance between God and all of humanity. 

 

That’s who we receive, whose Body and Blood we receive in Holy Communion.

The Baptism of the Lord, Cycle A - January 11, 2026

 The Baptism of the Lord – A 

January 11, 2026 – 8:30am 

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton       

 

“In the name…”

 

At a baptism, the priest or deacon says: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

 

This past week, I got thinking about the words: “In the name.” What do they mean?

 

What does it mean to baptize someone “in the name” – “of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit”? Here is what I am thinking.

 

“In the name” means:

I place you under the authority of…

I place you in the image of...

I place you on the mission of…

 

Those statements express the meaning of the words “in the name.” They tell us a lot about baptism.  

 

“In the name of the Father…”

 

So, “I baptize you in the name of the Father…”

 

In other words, I place you under the authority of the Father. We are to live with the understanding that we have come from a heavenly parent.

 

We have our origin from beyond this earth. And we are to live with the understanding that our goal is to return to God, our heavenly parent, at the end of our journey on earth.

 

Being placed under the authority of God also means that God has something to say about how we live our life on this earth. It’s not just up to us to decide this.

 

The Father chose to provide us with some direction for living for what is good and beautiful and true. Because of that, he sent his Son and so we also say…

 

“In the name of the Son…”

 

“I baptize you in the name of the Son…”

 

In other words, I place you in the image of God. Saint Paul tells us in one of his letters that “Jesus is the image of the invisible God.”

 

Jesus shows us who God is and what God is like. In baptism, we are charged to grow in that image.

 

And the way to start that is to understand that the words spoken about Jesus at his baptism are also spoken to us. “You are my beloved son” – “You are my beloved daughter.”

 

We are to live assured that we are loved by God and then make the two great commandments of love that the Son has given us the guiding norms for our life. To help us with that, God or Jesus remains with us and so we also say…

 

“In the name of the Holy Spirit…” 

 

“I baptize you in the name of the Holy Spirit.”

 

In other words, I place you on the mission of God. The Son’s mission, Jesus’ mission is now ours.

 

That’s why he gives us his Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will move us to bring the kingdom or the way of God at least to our little corner of the world.

 

The Spirit will move us to do in our relationships what Paul so beautifully says in one of his letters. “Put on, God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.”

 

And the Spirit will guide us in our mission to care for the last and the least and the lost in our society. We will feel peace and fulfillment when we live out this mission and restlessness or guilt when we don’t do that. 

 

“In the name…” 

 

So, with all of this in mind, I recommend one takeaway or one piece of homework for us.

 

Let’s try to recall what it means to be baptized “in the name of” whenever we make the Sign of the Cross.

 

I place you under the authority of…the Father

I place you in the image of...the Son

I place you on the mission of…the Holy Spirit. 

Amen. 

 

May this understanding help us to appreciate and live our baptism more fully.