Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church

Make Straight the Path for Joy Homily from the 2nd Sunday of Advent.The Holy Spirit is that person that helps us to open our hearts to make room for the Lord. One way we can prepare our hearts during Advent is to go to Confession. Are we ready to experience the mercy of God in confession and to say “God, I don’t want anything to stand between us”?

Don’t Bury the Treasure Homily from the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. When we give of our time, talent, and treasure, we are allowing our trust in God to grow. When we give God our yes in even one small way, we open ourselves up to His providence.

How Are We Preparing? Homily from the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Stewardship is a way of life. It is a way to prepare so that all of myself is focused on heaven. By spending time in prayer, giving our time and treasure, and serving others.

Pilgrims with the Saints Homily from the Solemnity of All Saints.All saints are men and women from every walk of life who particularly know the Trinity as a friend. They know their need of a Savior. They allow the Holy Spirit to radiate in them. We are called to be those Saints. What kind of Saint will you be?

Love God and Neighbor Homily from the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. What does it mean to love your Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind? "Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything." - Pedro Arrupe, S.J.

“In Whose Image Am I?” Homily from the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time. You are and I are made in the image of God. This is not something you just come to reason to. This isn’t merely a human construct or received as a value of an enlightened society. This is revelation. Only God revealed this: that the human person is made in the image of God. And this truth impacts absolutely everything for those who believe it.

“Invite to the Feast – Whomever” Homily from the Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We have a God today who is inviting you to the most amazing feast…his very self in the eucharist. We can receive God himself today. What an incredible gift to us. God doesn’t just invite a few select people he invites everyone. He is the God of tender, unbiased love. He is calling you to invite others to his feast. He is calling you to invite others to his tender, unbiased love. He is calling you to embody his tender unbiased love to the world. It’s not yours or I’s to decide whether they have clean hands or not…you and I are called to invite everyone.

“The God of Peace Be With You” Homily from the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Things are rough right now. It can be discouraging to watch the news or look at social media, even our conversations with family or friends at times can become intense. We can all have this temptation to look at out into the world and just see ugliness, just see division, to see a world without hope. But God desires for us to be free of anxiety, to abide in his peaceful love. We do not need to look out in the world and be afraid.

“He Emptied Himself” Homily from the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. “We live in a society that loves to look away. That’s why we sometimes refer to “those people,” because “those people” aren’t like me, and if I don’t have to worry about “those people” then my life can go on as normal. But God wants us to begin to notice. To notice the person who is maybe different than I am. To notice the person who is in need. To notice the person who might be shorter or taller. To notice the person who has views different than mine. To notice the person who is in the womb of a beautiful mother. To notice. To see. To be attentive.”

“Am I Generous Too?” Homily from the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, also honoring the Catholic Community Foundation Legacy Society. The Gospel this weekend is about God’s great generosity. “This parable, where Jesus describes what the Kingdom of God is like, is about God’s incredible generosity. That it doesn’t matter, brothers and sisters, when the Lord encounters us, and calls us into the vineyard, what he desires to give to us is something far beyond what we could merit.”

“Seventy Times Seventy” Homily from the Twenty-Forth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die. “One of the ways we often lose freedom and prevent Jesus from being the Lord of our live, is by harboring unforgiveness in our hearts. When we fail to forgive others we not only hurt our relationship with them but we harm ourselves.”

“Love Your Neighbor As Yourself” Homily from the Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. God desires for us to “get along, and not just to get along, but to get along so profoundly, so deeply that we could agree to something and pray about something before the heavenly Father. That we could be united in our hearts for what we intercede for, what we pray about.”

“Be Transformed By the Renewal of Your Mind” Homily from the Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. “We call it the sacrament of reconciliation because it’s not just about confession—it’s not just about confessing our sins—it’s about restoring [and renewing our] relationship with Jesus, with God. It’s about us receiving God’s mercy, his love, and restoring that love which we have rejected through our sins. And this is the great, great gift which we have in the sacrament of confession.”

“Upon This Rock, Build My Church.” Homily from the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time. In this weekend’s Gospel, “Jesus is reminding Peter is that if you are going to be my disciple it’s not always going to be good. It’s not always going to be easy. You are going to be challenged beyond your capacity. So do you really want to follow me and be my disciple?...”

“She believed, even when it seemed like she was being rejected, that this is the Son of God. That he truly loves me, that he desires to heal my daughter.” What do I do when I don’t feel his presence or when I’m struggling to believe? Is God still with me? What is faith? What is the difference between faith and feeling?

by Father Kevin Finnegan

by Father Nathan Hastings

by Father Kevin Finnegan

by Father Nathan Hastings

by Father Kevin Finnegan