Father Kevin A. Codd

Subverting Death: Ash Wednesday, March 3, 2022

More than the words of any homily, it is the primordial symbol of this day that breaks open the Scriptures just proclaimed. Ashes in the sign of the cross speak more eloquently than the words of any preacher. Death is subverted by love. 

”Never Again War” (Ukraine), 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time-C

"Never again war! Never again war!" Pope Paul VI's cry from the heart before the General Assembly of the United Nations on October 4, 1965 has been largely dismissed in the decades since. War upon war upon war has fractured humanity. Paul VI identifies a vile kind of pride as the root of our tendency to choose war over peace and suggests humility among nations as the response, a humility modeled by Jesus himself. 

This newest war challenges not only nations, but each of us and all of us to examine our own lives for that vile pride, the "rotten fruit" sprung from a "rotten tree" and to seek to nurture instead the fruit of justice and peace so that we might truly live the prophetic cry of Paul VI: "Never again war! Never again war!"

David and Saul: Love Your Enemies (7th Sunday of Ordinary Time-C)

The story of  jealous Saul's pursuit of David with the intention of killing him is one of the great stories of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is a great set-up for today's Gospel passage on loving our enemies. We can learn a lot from young David on this score!

Woe Betide You (6th Sunday of Ordinary Time-C)

(Because of a covid scare, I was not able to deliver the homily this weekend at the Iglesia San Francisco in Cuenca, but it was all ready to go! So here is a sit-down-at-the-dining-room-table version. In this unusual format, it went longer than a "real" homily in church...sorry!)

"Woe betide you!" was Sister Michael Mary's preferred way to control her classroom full of third-graders. She also offered plenty of "God bless you's" along the way. Her teaching method was not unlike that of Jesus as we see in today's gospel passage. Yet Jesus was doing so much more! He was throwing a wrench into the social order of his time...and the ripple effects of that wrench wash up on our shores to this very day...even the shores of Sister Michael Mary and her third-graders!

The Power of The Word (5th Sunday of Ordinary Time-C)

Jesus' powerful words and he himself as The Word, in today's gospel give us an opportunity to go deeper into the mystery of the powerful, creating Word that is Jesus.

Why So Mad? (4th Sunday of Ordinary Time-C)

Luke's story of Jesus' visit to his hometown, Nazareth, picks up this Sunday where it left off last Sunday. Part Two of the drama leaves us scratching our heads! What just happened here...and WHY? 

Well Begun, Well Done (3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time-C)

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time-C, Cana, 2022-01-16

Jesus didn't "need" to make that much water into that much wine; he did it for the joy of it. In doing so, he was only following the way of the Creator in the lavishly generous manner in which the universe and the earth and we ourselves were created. 

”You are my beloved son...” (Baptism of the Lord-C, 2022-01-09)

That Star! (Epiphany-C)

Matthew's final Nativity story is a complicated drama with an abundance of characters, good and bad. One "character" worthy of special attention is that extraordinary Star that leads the Magi to Bethlehem. What manner of Star is this? It is, when all is said and done, a Holy Spirit Star...