Father Kevin A. Codd

The segment of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount that we here today (Matthew's version) is a lot to chew on. He affirms his fidelity to the Law of Moses in no uncertain terms, then shifts into a kind of "turbo" gear as he blasts the leaders of his people for their heartless enforcement of the Law. 

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

The clear, direct, and convicting words from the late chapters of the Book of Isaiah are shaking. What makes Israel a "light" in the darkness and a people pleasing to God isn't the adormnents of the Temple nor its animal sacrifices. The hungry, the naked, and the oppressed come first. Loving them is what gains God's love for Israel. As it was then, so it is now...to be a light in the darkness of our own time, and dark it is,  we must attend to the prophet's call to care first for the least. 

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

Having just returned from an eight-day visit to the small village in the mountains of Guatemala where I once served, I offer some reflections on the virtue supporting all the Beatitudes in today's Gospel reading from Matthew...and how that virtue, humility, is being actually lived in the small village of Antigua Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan. 

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

The Gospel of John begins with a mystical reflection on the Word...even before time, but eventually "made flesh and dwelt among us." Woven into this magnificent poem is John's version of the encounter between John the Baptist and Jesus. The baptist's role in John's gospel is not to baptize Jesus, but to proclaim him as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." Let us reflect on this image of the Lamb...

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

Matthew's account of Jesus' baptism in the Jordan River by John raises a perplexing question; as John himself asks, "should not I be baptized by you?" Indeed, why would Jesus need to be baptized since he he needs no repentence and is the very object of John's preparing of the people for the coming messiah? Let's see if we can make sense of this from Jesus' own point of view...or more accurately, based on the character of Jesus' mission as he himself sees it. 

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

Oh, what a dizzyingly hectic year! Not 2025, but perhaps 6 AD. What a dizzyingly hectic year for young Mary! In the midst of all that had happened around her and within her in the previous months, Luke tells us, "She kept all these things and reflected upon them in her heart." Her contemplative heart is a model for us as we begin a new year. 

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

Being deeply ensconced in the heart of the Christmas season, today's feast of the Holy Family almost always leads us to focus on the images of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Bethlehem. We highlight, in paraticular, their docility before God's will and their great love for one another. But the place in the gospels where Jesus himself actually teaches us something about "family life" is found elsewhere, in magnificent story that begins: "A man had two sons..." (Luke 15). Perhaps in the images of this story, we can find important lessons about what makes a family holy, as God sees it. 

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

Our God is one of great surprises! With the creation of the Univserse, we stand surprised. With his choice of an enslaved and impoverished people as his beloved, we stand surprised. And most of all, in his choice to come to us in flesh and blood, touch us with hands like our own and speak to us in words we understand, he surprises us in the most stunning way possible! This is the God we celebrate on this Christmas morning! 

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

This Fourth Sunday of Advent gives us an opportunity to reflect on the quiet presence of Joseph in Matthew's Nativity story. It is easy to let him fall into the background of the story with little thought...and indeed, his very silence throughout the narrative makes that too easy. Yet, his very silence speaks deeply about the spirit of this man. 

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

Our usual image of the prophets of old is as purveyors of doom and gloom, so what then do we make of old Isaiah in today's first reading as he positively exudes joy in proclaiming the coming of Israel's salvation? What kind of "joy" is that of Isaiah, not to mention that of the Baptist and Jesus himself (in today's Gospel reading)? It is certainly distinct from pleasure, contentment, and even self-fulfillment. Scriptural joy has its roots in something beyond anything we can create for ourselves; it is founded in faith, hope, and love. And so this day, we celebrate that joy with the simple call to Rejoice!

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