Lifeissues is mainly concerned with publishing thoughtful articles directly related to issues raised in Evangelium Vitae. However, from the very beginning, we have also published a few related homilies, notably by Fr. Al Cariño, O.M.I., Fr. Tony Pueyo, and others.
Please use the pulldowns below to select a homily by Liturgical Calendar date.
Our concepts of crime and punishment have gone a long way since the time of Our Lord. Adulterers are no longer given the death penalty. Petty thieves are no longer hanged nor have their fingers cut off. In the modern halls of lawmaking there are always debates about the punitive and reformatory aspects of laws. Jesus was way ahead of His times.
Lent is a penitential season. In some way, if we search our heart we would find there that there are aspects of our life where we do not live as we ought. There are many ways of descibing sin. St. Paul speaks of it as missing the mark. The more common understanding is breaking the commandment. Many of the prophets speak of unfaithfulness or breaking the relationship with God. St. Thomas Aquinas describes it as an idolatry, “aversio a Deo, conversio ad creaturam.”
It may seem that the prodical son, his forgiving father and the "woman caught in adultery" were the only people in both stories who saved their souls. Some would say, "Father, you are being a little too harsh, aren't you? If we mean well that should count for something". And whose parts in these gospel dramas would we be playing were we today found in their circumstances? How many self-righteous Catholics who refuse to accept Jesus suffering in his Church today expect to rise into heaven someday while disavowing the teachings of Christ and his Church?
Psalm 126 is a historical psalm, probably related to the return of the Israelites from the Babylonian exile. Having experienced the release from captivity, the people need God to restore them once again. What God did for them, he can do for us.