Shows
The Catholic BookwormEpisode 174: Kevin A. Codd on his books To the Field of Stars and Beyond Even the Stars (May 27, 2025)In the episode, Kiki Latimer interviews Kevin A. Codd on his books To the Field of Stars: A Pilgrim's Journey to Santiago de Compostela and Beyond Even the Stars: A Compostela Pilgrim in France.“Pilgrimage” is a strange notion to our modern, practical minds. How many of us have walked to a distant holy place in order to draw nearer to God? Yet the pilgrimage experience is growing these days in various parts of the world. Seeking to take stock of his life, Kevin Codd set out in July 2003 on a pilgrimage that would profoundly change his life. To t...2025-05-281h 16
Father Kevin A. CoddComo amar a los enemigos, 7o domingo ordinario (C), 23 de febrero, 2025Jesús nos ofrece hoy su "mandamiento" más difícil: "Amen a sus enemigos." A nosotros en nuestras vidas cotidianas, se parece casi imposible cumplirlo porque los enemigos nuestros nos han dañado mucho. Jesús entonces nos ensena como podamos vivir su mandamiento tan difícil...por orar para el bien de ellos.
Homilía compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.
2025-02-2313 min
Father Kevin A. CoddLos bienaventurados no son los que piensan, 6o Domingo Ordinario (C), 16 de febrero, 2025Entre las dos versiones de las Bienaventurados que encontramos en los evangelios de Mateo y Lucas, la de Lucas es la más difícil. Jesús se pone como revolucionario en no ofrecer bendiciones a los a la cima del orden social y religiosa del día y al contrario de toda expectativa, anuncia que los bendecidos de Dios son los más al bajo del orden social y religiosa.
Homilía compartida con la comunidad parroquial de la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador
2025-02-1618 min
Father Kevin A. CoddBlessings and Woes Gone Upside Down: 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C), February 16, 2025Everyone loves the Beatitudes, though the version they love is almost always that of Matthew. Luke's version is more difficult because Jesus is in full-prophet mode as he uses his maiden sermon to upend the social and religious order of his time. Who is "blessed" and who is "woed" are not what anyone in that crowd expected to hear.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2025-02-1617 min
Father Kevin A. CoddSimeon's Defining Moment: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, February 2, 2025Sometimes a single brief moment can define the character and meaning of a whole life. So it was for Simeon; his encounter with the child Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem gave meaning to his long life and made him a figure of immense importance in the story of Israel's long-hoped-for salvation. As he received the Messiah on behalf of Israel, so he also stands in for us for whom this messiah is our "light to the nations."
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2025-02-0218 min
Father Kevin A. CoddA Happy Miracle: Cana, 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (C), January 19, 2025Today's impressive "miracle story" from the Gospel of John is a rarity: it is a "happy miracle!" Most of Jesus' miracles begin with a leper, a blind-man, even a dead-man (Lazarus), but this one begins with a wedding feast...the only problem is the wine for the feast has run out...not such a big deal in the face of humanity's many troubles. The changing of water to wine is a sign of the grand graciousness of God to us. Making us happy makes him happy!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.2025-01-1913 min
Father Kevin A. CoddBautismo del Señor (año C), 12 de enero de 2025“Mijo, te quiero y me complace.” Tales palabras dicho por un papá son de suma importancia en la vida de un niño. También fueron para Jesús. Al oír palabras muy parecidas de su Padre en el cielo momentos después de su bautismo en el rio Jordan, Jesús seguramente se sentía a la aprobación de su Padre para su manera de llevar la salvación a su pueblo. No por una revolución política contra los poderes políticos, ni por ser el más famoso maestro de la ley en la historia de Isr...2025-01-1212 min
Father Kevin A. CoddYou Are My Beloved Son: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Year C), January 12, 2025"I love you and I'm proud of you." These are words any son or daughter loves to hear from their father. They are much the same words Jesus hears from his Father following his baptism in the Jordan River at the hands of John. They were important to Jesus not just because he needed some paternal validation, but because they let him know that his choice for just how he is going to save God's People has been the correct one. Jesus does not choose to take on the sons of Herod as a political revolutionary, nor be the...2025-01-1214 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Three Strangers, Solemnity of the Epiphany, January 5, 2025We have warm and loving feelings for our Three Magi, so prominent on this final solemn feast of the Christmas season. Because of that love, we have many names for them: the Three Magi, the Three Kings, the Three Astrologers, and the Three Wisemen. Perhaps, we missed one though: "The Three Strangers", for their coming from a far-away land, their strange dress and customs, even their status as non-believers in the God of Abraham, may make such a tital far more important to the Epiphany story than the others.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community i...2025-01-0515 min
Father Kevin A. CoddMary Remembers: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, (Year C), January 1, 2025Arguably one of the most poignant lines in all of Luke's Gospel is at the heart of today's feast: "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart." It tells us so much about the character and spirituality of our dear Mary. She was at heart, a contemplative, and remembering all that God had done for her was an integral part of her contemplative spirit.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecudador.
2025-01-0113 min
Father Kevin A. CoddJesus Grows Up: Feast of the Holy Family (C), December 29, 2024The boy Jesus' extended stay in the Temple of Jerusalem marks a significant turning point in his life as Luke tells the story. As he listens to the great rabbis teach and preach, he also asks them the big questions that have been on his mind for a long time. Over the three days he spends among them, something remarkable happens: he grows up. He lets go of the hands of his father and mother and takes the hand of his Father. He comes to know who he is and what his mission is: to be God's feet, his...2024-12-2917 min
Father Kevin A. CoddGod Unmighty: Christmas Morning (C), December 25, 2024It seems that the more we honor God as "Almighty", the further he seems to be from us. We imagine the Almighty God as a severe judge, a king enthroned on high, or even as Michaelangelo's old man with a great beard floating on heavenly clouds. As God becomes ever more distant from us and our lives here on this earth, so too the cry from our hearts: "Where are you God; I need you HERE!" Those images of God Almighty are shattered on this day, when God becomes the Unmighty: nothing but flesh and blood like us, poor...2024-12-2517 min
Father Kevin A. CoddGettting to Know Elizabeth, 4th Sunday of Advent (C), December 22, 2024Elizabeth is one of those dear people you just want to get to know. So today, using the gift of homiletic imagination, let's spend some time with her and listen to her tell her story...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-12-2217 min
Father Kevin A. CoddWhat Should We Do? 3rd Sunday of Advent (Year C), December 15, 2024The question is repeated several times over; John is asked: What should we do? John's answer is a baseline of moral behaviour; it is nothing extraordinary. John is just trying to get his people up to the minimum of decent human and Jewish behavior. John knows that the One Who Is To Come will ask far more of them: a much deeper kind of love, a self-giving love!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
2024-12-1513 min
Father Kevin A. CoddPlacing Jesus in Our History, 2nd Sunday of Advent (Year C), December 8, 2024Luke opens his version of Jesus's story with a bit of historical context. It is important in telling us that the story that follows is not a fable or a fairy tale or a great work of fiction. It is history. And this very real story begins with John in the desert...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-12-0815 min
Father Kevin A. CoddCome, Lord, Come! The First Sunday of Advent (Year C), December 1, 2024The great prayer of Advent is a simple one: "Come, Lord, Come! It expresses our humility before God; we cannot save ourselves! It trusts in God's ability to save us. It places full faith and confidence that God, indeed, WILL save us! The pattern of crying out to God in our tribulations to come, then waiting for his coming, and finally experiencing his coming to save us is an old one, but it is especially present in the story of Jesus. His story of victory over the worst humanity could throw at him opens up our own story's end...2024-12-0113 min
Father Kevin A. CoddTwo Kings: Solemnity of Christ the King (Year B), November 24, 2024The Gospel passage from John this final Sunday of the Church's liturgical year presents us with two "kings" facing one another. One is typical of most human kings: power and domination are the currency of their reign. The other is far from typical: a humble carpenter, a controversial prophet, one willing to let go of all power in self-sacrificial love, destined for a cruel death. How can he be considered a "king" of anything? Let's ponder that question in this homily...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-11-2412 min
Father Kevin A. CoddStars Falling from the Sky, 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B), November 17, 2024As the church year draws to a close, our liturgical readings are replete with apocolyptic imagery. Some of it is deeply consoling while other passages make us shiver with fear and trembling. Perhaps, the images in today's gospel can be read a different way: as images of a great love and a new life being born.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
2024-11-1710 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Widow and Her Coins: 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), November 10, 2024Jesus attends to those who donate to the Temple in Jerusalem. The rich donors do not impress him, but a poor widow clearly does touch him deeply. In her self-giving, he sees himself and what will happen to him in Jerusalem.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-11-1012 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Greatest Commandment: 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), November 3, 2024Let us consider the Scribe who asks Jesus which of the commandments is the most important. Jesus answer seems to astound the man: "The greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, all your sould, all your mind, and all your strength...and the second: love your neighbor as yourself." The Scribe finds these to be the perfect response to his question and says so. Jesus commends his understanding of this great mystery and says to him that he is not far from the Kingdom of God. What moved the man to ask this question in the f...2024-11-0314 min
Father Kevin A. CoddLa ley mas grande que todas: 31o domingo ordinario (B), 3 de noviembre de 2024El escriba en el evangelio de hoy presenta a Jesús una pregunta muy fundamental: "Cual de los mandamientos de la ley es lo más importante? La respuesta de Jesús le impresiona mucho y el escriba dice que Jesús de verdad tiene razón. Es cierto que el mandamiento más grande de todo es amar a Dios con todo su corazón y amar a su prójimo como a si mismo.
Homilía compartido en la Iglesia de San Francisco de Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-11-0316 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Souls of the Just: Solemnity of All Souls, Novemer 2, 2024The beautiful verse from the late Hebrew scriptures, the Book of Wisdom, "The souls of the just are in the hands of God and there no torment shall touch them", leads us to reflect on the mystery of life, the life God has gifted to us, and its fulfillment in the life of God. As we remember our beloved dead this day, we entrust their souls into God's merciful and gracious hands.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-11-0210 min
Father Kevin A. CoddLas Almas de los Justos: Solemnidad de los Fieles Difuntos, 2 de noviembre de 2024La hermosa y profunda lectura del Libro de Sabiduria con que comenzamos la Liturgia de la Palabra en este dia solemne, nos ayuda a reflejernos sobre la realidad de la vida como don precioso de Dios, la muerte, y las manos tiernos de Dios en que entregamos las almas de nuestros queridos difuntos.
Homilia ofrecida en la Iglesia de San Francisco de Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-11-0211 min
Father Kevin A. CoddI was blind, but now I see: 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), October 27, 2024"I was blind, but now I see..." When Andrea Bocelli sings that beautiful line from the hymn, Amazing Grace, you know it is a prayer that comes from deep in his own experience as a blind man. He would understand why Bartimeus in today's gospel reading would ask Jesus for just one thing: "I want to see." The most important "seeing" here is a seeing of things unseeable: love, life, amazing grace.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. This homily is a revision of one delivered in Spokane some years ago.
2024-10-2710 min
Father Kevin A. CoddJimmy and Johny: Dreamers of Great Things for Themselves: 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), October 20, 2024The brothers, James and John, make a bold request of Jesus hoping to fulfill their desire for greatness in their lives. Jesus lets them know that he can't fulfill their request, but asks them instead if they can drink the cup of which he is to drink. He then gives all his apostles a stern lesson in humility and service.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-10-2013 min
Father Kevin A. CoddWhat More Must We Do? 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), October 13, 2024Jesus loves the man who asks him, "What must I do to inherit everlasting life?" He already fulfills the commandments, so what more is there to do? Jesus, in love, gives him the one thing he can't bring himself to do: sell everything, give to the poor, and follow him. Alas...
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-10-1314 min
Father Kevin A. CoddDivorce Hurts: 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), October 6, 2024Jesus responds to a trick question about divorce. Rather than fall into the trap, he points his opponents' attention to what they are not seeing: the rich image of God's love that marriage is. The ideal of married love that he poses to them is one that animates our own understanding to this day.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-10-0615 min
Father Kevin A. CoddWhat to Cut, Chop, and Pluck: 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), September 29, 2024Jesus' severe teaching in the 9th chapter of Mark's gospel is a good example of radical exaggeration to make an important point. Jesus isn't mandating the cutting off of feet, chopping off of hands, or the actual plucking out of eyes. He IS mandating that we take a hard look at our own fundamental sins and excise them from our lives. Arrogance, lying, and lack of forgiveness, these are the "big ones" and the most challenging to be free of.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-09-2913 min
Father Kevin A. CoddJesus and The Child: 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), September 22, 2024One of the most popular images of Jesus is when he holds a child, embracing him/her with great love and tenderness. Today's gospel reading presents us with one of those moments, but the meaning off the story is far deeper than just "Jesus loves the little children", as the popular song from the '70's reminded us. This is a story about service, humility, and striving to be the least rather than the greatest.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-09-2213 min
Father Kevin A. CoddBeing The Christ is Tough: 24th Sunday of the Year (B), September 15, 2024Jesus takes some time with his disciples to talk with them about something serious. He begins by asking them who others say that he is. The he asks them who THEY say he is. Peter's response is perfect: "You are the Christ." Jesus then explains what that will mean as they go forward: persecution, injustice, death...and the resurrection. After Peter protests, Jesus explains that this is essential to the mission of the Christ.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-09-1516 min
Father Kevin A. Codd"Effata": 23o domingo ordinario (B), 8 de septiembre de 2024¿Nada más que un milagro más? ¿O sea posible que en la sanación del hombre sordo y mudo estamos experimentando un encuentro intimo entre nosotros y Jesús?
Homilia compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, EC.
2024-09-0915 min
Father Kevin A. CoddGospel Spit: 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), September 8, 2024Jesus strangely uses spit to heal the deaf and mute man in the Gospel of Mark. Why spit? It is not so obvious to us in our times, but just maybe saliva had a primordial significance for Jesus. Coming from the mouth where both breath and word mingle, it may be that Jesus' spit carries with it his breath, his word, his spirit, his humanity and divinity both. In this intimate ritual of healing, Jesus gives his very being to the other.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
2024-09-0815 min
Father Kevin A. CoddCleanliness is Next to Godliness, 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), September 1, 2024The big boys from Jerusalem come to Jesus to complain about his disciples failure to follow the ways of their forefathers, more particularly, their failure to wash their hands before meals. It sounds at first like a reasonable complaint to us, but their intervention wasn't really about proper hygiene; it had much more to do with the measures they were using to judge how faithful to God one was. These cleanliness rules were really ritual purification rules and those who followed them faithfully were faithful to God and God to them. Jesus doesn't like this one bit: the externals...2024-09-0115 min
Father Kevin A. CoddTo Whom Shall We Go? 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), August 25, 2024As the 6th chapter of John's Gospel comes to an end this Sunday...as well as his lengthy teaching on the Bread of Life...there are no cheers nor gusty rounds of applause. To the contrary, most of his own disciples walk away from him, except the Twelve. It must surely have been a most discouraging moment for Jesus and a confusing one for Peter and the other eleven. At this nadir of his ministry, Jesus asks the few remaining with him, "Do you also want to leave me?" Peter's answer on behalf of the others is almost certainly...2024-08-2513 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThose Quarrelsome Galileans, 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), August 18, 2024Even after three Sundays worth of quarreling over Jesus' teaching on the Bread of Life, those Galileans who have followed Jesus to Capernaum are still at it. They just cant figure out what Jesus is going on about. There is a reason: they don't underestand his foundational teaching on who God is. They are stuck within an image of God as a powerful king, a severe judge, a great general. All this is far from what Jesus shares with them and others: God is first and foremost "Father" to us. Only in receiving this teaching can Jesus' further teaching...2024-08-1814 min
Father Kevin A. CoddElija and the Bread of Life, 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), August 11, 2024The spectacular story of the prophet, Elija, helps us understand more profoundly the proclamation of Jesus in the Gospel of John that he is the Bread of Life, the Bread Come Down from Heaven. In Elijah's story, the God of Israel gives him the bread he needs to continue on in his great prophetic mission. So Jesus is the Bread of Life given to us by his Father that nourishes us and strengthens us for our own mission in this world.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. (This homily is also available i...2024-08-1115 min
Father Kevin A. CoddElias y el Pan de Vida, 19o domingo ordinario (B), 11 de agosto de 20224La historia del profeta Elías nos ayuda entender a Jesús cuando proclama que si mismo es el pan de vida en el evangelio de San Juan. El verdadero Dios de Israel no abandona a su profeta, sino le da el pan que necesita para seguir en su misión profética. Así es con Jesús: él es el pan que Dios, su Padre, da a nosotros para cumplir nuestras misiones en este mundo.
Homilía compartida con los feligreses de la Iglesia de Santa Teresita, Misicata, (Cuenca), Ecuador.
2024-08-1119 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Bread of Life, 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), August 4, 2024Those poor folks in the desert! Having just escaped the slavery of Egypt, now they must face the reality of not having bread for their journey towards the Promised Land! Their murmuring against both Moses and God is not without effect for God provides them with their daily bread because of his love for them. Jesus does much the same in his own time; last Sunday he provided a bounty of bread to a hungry crowd; but this week, he does more: he proclaims himself as the true bread come down from heaven, the very Bread of Life!
2024-08-0416 min
Father Kevin A. CoddPan de Vida, 18o domingo ordinario (B), 4 de agosto de 2024Los pobres hebreos en el desierto! Después de haber dejado atrás la esclavitud de egipcio, se encuentren sin pan y con hambre en el desierto de Sinaí. Se murmuran contra Moisés y contra Dios. Sin embargo, Dios les provee su “pan de cada día” por amor a ellos. Jesús hace lo mismo a los judíos de su tiempo; les da pan de harina de trigo (el domingo pasado) pero mas importante, les da pan que no se acaba, Pan de Vida, que es su ser.
Homilía compartida en la Iglesia de San Roque...2024-08-0415 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe World's Hungers: 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), July 28, 2024Our world has many hungers: Hunger of the body. Hunger of the spirit. Hunger for riches and power. Which of these merits the primary attention of the Christian? A case can be made for each of them. Jesus addresses all three as one in today's magnificent gospel story of the multiplacation of the loaves and fishes.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador
2024-07-2815 min
Father Kevin A. CoddEl hambre de la tierra: 17o domingo ordinario (B), 28 de julio de 2024Hay mucha hambre en esta tierra. Hambre del cuerpo. Hambre del espiritu. Hambre tambien para el poder y las riquezas. ?Cual de esas es la mas importante para los Cristianos? Para Jesus, todos a la vez. El milagro de los panes y pescados es mucho mas que una maravilla, es un momento de formar de las multitudes un Pueblo de Dios compartiendo el Pan de la Vida.
Homilia compartida en la Iglesia de San Roque, Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-07-2823 min
Father Kevin A. CoddOvejas sin pastores, 16o Domingo Ordinario (B), 21 de julio de 2024"Jesus vio una numerosa multitud que lo estaba esperando y se compadeció de ellos, porque andaban como ovejas sin pastor..." En este momento tierno del Evangelio de San Marcos, la falta de pastores para las ovejas de Israel es algo notable. ¿Donde estan? Nos urge a todos nosotros examinar bien nuestras vidas como discipulos de Jesus; ¿estamos actuando como pastores a las ovejas que buscan la presencia de Dios en sus vidas diarias?
Homilia compartida en la Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-07-2216 min
Father Kevin A. CoddSheep without Shepherds, 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), July 21, 2024As Jesus encounters the crowds looking to him for an experience of God in their lives, he is moved deeply and describes them as "sheep without shepherds." But where were those "shepherds" who were supposed to be caring for them? The priests of the temple, the students of the Law, and others who should have been with them were occupied elsewhere. The implicit critique of these non-shepherding shepherds, together with the powerful indictment in the prophet Jeremiah (first reading of the day), calls all of us who are pastors in one way or another to examine our consciences as...2024-07-2112 min
Father Kevin A. CoddFrom Disciple to Apostle, 15th Sunday of the Year (B), July 14, 2024Life has its unexpected changes. Such was true for many of the great figures in the Scriptures, including Jesus' Twelve. In Mark 6, they experience the unexpected and challenging change from their status as "disciples" to "apostles."
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-07-1414 min
Father Kevin A. CoddDesde discipulo a apostel, 15o Domingo Ordinario (B), 14 de julio de 2024En la vida, siempre hay cambios Asi era para los grandes figuras de las Escrituras y en particular para los Doce. En el sexto capitulo de San Marcos, la vida de los Doce se cambia en una manera grande e inesperaba: se cambian de discipulos a apostoles.
Homilia compartida a los feligreses de la Iglesia de San Francisco de Asis en Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-07-1417 min
Father Kevin A. CoddFamily Stress, 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), July 7, 2024Jesus' return to his hometown of Nazareth is marked by the unappreciative (and unbelieving) response of his family and neighbors. Perhaps tangled expectations, part of every family's life, are the reason.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-07-0721 min
Father Kevin A. CoddMark's Gospel Sandwich: 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), June 30, 2024The evangelist, Mark, chooses a very rare literary form in his fifth chapter; he "sandwiches" one beautiful story between two halves of another. Let's explore what he might be up to even as we learn so much from both Jesus' encounter with Jairus, the synagogue official and the woman suffering for twelve years with a debilitating flow of blood.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-06-3018 min
Father Kevin A. Codd"Teacher, do you not care...?" Twelfth Sunday of the Year (B), June 23, 2024Mark's version of the storm at sea contains one line that should stop us cold: "Teacher, do you not care that we are about to perish?" It is a terrible thing to say to Jesus who is "care" incarnate. What Jesus' apostles miss in the midst of their storm is the reality that Jesus is in the boat with them. We, too, often forget this same truth in the midst of our life's storms.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-06-2314 min
Father Kevin A. CoddRevisiting Adam and Eve: 10th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), June 9, 2024The character of Adam and Eve's first great sin in today's story from Genesis was not really that of "disobedience" as much as it was good, old-fashioned "hubris". Their attempt to make gods of themselves was the beginning of the troubles our human race has struggled with almost forever. It is the "great sin" still at the heart of just about all our present troubles. The Jesus story found in the Gospels lets us know we can rest in our humility for it is thus that the one and true God loves us, as evidenced by his coming to...2024-06-0914 min
Father Kevin A. CoddAdan y Eva y Su Pecado Original, 10o. domingo ordinario (B), 9 de junio de 2024La historia de Adan y Eva es una de las mas importantes del Antiguo Testamento. Con su "pecado original" comenzamos una historia por los siglos de mucha maldad. No es tanto un pecado de desobedienca, sino uno del orgullo humano que siempre quiere ponernos como dioses. Y asi, continuamos a vivir una historia de una maldad humana desastrozo. (Pido disculpas por mi voz; estoy un poco resfriado hoy).
Homilia compartida en la capilla de las Hermanas Carmelitas, Virgen de Bronce, Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-06-0919 min
Father Kevin A. CoddSweet Graces, Corpus Christi-B, June 2, 2024The expansive display of sweets of all kinds here in Cuenca's Parque del Calderon this Corpus Christi weeks raises the simple question, "Why?" The answer is clear if we understand what sweets symbolize in the popular Catholic imagination, particularly in Latin America. Just about everything dealing with God and his love for us! Sweet are God's abundant graces in our lives!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-06-0216 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Trinity is First an Experience, Trinity Sunday-B, May 26, 2024To "understand" the Holy Trinity is only possible after we have "experienced" the Holy Trinity as did Jesus' first disciples.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-05-2614 min
Father Kevin A. CoddLo que la viña nos enseña, 5o Domingo de la Pascua-B, 28 de abril, 2024Un viñador nos ensena el significado de la viña, el tronco, y sus uvas: comunión con Dios y los demás.
Homilía compartida por el Padre Kevin con la comunidad católica de Santa Teresita, Misicata (Cuenca, Ecuador)
2024-04-2817 min
Father Kevin A. CoddWhat Vines Teach Us, 5th Sunday of Easter (B), April 28, 2024The image of the Marlboro Man is the archetype for rugged individualism. The humble vine-tender with his vines is an archetype of communion.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
2024-04-2816 min
Horrorwood: True Crime in TinseltownThe Codd Family MurdersCristie Schoen Codd was an actress, a stunt performer and a movie set caterer. Her husband, JT Codd, was a key grip on a variety of TV shows and films. When the two decided to move from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood to the quiet mountain town of Leicester, NC, they never expected the horrors that awaited them in their serene new surroundings.
Episode Sources:
“A Good Kid: The Hollywood Murders (Episode 3)” - WLOS News 13
“Cristie Schoen - Food Network Profile”
“Suspect in killing of Food Network finalist had remains...2024-04-2253 min
Father Kevin A. Codd"La Paz Este con Ustedes," 2o Domingo de la Pascua (Misericordia Divina) B, 7 de abril, 2024Juan 20: 19-31: Al anochecer del día de la resurrección, estando cerradas las puertas de la casa donde se hallaban los discípulos, por miedo a los judíos, se presentó Jesús en medio de ellos y les dijo: "La paz esté con ustedes". Dicho esto, les mostró las manos y el costado. Cuando los discípulos vieron al Señor, se llenaron de alegría.
Las primeras palabras que Jesús resucitado dice a sus discípulos son sencillas pero importantes: "La paz este con ustedes." O en hebreo: "Shalom." ¿Que es esa “paz” que Jesús les ofre...2024-04-0717 min
Father Kevin A. CoddPeace be with you. Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)-B, April 7, 2024Jesus' first words to his disciples are simple: "Peace be with you." The fact that he repeats them two more times in today's reading from the Gospel of John would indicate they are very important words, indeed. Just what kind of peace is Jesus extending to his frightened and confused disciples?
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. (A Spanish version of this same reflection is also available on this site).
2024-04-0718 min
Father Kevin A. CoddMary Magadalene, Simon Peter, and Young John, Easter Morning (B), March 31, 2024On this Easter morning, John's Gospel gives us three important characters in the opening verses of his Resurrection story for our joyful consideration. Each responds to the empty tomb in a different way; only one sees and believes.
Easter homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-03-3121 min
Father Kevin A. CoddHe Handed Over His Spirit, Good Friday (B), March 29, 2024In the most poignant moment in John's Passion, Jesus "hands over his spirit." What might John mean by this strange final note to Jesus' passion? Perhaps we need to go back to the Creation story in Genesis to plumb its meaning.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-03-3007 min
Father Kevin A. Codd"Kenosis": Pouring Out in Three Lessons, Holy Thursday, March 28, 20224As we begin the Holy Triduum, the thread that runs through the solemnities of these days is captured in the Greek word: "Kenosis". Jesus teaches his disciples the meaning of "kenosis" in three lessons: the washing of feet, the breaking of the bread, and the acceptance of the cross.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-03-2913 min
Father Kevin A. CoddWhy have you abandoned me? Palm/Passion Sunday (B), March 24, 2024"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani? My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? We cannot afford to warm or lighten the cold blackness of these final words of Jesus in the moments before he dies. To do so risks cheapening the mystery of the Incarnation and the glory of the Resurrection. This is Jesus in the fullness of his humanity feeling God's absence and crying out for its loss. In our own desolations of the spirit when God seems absent from us, Jesus is our companion and our guide through the darkness to the light of the Third Day. 2024-03-2414 min
Father Kevin A. CoddCovenants Old and New, 5th Sunday of Lent (B), March 17, 2024Covenants are part and parcel of the story of Israel's relationship with God through the centuries: "I will be your God and you will be my people." The prophet Jeremian (Jeremiah 31:31-34) sees a new kind of covenant between Israel and the Lord, one written not in stone, but in the human heart. We have come to believe that Jesus is the embodiment of that new covenant, written in flesh and blood.
This homily was delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-03-1718 min
Father Kevin A. Codd"As Moses Lifted Up the Serpent in the Desert", 4th Sunday of Lent (B), March 10, 2024The symbol of a serpent wound around a staff found in the Book of Numbers remains today as a symbol of healing...many doctors and medical offices still use it on their stationary. It was well known to Jesus as well since in today's Gospel passage from John, he references it, and even more, makes himself the healing sign for God's people. The key words, "lifted up" refer to what is yet to come: his own "being lifted up" on the cross AND his being "lifted up" from death itself. All this because "God so loved the world that...2024-03-1013 min
Father Kevin A. CoddAnger Comes in Two Flavors, Third Sunday of Lent (B), March 3, 2024Jesus clearly is very angry in today's gospel reading from John. As he goes after the sellers some wonder if such anger is wrong or right. Which itself indicates that anger comes in two flavors: sinful and righteous. Which is Jesus'?
I was down with covid on this particular Sunday so this is a read version of the written text I had shared with our Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca.
2024-03-0309 min
Father Kevin A. CoddAbraham, Isaac, and God: A Bit of a Misunderstanding? Second Sunday of Lent (B), February 25, 2024The story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac, because God asked him for a proof of his dedication to him is a nightmarish story for kids. Could it be that kids understand that Abraham might have misunderstood what God was asking of him? God in heaven, after all, is a long way from us on earth. If so, then perhaps this story helps us hear the story of Jesus' transfiguration in a new way...
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-02-2514 min
Father Kevin A. CoddHearts and Ashes: Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2024A rare coincidence: both Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday coincide this year. The images of both are polar opposites: candy hearts vs. gray ash. Everlasting love vs. the certainty of death. Yet those ashes are not just smudges; they are the sign of the cross that allows us to see beyond death, beyond the ashes we will one day all be. And that cross is the sign of a love greater than all loves that is the foundation of everlasting life.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
2024-02-1409 min
Father Kevin A. CoddAnger and Compassion: A Leper is Healed, 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), February 11, 2024What at first seems like a very nice story of a very nice Jesus becomes something far more challenging once various translations of just one word are taken into consideration. Does Jesus feel "pity", "compassion", or "anger" once approached by the leper in Mark's gospel? Perhaps both compassion and anger spring from the same passionate confrontation with evil in this story.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
2024-02-1114 min
Father Kevin A. CoddA Day in The Life of Jesus, 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), February 4, 2024Mark gives us a sort of documentary of one day in the life of Jesus in four episodes, each one particular to a place and ministry in his daily life. He moves from (1)Synagogue to (2)Home to (3)Public Street to (4)Deserted Place.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-02-0412 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Heart of Jesus, 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time-B, January 28, 2024As follower of Jesus even these many centuries later, we want to know him; we want to know his heart. Today's story from the first chapter of Mark's Gospel of Jesus' first encounter with a person possessed by an evil spirit gives us a first look into Jesus' heart.
The theme of Jesus' heart was suggested by the Ecuadorian Church's reconsecration today to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as it celebrates the 100th anniversary of its first such consecration and as it prepares for the International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Quito in September of this y...2024-01-2814 min
Father Kevin A. CoddJonah and Jesus: "Repent!", Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (B), January 21, 2024Jonah is a rather reluctant prophet. He avoids God when he can and when he can't he proclaims God's call to repent with plenty of grumbling. Yet Nineveh does repent out of fear of God's retribution. Jesus also calls the people of Galilee to repent, but there is a big difference between Jonah and Jesus and the character of their call to repent.
Homily delivered to the Catholic Community of Saint Francis, Cuenca, Ecuador
2024-01-2114 min
Father Kevin A. CoddJesus Listens, Second Sunday of the Year (B), January 14, 2024What might Jesus' time with Andrew and the other disciple, alone and at his place, been like? Jesus doing all the talking? Or Jesus posing ever more deeply the question already asked, "For what are you looking?" Jesus may well have been not the talker here, but the listener, the attender. If so for Andrew and the other disciple, then perhaps also for us as we live out the stories of our lives.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador.
2024-01-1414 min
Father Kevin A. CoddKings, Wise Men, Astrologers, or Magi? Solemnity of the Epiphany (B), January 7, 2024It is curious how many names the central characters of today's feast bear: are they kings, astrologers, wise men, or magi? Each gives a different feel to the story of their visit to Bethlehem. Yet it is also curious the name that is missing: "The Three Strangers...or Outsiders...or Unbelievers", yet that is what they are and that is good news for us!
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador. This homily is a revision of one delivered in Sacred Heart Church in Spokane in January 2018.
2024-01-0716 min
Father Kevin A. CoddIt is God who Makes Families Holy: Feast of the Holy Family (B), December 31, 2023The remarkable story of Abraham and Sarah found in Genesis teaches us that out of "irregular" or "shameful" families, God brings blessings and great fruit. The pattern is found often in the Scriptures: a barren or aged woman is blessed by God with a child who will in turn be a great blessing to Israel. The same happens in the Gospel's Nativity stories with Elizabeth and Mary. In our times, it is a vitally important lesson: God takes imperfect families, blesses them, and brings great blessings to others through them.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic C...2023-12-3116 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThat Sweet Nativity Scene and Its Lessons, Christmas Morning, December 25, 2023The grand Pesebre or Nativity scene set up in our church of San Francisco in Cuenca is lovely, soft, and sweet. There is, however, a darker side to these Nativity images, that is made clear in Luke's Gospel. They point directly forward to Jesus' ministry, his death, and his resurrection.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-12-2517 min
Father Kevin A. CoddGod Wants A Home, 4th Sunday of Advent (B), December 24, 2023What does it take to make a house a home? In today's readings, both houses and homes become the center of our spiritual attention. God's work of making himself a home among us over millennia, with David, and especially in the story of Mary is one that invites us to welcome God into our own spiritual homes.
Homily shared wth the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador
2023-12-2417 min
Father Kevin A. CoddA Strange Way to Begin a Gospel, Third Sunday of Advent (B), December 17, 2023John the Evangelist begins his Gospel account of Jesus with a mystical hymn to the Creator and the Word, echoing the opening words of Genesis: "In the beginning...." But then he interrupts it twice with the story of John the Baptist. What is he up to here? Is this just a case of bad editing or does the Fourth Evangelist see something essential in weaving together this cosmic hymn and the prosaic story of the Baptist?
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-12-1718 min
Father Kevin A. CoddJohn the Baptist: What Manner of Man? Second Sunday of Advent (B), December 10, 2023Our usual image of John the Baptist, at least in Western art, is often a soft and tender one. In Byzantine iconography, he is depicted as wild and fearsome, which is closer to how we find him the Gospels. Yet, he is profoundly attractive to the people of Judea and Jerusalem and they come to him in great numbers. His humility and self-abnegation before God is a powerful Advent image even today.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-12-1015 min
Father Kevin A. CoddAdvent: Humility, Peace, Attentiveness, First Sunday of Advent (B), December 3, 2023As this "new year" begins the characteristics of Advent are highlighted in this day's scripture readings: humility, peacefulness, and attentiveness to what is doing among us.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-12-0311 min
Father Kevin A. CoddSheep, Goats, and A King, Solemnity of Christ the King-A, November 26, 2023Jesus' image of sheep, goats, and the great king who separates them for distinct destinies seems simple enough up front, but once he adds the troublesome criteria of how they are to be "judged", things get much more complicate...and worrisome. His emphasis on the corporal works of mercy rather than typical piety challenges us to examine our consciences with some justified trembling. That trembling may be calmed by the fact that before he was a "king" this Jesus was a shepherd.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-11-2614 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThanksgiving and Its Responsibilities, 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time-A, November 19, 2023The Thanksgiving tradition of recounting particular blessings at the dinner table is a wonderful one. Each gift or grace that is mentioned comes with a string attached: the responsibility to use that gift for the benefit of others. The image of the servant who buries his one talent, not allowing it to grow or bless others, is a powerful one that encourages us to not follow his example. Gifts shared are not expended, they are expanded!
Homily delivered to the Catholic Community of Saint Francis, Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-11-1914 min
Father Kevin A. CoddHoly Wisdom, 32nd Sunday of the Year (A), November 12, 2023Wisdom, as understood in the Hebrew Scriptures in the centuries before Jesus, was imagined as a living and gracious feminine presence, seeking out souls open to its blessings. It was seen as an expression of God's presence among his people. This kind of Wisdom was alive and present especially in Jesus, his words and works. It is close to, if not the same reality, his disciples later came to understand as the Holy Spirit. This Holy Wisdom, "Hagia Sophia" in Greek, is what the world needs now...
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador2023-11-1212 min
Father Kevin A. CoddNot Lifting a Finger: 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), November 5, 2023Jesus blasts the hypocrites who are his constant opponents in ministry with a series of accusations about their moral character. One among those accusations is particularly poignant for the cruelty it points to: those who lay heavy burdens upon others' shoulders, yet do not lift a finger to lighten the load. (A cheery apology for the interruption at the beginning of the homily when a small child wandered into the sanctuary, attracted by the beautiful statuary in the retablo of the church!).
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-11-0514 min
Father Kevin A. CoddLoving Our Neighbor, 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), October 29, 2023Jesus yet again responds with great wisdom to the trick questions posed by those who are threatened by his public ministry. The two great commandments, including "the golden rule", to love our neighbor as ourselves, form the foundation of our moral lives and the way of the Gospel.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-10-2914 min
Father Kevin A. CoddOn Coins, Idolatry, and Giving to God, 29th Sunday (A), October 22, 2023In Jesus' encounter yet again with the Pharisees, he is confronted with a trap at base of which is a moral dilemma presented by the image of Caesar on a Roman coin, then common in use in the first century. Is it idolatrous to use such a coin given Caesar's pretensions to divinity or is it just a practical necessity allowed by God and for the good of his people? The trap is sprung, but Jesus turns the question on its head by making clear our concern as people of faith is not Caesar or his coins; it is...2023-10-2218 min
Father Kevin A. CoddLa Fiesta de Vida Eterna: 28o Domingo (A), 15 de octubre de 2023La hermosa imagen del "Cielo de Dios" como una grande fiesta encima de una montaña alta provee a Jesús el base de la parábola que nos ofrece hoy en el evangelio de San Mateo. Jesús nos invita a la fiesta de vida eterna aun aquí en esta tierra.
Iglesia de San Francisco, Cuenca EC
2023-10-1621 min
Father Kevin A. CoddHeaven on Earth, 28th Sunday (A), October 15, 2023And the parables just keep rolling! At the foundation of today's parable of the wedding feast gone sideways, is the beautiful image from the prophet Isaiah of the great feast atop the mountain where God is present lifting the veil that covers the nations, wiping every tear from every eye, and where death is no more. Jesus' adaptation of Isaiah pleads with the leaders of Israel to come to the feast...as he does us.
Homily preached to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC
2023-10-1517 min
Father Kevin A. CoddUna parabola que nos asusta y un sinodo, 27o Domingo (A), 8 de octubre, 2023La parabola que Jesus ofrece a los sumos sacerdotes y ancianos del pueblo de Israel nos asusta. El hijo del dueno esta matado por los trabajadores. Los ancianos y sacerdotes no entienden que Jesus esta hablando de ellos. Su gran pecado de arogancia es un pecado que siempre nos afliga. El Sinodo en Roma es un ejercicio espiritual y eclesial a purificar la iglesia de este pecado tan horible.
Homilia dado en la Iglesia de Todos Santos, Cuenca Ecuador.
2023-10-0920 min
Father Kevin A. CoddA Shocking Parable and A Synod, 27th Sunday (A), October 8, 2023Yet another parable from Jesus directed to the high priests and elders of the people...but this one is particularly shocking because of how Jesus ends it: with a horrific murder. Even this does not break through the blindness and cold-heartedness of the elders. Their failure to see because their authority and power had hardened them is a failure that plagues the Church, too. The current Synod taking place in Rome is the Church doing her best to step away from this sin of arrogance that comes with power and instead serve the world in humility and self-giving love. 2023-10-0820 min
Father Kevin A. CoddTwo Brothers: Yes and No? 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), October 1, 2023Today's parable could have been snatched from any one of our homes as we were growing up: two brothers...one says yes but does nothing, the other says no but does get to work. The impact of the parable on the priests and elders to who Jesus directs it must have been hard-hitting to say the least once he explains it to them. It is also a pointed reminder to us that when it comes to the Gospel, we, too, have to "walk the talk."
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, EC.
2023-10-0115 min
Father Kevin A. CoddKatherine Hampton Funeral Homily, September 29, 2023The sudden death of Katherine Hampton came as a shock to her family and all of us. The ensuing week of grief had been difficult, especially for her mother, Sue, and brother, Taylor. As that week culminated in a beautiful funeral Mass in the Iglesia de San Francisco in Cuenca, Ecuador. Katherine's spirit was entrusted into God's hands. Consoling all present was Jesus' beautiful teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. In the Beatitudes he gives us insight into how God sees and values human beings. If Katherine had been in the midst of that crowd on the mountainside, s...2023-09-2915 minFather Kevin A. CoddO Death, Where is Your Sting? 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), September 24, 2023As happens in every church community, death unexpectedly intervenes in our daily and weekly life. Early Saturday morning, one of the young members of our church family, Katherine, suddenly died. It moved me from working on a homily based on the day's great parable of the workers in the field (Matthew 20:1-16a) to a reflection on this Sunday's reading from Paul's Letter to the Philippians (1:20c-24), which gives us insight into his attitude to both death and life, an attitude founded in his deeply intimate relationship to Jesus, the Risen One.
Our memories of Katherine are s...2023-09-2414 min
Father Kevin A. CoddWhere Two or Three Are Gathered: 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), September 10, 2023In a culture of super-individualism, Jesus' preference for "gatherings" is easily obscured. His great promise to "be there" wherever two or three gather in his name is a call to take seriously the importance of "gathering" in the Christian life and the life of the world.
Homily shared at the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-09-1017 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Prophet’s Hard-Knock Life, 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), September 3, 2023Today's passage from Jeremiah the Prophet opens a window into the complicated heart of the prophet. Beginning with the words, "You duped me, O God...!" Jeremiah lets us know both how powerful is the prophetic vocation and and how hard it is. Hard though it is, he carries on; he cannot not preach God's word to Israel! And so it was for Jesus; his own prophetic ministry had plenty of hard knocks, too. The temptation to back off and go the easy way must have been strong for him, witness his reaction to the bumbling Peter: "Get behind me...2023-09-0317 min
Father Kevin A. CoddPeter the Rock and Us: 21st Sunday A, August 27, 2023Jesus asks the fundamental question: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answers, correctly for a change, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." And for his prize, poor Peter receives way more responsibility than he ever bargained for! Rocks and keys and loosenings and bindings! As do we!
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-08-2718 min
Father Kevin A. CoddUna Mujer Pagana. Una Mujer de Fe, 20o. Domingo (A), 20 de agosto de 2023La mujer Canaanita que encontramos hoy en el Evangelio de San Mateo nos inspira por su persistencia en sus esfuerzos de encontrar a Jesus y pide de él lo que quiere para su hija, poseída por un demonio. Se pone en contraste grande a los "hombres de fe" que nunca piden nada de Jesús. Es claro cual de estos personajes es para nosotros un ejemplo verdadero de fe.
Homilía predicada en la Iglesia de San Francisco de Cuenca, Ecuador.2023-08-2118 min
Father Kevin A. Codd”Yet She Persisted...” 20th Sunday of the Year (A), August 20, 2023The Canaanite woman in today's reading from Matthew's Gospel is astounding for her persistence in getting to Jesus and making her plea to him for deliverance for her daughter. This pagan woman stands in contrast to the "men of faith" who are just beyond the edges of this story, the leaders of the Jewish religion who poke, prod, test, and eventually persecute Jesus. What makes the difference between her and them?
2023-08-2014 min
Father Kevin A. CoddThe Who and Why of Walking on Water, 19th Sunday (A), August 13, 2023Storms are part and parcel of life...not just the climactic ones, but the challenges we face as human beings throughout our lives. The image of Jesus walking on water in today's Gospel oftentimes gets treated as just one more "trick" pulled out of Jesus' Son of God hat. In reality, it is a powerful lesson to us during the storms of our lives for it teaches us WHO Jesus is and WHY he does what he does for us.
This homily was delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
2023-08-1315 min
Father Kevin A. CoddGod Whispers, Solemnity of the Transfiguration, August 6, 2023We live in a loud world these days where most everyone feels a need to holler, bellow, and even scream. It is perhaps only natural then, that we should presume that when God is talking to us, he too bellows. Our imaginations revert to the image of his voice coming from the heavens as a rumbling thunder that shakes the earth to its core. Yet, today's Gospel story of the Transfiguration of Jesus in an intimate, tender, and mystery-laded story from beginning to end. Is it not more likely that God is whispering here? And Jesus as well?
2023-08-0615 min
Father Kevin A. CoddWisdom and the Understanding Heart, 17th Sunday of the Year (A), July 30, 2023Solomon's request from God for the gift of an understanding heart, wisdom, is one that invites us to consider what that same gift might mean for us.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador
2023-07-3017 min
Father Kevin A. CoddTrigo y Cizañas: Una Parábola Para Nosotros: 16o Domingo Ordinario-A, 23 julio 2023Es una parábola hermosa pero nos deja sin saber quienes sean trigo y quienes sean cizañas. Sea posible que nosotros somos cizañas?
2023-07-2419 min