Shows
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesOn CI-12825th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Fr. Kirby discusses Montana ballot initiative CI-128. 2024-11-0408 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesFraternally CorrectedFr.Kirby's homily from the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time2023-09-2012 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesGod Needs a New RoofFr. Kirby's Homily from the 5th Sunday of Easter2023-05-0812 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesGood Gate SundayFr. Kirby's Homily from the 4th Sunday of Easter 2023-05-0112 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesEmmaus: The Fundamentals of the MassFr. Kirby's Homily from the 3rd Sunday of Easter2023-04-2413 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesEaster Vigil: Excess Alone is SufficientFr. Kirby's Homily from Easter Vigil 20232023-04-0908 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesDetachment: The Road to GraceFr. Kirby's homily from the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time2023-02-2013 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesThe Cross is All We HaveFr. Kirby's homily from the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time2023-02-0612 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesFr. Kirby's Homily from the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary TimeFr. Kirby's Homily from the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time2023-01-2313 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesChristmas: A Samson StoryFr. Kirby's homily from Christmas 20222022-12-2715 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesThe Lord is Never OutdoneFr. Kirby's homily from the 3rd Sunday of Advent.2022-12-1112 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesFinal Final JudgmentFr. Kirby's homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent2022-12-0410 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesEnd Times Part 2: The Swinging PendulumFr. Kirby's homily from the 1st Sunday of Advent. 2022-11-2713 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesLet’s Talk About the Apocalypse (Final Judgment Part 1 of 3)Fr. Kirby's homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-11-1614 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesRe: HeavenFr. Kirby's homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-11-0711 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesZaccheus stood thereFr. Kirby's homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-10-3108 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesThe Jesus Prayer: A MeditationFr. Kirby's homily from the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-10-2411 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesAll the grace we do not seeFr. Kirby's homily from the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-10-1009 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesIncrease our faith!Fr. Kirby's homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-10-0210 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesThe world is out-competing usFr. Kirby's homily from the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-09-1911 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesDo we believe it?Fr. Kirby's homily from the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time2022-08-2908 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMethodist Kid on the EucharistFr. Kirby's homily from Corpus Christi Sunday, 2022. 2022-06-2510 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesRoe v Wade Is Going Down… What now?Fr. Kirby's homily from the 4th Sunday of Easter2022-05-1010 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesEaster Vigil: Gobekli Tepe and the More Arduous lifeFr. Kirby's homily from the Easter Vigil Mass2022-04-1709 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesGood Friday: Alone Before the CrossFr. Kirby's homily from Good Friday.2022-04-1709 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesOh Priest, Who Are You?Fr. Kirby's homily from Holy Thursday 20222022-04-1508 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesLazarus Died TwiceSorry for the gap in posting homilies! Here is Fr. Kirby's homily from the 5th Sunday of Lent. 2022-04-1211 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesChristmas: St. Christopher’s StoryFr. Kirby's homily from Christmas 20212021-12-2512 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesNo Utopia, Only JesusFr. Kirby's homily from the 1st Sunday of Advent2021-12-0312 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesBuddhist Monks, Joe Rogan, and the Question of FreedomFr. Kirby's homily from The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe2021-11-2209 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesI Come SoonFr. Kirby's homily from the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.2021-11-1610 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesThe Asymptote of Worldly HappinessFr. Kirby's homily from the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (2021)2021-11-0912 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesLove is the HingeFr. Kirby's homily from the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time (2021)2021-11-0210 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesBlind Bart: Will you let Jesus pass by?Fr. Kirby's homily from the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (2021)2021-10-2809 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesVatican II – Session 6: New Mass vs. Old MassA recent talk given by Fr. Kirby on the Second Vatican Council2021-10-2358 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesHumility: The True Road to Social JusticeFr. Kirby's homily from the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (2021)2021-10-2011 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesGod’s Justice or No JusticeFr. Kirby's homily from the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (2021)2021-10-1712 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesVatican II – Session 5: How the Church SpeaksA recent talk given by Fr. Kirby on the Second Vatican Council2021-10-1749 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesVatican II – Session 4: What Should Mass Look Like?A recent talk given by Fr. Kirby on the Second Vatican Council2021-10-171h 00Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesVatican II – Session 3: Should we go to the Lutheran Potluck? (Lumen Gentium)A recent talk given by Fr. Kirby on the Second Vatican Council2021-09-2957 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesHumility: It’s a RevolutionFr. Kirby's homily from the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time2021-09-2011 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJesus: I must die. Every Christian Ever: No!Fr. Kirby's homily from the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time2021-09-2010 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesVatican II – Session 2: The Bible is Divinely Inspired… But How? (Dei Verbum)A recent talk given by Fr. Kirby on the Second Vatican Council2021-09-201h 06Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesVatican II – Session 1: Background & John XXIII’s AddressA recent talk Fr. Kirby gave on the Second Vatican Council2021-09-2051 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesKosher, Lines, and Rules… Love is hardFr. Kirby's homily from the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time2021-08-3010 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesStory About a GuyFr. Kirby's homily from the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time2021-08-2910 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesThe Assumption: Why Should We Care?Fr. Kirby's homily from the Feast of the Assumption2021-08-2910 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesThe Eucharist and Obedience: The only way forward.Fr. Kirby's homily from the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time2021-08-2910 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesAlfredo Pancakes: Why God Must Feed UsFr. Kirby's homily from the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time2021-08-1413 minFr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesWe Need BeautyFr. Kirby's homily from the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time2021-08-1410 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's Homilies[HOMILY] Theomachy: Battle of the Gods. 19th Sunday OT_A_2020Jesus appears when the storm is peaking, casually walking upon the waves, and when they cry out in terror, he calls to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” When he steps into the boat, the storm dies. There is no battle, and Erasmo points out that this story is “restructured to deploy only one truth, the unquestionable and eternal supremacy of the incarnate Word.”
The only battle left is the battle within our hearts. Do we believe Christ has already won? Are we convinced the powers of evil have been overcome and subdued? Or are w...2020-09-0212 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesAugust 2nd, 2020 - Can Power be Good?Power is a fact of life, it’s a part of nature and will always be acquired by the capable and the ambitious. How we employ it will change the world. Do we employ the power we possess as Christ shows us? Do you wield it with charity, with mercy, and always with an eye to the poor? Or do you let your passions dictate your actions? Do we use the power we’ve been given to preserve our reputation, raise ourselves up at the expense of those around us? 2020-08-2409 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJuly 26th, 2020 - We're All Treasure HuntersYesterday I had the opportunity to do the Butte 100 mountain bike race. I decided to give it a shot when quarantine hit and everything else had been cancelled. Still, until yesterday I had never ridden more than 57 miles. It was fascinating to see how my body handled the prolonged grind, because with experiences like that you are just running an equation. You burn more calories than you can take in, so it’s a matter of time before you are depleted. All I had to do was ride 100 miles before I was toast, and I made it. But this ho...2020-07-2709 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJuly 12, 2020 - The Wide Arc of MercyThe Parable of the Sower hits us anew each time we approch it. God works in our soul no matter our state. Let's dig in to see where we stand, and where we ought to go from here.2020-07-2208 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJuly 10th, 2020 - Our Savior Comes Riding On an AssWhat a perfect first reading for my inaugural weekend at Christ the King parish. I think we need to hear those lines again: “Rejoice heartily, O Daughter Zion, shout for joy oh daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, meek and riding on an ass, on a colt the foul of an ass.” What a prophetic passage, planted on the 14th sunday in ordinary time awaiting my arrival at Christ the king to be fulfilled. Because, you see, Jesus comes to us, but he comes riding on an ass… that’s me. I’m youn...2020-07-1008 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJune 21st, 2020 - To Butte, The New and Eternal JerusalemFr Kirby says goodbye to the parish and town he served for his first three years. Looking to the next generation, and looking back to martyrs from the past generation, he wraps up his time in Butte, America.2020-07-0210 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's Homilies2020 BC Graduation HomilyThere is exactly one road to perfection for each of you from the BC class of 2020. It’s narrow, rocky, and difficult, but it’s possible. That road involves simply following Christ. Jesus tells us in the gospel, “I will not leave you orphans, I will send you the advocate, the spirit of truth to be with you always.”
It’s your choice, you’re free. You can go off to college and party, go hard, follow your bliss, whatever, and it will give you a shallow sense of rebellion, you will in fact be following the crowd in eve...2020-05-2110 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesApril 11th, 2020 - Easter Vigil: Death and EternityDeath. It’s not a pleasant word. I remember when I first began to understand the idea and I would try to imagine it. There I was, 7-year-old Kirby standing there with my eyes closed, imagining what it meant to cease to exist. It was physically disorienting, so much that I would occasionally get vertigo and just fall over. Then my mom taught me about heaven, about eternal life with God, and hell in it’s eternal torment and separation from God. I was just as dizzy and confused thinking about eternity as I was contemplating an end to exis...2020-04-1807 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesApril 4th, 2020 - (Holy Thursday) The Priesthood, a FriendshipIt's been a while but I'm back posting my homilies! I love preaching on Holy Thursday.
A priest once gave me a penance to pray for a particular family and he told me, “Kirby, I believe I was called to the priesthood- more than that- I believe I was born in order that this family could know God loves them. They have suffered a tremendous amount, so God created me and sent me to tell them they don’t suffer alone. Jesus Christ suffers with them and loves them.” 2020-04-1006 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesDecember 25th, 2019 - Is Happiness Synthetic?As it turns out, when we get the exact thing we want, it doesn’t make us as happy as we think it will. When we are denied our deepest desire, it’s not as disastrous as we assume it will be. You finally get your dream truck, that beautiful F350 Platinum, and a month later when the newness wears off, it’s just a truck with a lot of chrome and a substantial monthly payment. You get your dream promotion, yet you still have all the insecurities you thought would disappear when the announcement was made. Reverse the fortun...2020-01-0309 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesDecember 22nd, 2019 - St. Joseph & the Divine InvasionWhat a role Joseph played! To care for and protect the crowned jewel of the human race- Mary, Queen of heaven, Seat of Wisdom, New Ark of the Covenant- and to foster the Incarnate God himself. My great love for Joseph comes not only from his faithful acts, but his willingness to be faithful in obscurity. To be faithful, then gladly forgotten. 2019-12-2410 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesNovember 24th, 2019 - Jesus, President of the Universe?Praised be Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe! Our last address to an earthly king was a collection of 27 grievances against his majesty, George III (which were promptly ignored), followed by Declaration of Independence which changed the course of history. Yet here we stand as Catholics declaring ourselves subservient to another king. Not just any king, but the King of the Universe! There is nothing democratic about this feast. We can make no grievances, declare no inalienable rights, nor can we rebel against him who admits he harvests where he has not sown and gathers where he...2019-12-2309 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesAdam & Eve... & Evolution.Can Christians reconcile the story of creation with evolutionary theory without compromising an authentic reading of scripture or Christian anthropology?
Is it necessary to see evolutionary theory with an openness to God in order if we are to explain the process reasonably?
I assert the answer to both of those questions is: Yes.
Listen in and let me know what you think!
Note: I purposely avoid the phrase Intelligent Design in my talk because of all the baggage it currently carries with it. However, David Galernter puts forth a formidable argument for...2019-12-0733 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesNovember 17th, 2019 - Tired of Being (Trying to Be) GoodWhenever Jesus talks about the end times, final judgment, heaven, hell, or anything in the field we refer to as eschatological, his advice to the disciples is to be vigilant, to watch, to be ready at all times. We must focus our lives on the Lord in a focused and vigilant way, listening to Paul’s two crucial commands to “pray unceasingly” and “Never grow weary in going good.” 2019-12-0412 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesNovember 10th, 2019 - All Joy Wills Eternity, Wills Deep, Deep, Eternity!Since the dawn of time, humans have yearned for immortality. Even Friedrich Neitzsche, certainly no Christian thinker, said “All joy wills eternity, wills deep, deep, eternity.”
Today’s reading ends with the proclamation, “I choose to die at the hands of men and to cherish the hope that God gives of being raised again. But for you there will be no resurrection to life!” 2019-12-0311 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesOctober 20th, 2019 - Can My Prayer Change God's Mind? If we pray without growing weary, and do so with an openness to whatever God has in store, we will know Him. That is, in the end, the only thing that matters. If I have Christ as my friend, a cancer diagnosis does not destroy my life, rather it becomes as beautiful opportunity to show those I know and love how to suffer joyfully. We look to Blessed Chiara Badano who, upon hearing her cancer diagnosis as an 18-year-old declared, "It's for you, Jesus; if you want it, I want it, too.”2019-11-2111 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesOctober 13th, 2019 - Worship: Simple and NobleSt. Thomas Aquinas writes in his beautiful hymn Adoro Te Devote:
Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived: How says trusty hearing? that shall be believed;
What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do; Truth himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.
The beautiful Hopkins translation speaks to the beautiful mystery of the mass.2019-10-2811 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesIs it Reasonable to Say God Exists? (CYC)This is the 1st of four lectures given to the Catholic Youth Coalition on Fundamental Theology.
This lecture was on the existence of God. Can we discard the idea of God without losing the ability to explain the world as it is? I don't think so, here are the reasons why:
1. We cannot explain the origin of the universe.
2. We cannot explain human consciousness.
3. We cannot claim there is any meaning in the world.
With those questions to guide the conversation, we will explore it all more in depth i...2019-09-2033 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesSeptember 8th, 2019 - Rival Goods: God v EverythingC.S. Lewis says it’s precisely the greatest moments of our life which make it clear that nothing in this world will ever make us happy. Looking back to the image in the gospel, we calculate the cost of the building and realize it’s beyond our means, we look at the battle of 10k v 20k and realize we can’t win. What are we to do? Sue for peace? Settle for mediocrity? That’s not the Christian way.
C.S. Lewis follows his insight with another saying, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothi...2019-09-1413 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesSeptember 1st, 2019 - You're not the best... That's OKThere is a certain relish in bitterness, cynicism and a feeling of helplessness that gives us an escape from culpability for our actions- or lack of action- and wins a certain amount of sympathy from our peers. If there is one thing this attitude toward life does not accomplish (there are more than 1), it is any real meaning or happiness.
But how can it be that striking out to find my personal happiness could be the thing that makes me unhappy? Let’s figure out why our current attempt is failing, then we might look to t...2019-09-0912 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesAugust 18th, 2019 - Fire and Division“I have come to cast a fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Jesus doesn’t come to preach bland tolerance, but love, and love is an all-consuming fire. There are two fascinating and terrifying things I want to point out concerning fire: First, is its ability to annihilate everything in its wake. Second is its ability to transform what it consumes into itself. Both are at work in the gospel. 2019-08-2214 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesAugust 11th, 2019 - Am I Responsible For All This Violence?Is this gospel a threat? In a sense, yes, but not one based in fear. Jesus speaks strongly on this subject because the consequences are so great when we fail. When the gospel is not preached, young people’s lives have no meaning and it naturally follows that they will want others to feel the profound suffering and emptiness they feel, so we end up with this absurd violence.2019-08-1613 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesAugust 4th, 2019 - Machiavelli and Solomon on the Fortunes of the WorldIs Machiavelli in step with today’s scriptures? Yes and No. Ecclesiastes does, in the beginning, point to the inherent volatility of life, but it takes the problem much further and makes a much deeper and more profound claim than The Prince. For Qoheleth, the author of Ecclesiates, takes into account the possibility that someone could live as Machiavelli suggests and “labor with wisdom and knowledge and skill,” yet even that man must die.2019-08-0714 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJuly 21, 2019 - Prayer, Work, Basketball: Which is it?I remember walking into the YMCA courts in BIllings when I was a kid and seeing one of the new kids fiddling around with a basketball. It was obvious he had never played the game. At best, he had maybe seen a few nba games on a bad TV, because what he was doing was not basketball. Me and a few buddies gave him the general overview of the game and played a bit with him. At first, giving him the rules just made him depressed, but he was an athletic kid so after a few months, he began...2019-08-0617 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJuly 7th, 2019 - You Will Lose What You do Not Give AwayBe courageous, trust that you are a member of Christ’s body, and no matter the mess in the Church, your mission as a Christian is always to preach the gospel and draw souls to Christ and his love. We find that love in the Church, we find our mission in the Church, and those outside may only hear that truth if they hear it from you.
The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few. Butte is 75% baptized Catholic, where is everyone? Let’s go out and get to work!2019-07-2418 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJune 30th, 2019 - Slaughter Your Ox, Destroy Your Plow, Follow Jesusmany of us witnessed Nathan Scheidecker from Butte give his life to Jesus Christ and his Church in the priesthood. He left everything to follow our Lord in this day and age. Just so all the young men out there and families of young children know, it will be at least three years before we have another ordination, and if you were there yesterday and saw our presbyterate, it was not the youngest crew.
Who will step up? Who will follow the Lord? And I don’t just mean in the priesthood, though that is an urgent exa...2019-07-2013 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJune 22nd, 2019 - Wedding: Teach Your Generation how to Love! Roy & Aislinn BrownRoy and Aislinn: You realize all the sacrifices you will have to make in your married life together and you chose it anyways. Correction- You have NO IDEA the sacrifice that's involved in married life. If you think you have it figured out, good luck. But that’s OK, it doesn't matter that you don't know what's coming because one of the beautiful gifts we have as human beings is the capacity to commit our lives to a thing even when we don't have full knowledge of what the future holds.2019-06-2409 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJune 16th, 2019 - A Bear and the Trinity (And a Note on Father's Day)You might know someone (Or you might honestly be this way yourself- You know, I have a friend) who thinks like this: I like the idea of God, I might even say he exists because the universe doesn’t make sense without some prime-mover, some uncaused-cause. But the Bible, the Incarnation of God as man, the Trinity, the Church, doesn’t it just seem a bit absurd!? We can’t prove any of that, there is not way to reasonable walk through the idea of a Trinitarian God- it’s faith without the verification of reason! How would you answer t...2019-06-2115 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMay 25th, 2019 - Wedding Homily: Be Bold, the World Needs It. Jarett and Nicole LarsonJarrett and Nicole. The love you have for one another- if you are willing to die to yourselves- will bring souls to Christ. Our culture loves the idea of mega- individualism, then we're all confused and sad when our relationships grow bitter and resentful. When anyone in that dark place sees marriage lived sacrificially as we're called to live it, they are immediately compelled.2019-05-3111 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMay 19th, 2019 - Is Christianity a Morality?Perhaps when you distill the teachings of Christianity you can glean something that strikes us as profound. That was, after all, the whole project of many modern philosophers and political scientists. Thomas Jefferson edited his New Testament to do exactly that. Yet, that isn’t what Jesus is saying!
The newness of the gospel comes, as Benedict XVI says, “From the gift of being-with and being-in Christ.” For the Christian, being always precedes doing.2019-05-2114 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMay 12th, 2019 - Jesus the Good Shepherd- Digging into the Word! We were created by God created by his Word. From the beginning to the end of our lives, God’s voice, his word, is the only one that satisfies. When we listen to any other voice, we know they are thieves tempting us to leave the fold and no matter how enticing the voice may be, we all know a thief can promise nothing good. 2019-05-1613 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMay 5th, 2019 - Is Christianity Being Exiled From the Public Square?Western culture is no longer the relativist. The new cultural moral code is absolute, but certainly not based in natural law. The Atlantic published a fascinating article on this phenomenon called “The Death of Moral Relativism.” The author pointed out, “This new code has created a paradoxical moment in which all is tolerated except the intolerant and all included except the exclusive.”2019-05-1013 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesApril 21, 2019 - Billionaire Row, Notre Dame, and a Dragon [Easter]You are baptized, you are sons and daughters of God and so you can do the same when you face the enormous dragon that has planted itself on the narrow way that leads to eternal life! Do not shrink from the great journey, do not shrink from the Christian life, it is the only life worthy of your dignity! Nothing else will make you happy, not a $100 million condo overlooking Manhattan, nor any amount of fame or power or pleasure. Only friendship with the risen Christ can satisfy our hearts, so face that dragon and become the saint you...2019-04-2315 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesApril 7th, 2019 - Can God Actually Weep? (5th Sunday Lent_Cycle A)So many of our lives are defined, marked indelibly by the death of those we love. No matter when, whether it was your wonderful grandma who died when she was 90 or whether you lost a child or friend in their teenage years, we see so clearly the evil of death and we do not understand it.
Jesus is the only worthwhile answer to the question of evil. The only other alternative is to deny the existence of God, and in doing to declare that all suffering and evil is, in fact, meaningless. For without God there is...2019-04-1409 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMarch 24th, 2019 - Follow Your Bliss... Or Follow the Lord (Carroll College)It’s lent, the perfect season to seek out the Lord in new ways. Do something crazy and foolish for him. When I was at Carroll, my friends and I tried to fast in impossible ways, we did middle of the night prayer vigils at the grotto or up on Mount Helena, tried to pull all nighters during holy week. In almost all this we failed, but we did it because we loved Jesus and wanted to know him, and it was a blast. If you want to get in over your head on a great adventure, there is no...2019-03-3014 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesTheological Anthropology, Part 4: Does God Want me to be Happy? (LGBTQ)This, the final part of my four-part formation for the CYC board in the Diocese of Helena, addresses the moral life. The main question is: Does God want us to be happy? We need to ask this because what the Church demands often seems to go against our interests, against our happiness.
But is it worth it? If I'm gay or transgender, can I be happy in the Catholic Church? Listen in!2019-03-1324 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMarch 10th, 2019 - Get in my Belly... Fasting is worth it.When we come to an impasse, when life presses in on us and we face some impossible trial or suffering that will surely overwhelm us, we frantically look around, and seeing nothing that will heal us or satisfy us, we begin to reach for things that can never satisfy. Our desperate imagination tells us this artificial thing can bring satisfaction, that some shadow is, in fact, real sustenance. 2019-03-1313 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesMarch 3rd, 2019 - Judging! Judging! Judging...The beam here is sin, the only one who can remove it is Christ. So, before we judge our brothers and sisters, we turn to Christ and recognize our sins, our shortfalls, our total incapacity to live the charity he calls us to. When we do, we are forgiven, we are healed, and our sight is restored.
It is then that we begin to judge rightly and confidently because we judge with the judgment by which we are judged; we judge with forgiving hearts. As Christians we do not name the evil of the world for what...2019-03-1314 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesFebruary 24th, 2019 - I don't Know What to Do with My Body...Today western culture seems to have settled on an odd and contradictory mixture of ideas simultaneously. Our culture has embraced the sexual revolution of the 60’s which basically says- do what you want with your body, it’s yours and it’s just a body. While believing this, we also totally reject the body as a means of communicating any truth about our identity. So it seems our culture is saying that our body and its desires are the best guide to happiness while also saying it means nothing, it tells you nothing about who you are, feel free to rej...2019-03-0214 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesFebruary 17th, 2019 - The Beatitudes vs A Meaningful LifeThe beatitudes aren’t even commands. Look at the commandments, you will notice eight “shall not” commands and two positive commands. The Beatitudes, in contrast, are statements of fact: “Blessed are those.” They are not commands forbidding sinful activity, but invitations into deification, invitations to “become partakers in the divine nature.”2019-02-2113 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesTrue Unity- Not Loose Affiliation (From City Wide Ecumenical Worship Night)So as our culture slowly rejects Christian morality- as we see in the supreme court’s redefinition of marriage or the recent New York Abortion Laws, or in the growing indifference to the gospel and the Church amongst the general population- we cannot be surprised.
Why?
Because we are to blame. It’s our fault.
What is Jesus’ prayer more than any other? “Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have give...2019-02-1212 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesFebruary 10th, 2019 - Obedience: Virtue or Voluntary Oppression?God calls us to obedience and abandonment to him. For some, this call may include the call to absolute poverty and chastity, and obedience. For all of us it must involve abandonment to divine providence. This idea of abandonment and obedience to God’s will is so foreign to us today that it may seem slavish and ridiculous.
Is it a virtue? or the attitude of a slave?2019-02-1213 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesFebruary 3rd, 2019 - Faith: Evidence of Things Not SeenI want to give you two definitions of Faith, but I promise I’ll explain them. First, let’s look at the scriptures for a definition. In Hebrews, we are told, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This might not clarify things all to well, but let’s get one more working definition then begin our journey- though this might temporarily muddy the waters even more. Thomas Aquinas tells us faith is The habit of the mind (Intellect) whereby eternal life is begun in us making the intellect assent to what is no...2019-02-0913 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJanuary 13th, 2019 - The World Has Questions. Do We Have Answers?Do we believe the Church was founded by Jesus Christ? Do we believe that her demands- though heroic- will actually bring us joy? That’s a question we need to ask ourselves, because the world is certainly asking it of us. Not only are they asking, they have already condemned us hateful bigots.2019-02-0910 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesWedding Homily: Garrett and Kylee ConnersI had the honor of presiding over the wedding of Garrett and Kylee Conners this weekend, a great Montana couple who who witnessed well to the power of this sacrament and are more than ready for this wonderful adventure together. Enjoy the homily!2019-01-2110 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesJanuary 13th, 2019 - Blood and WaterJesus, in his Baptism, gives us a direction forward into this difficult life. He makes very clearly to us that this life involves a death, that no one escapes this life without giving himself away, so why not give our lives for something worthy.
2019-01-1812 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesDecember 30th, 2018 - Hidden Life of the Holy FamilyOur culture believes our relationships are fundamentally about me. Is this relationship making me “happy”? Does this person give me what I need? Are my hopes and dreams the main focus of this relationship? Why are these the questions we ask first? Because our fundamental disposition is that of taking. We all believe, to some degree, that our happiness is about taking- whether material, emotional, or spiritual.
So what is it really about?
2019-01-0312 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesDecember 25th, 2018 - The Mysteries of Life (Christmas Eve Children's Mass)We not only are a mystery to ourselves concerning our past, but our future is unknown as well. We tend to respond to this in one of two ways: either with a hyper-planned scenario that attempts to cover every possible outcome (older generations tended toward this) or to just say forget it-
Many in my generation, millennials, tend to say something like: we are 25 with too many degrees, mediocre job prospects and an insurmountable pile of student debt with compounding interest; forget planning and enjoy that $5 coffee right now. 2019-01-0312 min
Fr. Kirby Longo's HomiliesDecember 16th, 2018 - Holiness is Before YouI don’t think we realize how often we lie, gossip, and behave selfishly- especially in our work for that is where it is most easily justified. John the Baptist came to reveal to 1st century Galileans how utterly mediocre their lives were. Yet, he also made it clear that the life of a saint, the way of perfection, is right before you, it’s in your midst, it’s the call to true charity and humility in your everyday life and it’s not optional for the Christian.2018-12-2115 min
Tao of Sports PodcastEp. 797 - Jeff Longo (Owner, Fayetteville Marksmen)Jeff Longo is not only an associate professor of sports, events and entertainment at Johnson & Wales in Charlotte, but also an owner of a Southern Professional Hockey League team, the Fayetteville Marksmen. Longo shares his decision to go into pro hockey team ownership, some of the pitfalls concerning budgeting and revenue generation that he has had to overcome, and how the Fayetteville team's rebrand from the FireAntz to the Marksmen transform the community awareness of the team in general. Longo talks also about ways that sports management programs can learn to enhance their relevance to students looking to get...2017-07-2428 min