Father Kevin A. Codd

Peace! Easter Morning, April 20, 2025

"Happy Easter" is a fine greeting, but the word "happy" doesn't really communicate the depth of what we experience on this Easter morning. The risen Jesus offers his own "word" for his disciples and for us:  "Peace." 

Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador, (and wrapping up a long Holy Week, the homilist is a bit weary which seems manifest in his delivery!)

Barabbas and Caesar! Good Friday Comemoration of the Passion, April 18, 2025

John's narrative of Jesus' passion, death, and burial includes the mention of many names. There is Jesus and Simon Peter, of course, but also Malchus, Annas and Caiphas, Pilate, and at the end, the noble Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. But there is also the name of Barabbas, the brigand, and that of Caesar; what significance might these two names hold in this deeply sad story?

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

Three Prayers and a Fourth: Palm/Passion Sunday (C), April 13, 2025

The Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. All of it...eighteen minutes of it, here told again as so many times before. A simple reflection follows: Jesus prays three times in this long story and each prayer is worthy of its own homily; each one shows us something deeply important about Jesus, his relationship to his Father, and his relationship to us. There is a fourth prayer here, too: that of the criminal crucified next to him. It is one that we keep in our own heart all the days of our lives, sin besmirched as they may be: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

The Passion proclaimed to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. 

Go And Sin No More: Be Free! 5th Sunday of Lent (C), April 6, 2025

The horrific story given to us on this fifth Sunday of the Lenten season is so much more than a story about a woman "caught in the very act of adultery"; it is a story about that woman, of course, but also about the men carrying the stones in their hands ready to kill her in the name of Moses, and it is a story about Jesus...

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

This Remarkable Father, 4th Sunday of Lent (C), March 30, 2025

The magnificent parable that Jesus tells in Luke 15 proves he is one of the great story-tellers of all time. It also is a spiritual revolution because it turns upside down the way most people have imagined God. Jesus pulls no punches in this story, which as it happens, is squarely directed at the religious leaders of his day. What is God like? For Jesus, God is this father who loves his sons so much that he will do anything to save them from themselves. 

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

Just How Close Can We Come? The Burning Bush of Moses, 3rd Sunday of Lent (Year C), March 23, 2025

The magnificent story of Moses and the Burning Bush reveals to Moses (and to us!) a God who has the ears to hear the cries of a people enslaved, humiliated, and impoverished. That God would care with a burning passion for the sufferings of a small tribe of Hebrews trapped in Egypt teaches both Moses and us so much about the God at the heart of our faith. But there is more to this story worthy of our consideration. The voice of God emanating from that burning bush also demands that Moses draw no closer. "Stop right where you are!" This spiritual sense that we human beings can only get so close to God travels through the centuries. Distance from God is essential for he is God and we are not! And it is precisely this that Jesus turns upside down with his coming to us in flesh and blood. In him, we are invited into the burning bush that is God's presence.

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

La Zarza de Moises, 3o Domingo de la Cuaremsa (C), 23 de marzo de 2025

En la primera lectura de este domingo cuaresmal, encontramos con Moisés algo maravilloso: una zarza ardiendo sin consumirse. Es mas que cualquier zarza y mas que cualquier zara ardiendo sin consumirse: es un encuentro con Dios. Este Dios revela que es un Dios con oídos para escuchar los gritos del pueblo de Moisés esclavizado en Egipcio y un Dios con un corazón para los oprimidos. Ha hecho la decisión a actuar a liberarlo. Es muy importante esa revelación porque la compasión para los pobres, los desechados, los vulnerables, los esclavizados llega a ser la norma fundamental de la moralidad de los judíos y luego los cristianos. Pero hay algo más en esta historia: la distancia que Moisés tiene que guardar ante de la presencia divina también es muy importante, especialmente para entender el significado de Jesús y su encarnación.

Homilía compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.  

Like the Stars of the Night: Our Destiny, Second Sunday of Lent (Year C), March 16, 2025

Abraham looks up into the night sky resplendent with stars and sees his destiny: "Your children will be more than even the starts of the night!" James, John, and Peter look into the divine face of Jesus and are given a pre-vision of Easter glory. And more than that, they, and we with them, also see our own destiny: what we see in Jesus Glorified is what we too shall be when all is said and done. 

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

Desert Temptations: 1st Sunday of Lent (C), March 9, 2025

Following his extraordinary experience in the Jordan River, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert. Here he must confront the fundamental temptations of his life, especially now that he clearly knows his is God's Beloved Son. Each  of the three desert temtations is a test of his vocation and mission.

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

Love Your Enemies, 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C), March 2, 2025

Jesus doesn't mince his words or his imagery; he says it clearly: "Love your enemies." We all know that this is the most difficult, if not the most impossible, thing Jesus teaches us. So how do we actually do it in real life? Jesus gives us the answer and it is both a simple one and a profound one. 

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

•