Father Kevin A. Codd

Jesus' Yoke, 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), July 5, 2026

An often-asked question of priests is what is your favorite thing to do as a priest? It is not-so-easy to find an answer because there are so many things priests like doing! One of the most tender things we do is anoint the sick with the simple gestures of laying hands on the ill person and anointing their forehead and palms of their hands with the Oil of the Sick. It is curious that the Gospel reading most often used in the rite is not a healing story, but today's Gospel reading from Matthew. The Church chose wisely in using Jesus' words: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened..." and even more so, "Take my yoke upon you..." Let us reflect a bit on that "yoke" of which Jesus speaks...

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador

The Value of a Glass of Water, 13th Sunday of Ordinaary Time (A), June 28, 2026

How doe one measure the value of a simple glass of water? For most, it costs us less than a penny, but for the thirsty, it's worth is more than all the treasures of the world. As a gift of hospitality to the thirsty, it is a blessing to the recipient and to the giver...a blessing of God. 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Bumbling into Auquilula (Audio), June 15, 2026

This is the audio version of a post I wrote on my Substack account about my recent decision to buy a place in the small barrio of Auquilula, about ten miles outside of the city of Cuenca. 

The original text can be found at this link: 

https://substack.com/@kacodd/note/p-202195219?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=87og5y

Keep the "Christi" in Corpus Christi, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ-A, June 7, 2026

Cuenca, Ecuador sure knows how to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi! Yet, in all the sweets that line the streets, the fireworks, and even the crazy dancing bulls, there is a need for some caution: don't lose the "Christi" from Corpus Christi! Father Kevn reflects today on how that word of caution applies to all of us every Sunday as we celebrate the Eucharist in our parish churches. What is it, really, we are part of as we join in this mystery and sacrament? 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.  

The Trinity: A Mystery to be Experienced, Holy Trinity Sunday-A, May 31, 2026

Father Kevin returns to the ambo of our church family after a six-week visit to the United States and today visits the great mystery of the Holy Trinity, so difficult to explain, but so beautiful to experience!

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. 

Thomas: My Lord and My God!, Second Sunday of Easter-A, April 12, 2026

Poor Thomas gets a very bad rap for having doubted his fellow apostles' proclamation of the Lord's Resurrection. Yet, in the end, he is the true hero of John's Gospel with his simple, profound, and altogether perfect profession of faith: "My Lord and my God!" It too a bit for him to get there, but that profession of faith is the capstone of John's Gospel. 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC. 

Mary of Magdala, Easter Morning, April 5, 2026

John's account of the First Day of the Week particularly highlights the fact that the first to find Jesus' tomb empty was Mary of Magdala; she is also the first to encounter the Risen Jesus and proclaim his resurrection to the other. The immensity of what she experienced when Jesus called her by name is all the more grand by the darkness that preceded that moment of resurrection grace! 

Easter morning homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Why This Way? Good Friday Commemoration of the Lord's Passion, April 3, 2026

Hearing once again the devastating story of Jesus' passion and death (Gospel of John), the simple question of "Why?" comes to the fore. Why did Jesus have to suffer like this to save us? Let us see if we can approach an answer...

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. 

Do This In Memory of Me, Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Last Supper, April 2, 2026

Memory is the key to understanding tonight's mysteries. We remember the Passover and in the remembering, it becomes present to us. We remember Jesus' breaking of the bread and passing of the cup and he becomes present to us, flesh and blood. We remember Jesus' washing of the feet of his apostles and in the remembering he is washing our feet. 

Homily for the Mass of the Lord's Supper, Holy Thursday, shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. 

Grief is Weird-Death is Strange, 5th Sunday of Lent (A), March 22, 2026

Grief is a most weird experience. It has its own timtable and agenda, coming and going in waves of all sizes. Grief maoy be weird because death, too, is a most strange experience. She who was alive one minute is dead the next: the disjunction between the two realities is confounding in a deeply troubling way. Jesus' encounter with the sisters of dead Lazarus, his great friend, reveals him as one who knows well the strange and weird experiences of both death and grief. He weeps with them and is shaken to his core by the reality. But his calling forth of Lazarus from his tomb is so much more than just another miracle among miracles; in John's gospel is is a SIGN that points to a mystery much deeper: God is creator and mastor of life! Death has no power! 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.