Father Matthew Wiering Podcast

What does it mean when the Bible says "God is love"?

There are religions that claim that God loves or does loving things, but it is only Christianity that makes the strange claim that "God is love". In this homily we talk about what this means and apply it to our lives.

On Grapes and Vines (Remaining in Jesus)

Today we celebrate the 1st Communion of a number of our young people, and we have the perfect Gospel to prepare us for this gift. Jesus gives us the very familiar biblical images of grapes and vines, which tell us so much about how we must live in imitation of Jesus (by being willing to be crushed like grapes) and how we have the strength to do this (by remaining on the vine that is Jesus).

The Grace to be a Good Shepherd

On this Good Shepherd Sunday, we take a closer look at St. Peter, who gives a fiery speech to the religious authorities in the 1st Reading from the Acts of the Apostles. There is no better example of the transformation that can come from grace than St. Peter, who went from denying even knowing Jesus out of fear to fearlessly witnessing to him in front of those who could imprison or even kill him. At the Last Supper, Jesus says to Peter, "I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not ...

From Fear and Guilt to Peace and Joy

In this account of the Resurrection from Luke, we begin in a similar way to last week's Gospel from John: The disciples are gathered together in the Upper Room in Jerusalem. Out of fear they have locked themselves in to keep any enemies out. We can only imagine the fear that they feel, that what happened to Jesus will also happen to them. But we can also only imagine the guilt they must have felt: Each had abandoned Jesus in his time of need. Yet it was precisely into that bad spiritual spac...

God's Easter Gift is Forgiveness

The Gospel tells us that on the evening of Easter, Jesus appears in the locked Upper Room to his disciples, who were obviously in a state of misery -- grieving and confused, fearful that what happened to Jesus would happen to them, and guilt-ridden because of how they abandoned Jesus. Yet Jesus's first words to them were not, "You have really disappointed me," or, "Did you learn nothing from me over the past three years," but rather, "Peace be with you." And the effect that these words and t...

Easter Sunday: God is Greater

Through the Passion and Death of Jesus, all of the dysfunction and disorder of the world is hurled on Jesus. Hatred, anger, oppression, greed, abuse, betrayal, abandonment ... the worst that the world has to offer is heaped upon Jesus. And Jesus accepts the violence and hate. He does not defend himself but allows himself to succumb to these worst forces of evil, dying, being buried, and descending into hell. But this is not the end of the story! The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the...

Holy Saturday Night: Jesus Fulfills the Ancient Promises

Good Friday: Why is Jesus Silent during the Passion?

It's interesting to think about the silence of Jesus during the Passion. On Good Friday we hear the Passion according to St. John, which begins in Chapter 18. Chapters 14-17 of John's Gospel are Jesus talking nearly continuously at the Last Supper. (It's his longest discourse in all of the Gospels.) And then the Passion begins, and he hardly says anything. We especially notice this when Jesus is asked direct questions by Pilate and others interrogating him, and he stays silent. Tonight while...

Holy Week: Jesus's Life All Poured Out

St. Mark introduces his Passion Narrative in an interesting way, by recounting a dinner that takes place in Bethany just before Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. He dines at the home of Simon, and a woman breaks an extremely expensive jar of perfumed oil and pours out its contents on Jesus's head. The Greek word here translated as "breaks" has the sense of being "shattered." Obviously, if the jar is shattered, all of its precious liquid will be poured out. The image helps us to inter...

Unless a Grain of Wheat...

In John Chapter 12 we encounter Jesus at the height of his career. He has just raised Lazarus who had been dead four days in the tomb. When he enters Jerusalem for the last time, crowds gather to sing and wave palm branches in celebration. In today's Gospel we see that even the Greek-speaking Jews who have traveled a great distance to Jerusalem have heard about him and are trying to see him. Everybody is talking about him, and many desire to crown him King of Israel. It is at this moment, wh...

You are Loved

In today's Gospel we hear the magnificent verses from John 3:16-17: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him." The 2nd reading from St. Paul is so similar: "God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions..." What do we believe God's...

You are a Temple

In today's Gospel Jesus turns over the tables of the money changers and drives out those who were selling livestock outside the Temple. He did this not because there was anything objectively evil going on but because he could sense that worldliness had invaded the sacred space of the Temple. When he sees disorder within God's house he has no time or tolerance for it but must drive it out. If this is true for the Temple in Jerusalem, which is merely a sign and foreshadowing of its fulfillment...

I Want to See

In today's Gospel of the Transfiguration, the appearance of Jesus changes in front of the disciples. He appears dazzling with light, and the disciples are bedazzled! What's important for us to understand is that Jesus himself doesn't change at the Transfiguration, but the vision of the disciples does. They see him anew, as God. He is "God from God, light from light." Being able to see with the eyes of faith will change everything for them, especially as they go back down the mountain to "nor...

What to do in times of Temptation

It might surprise us where the Holy Spirit sends Jesus immediately after anointing him at his baptism: He drives him into the desert to be tempted. He did this so that Christ could enter fully into our fallen humanity, including into those aspects which are most painful and humiliating for us. Here it is important to distinguish between being tempted and falling prey to temptation, which is to sin. As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews tells us, Christ was tempted in every way that we a...

You Cannot Soil God

One of the easy-to-forget details in the account of Jesus's healing of the man with leprosy is the fact that both the man and Jesus act in ways that were completely taboo, that would have been unthinkable in the time and culture of Jesus. The man comes right up to Jesus (which he was not supposed to do, lest he come in physical contact with another person and render them unclean (and perhaps communicate the deadly disease of leprosy in the process)). And Jesus, rather than running as fast as...

What to do When we are Angry with God

The story of Job is the story of one who speaks very directly to God in the face of the sufferings he is experiencing. Pope Francis calls the Book of Job a "prayer of protest"! It is brutally honest prayer. Throughout the Scriptures we encounter those who openly share their suffering with God, which includes, anger with God, confusion over his ways, and even a sense of being abandoned by God. May we imitate these voices as they teach us to pray more and more honestly from the heart, which wi...

Can Someone be Called to be Single?

Today we focus on our 2nd Reading from Chapter 7 of St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians. There he says some very counter-cultural things. He talks about marriage as not merely a natural good but a real charism (grace) and call from God. And, perhaps more counter-culturally, he talks about the celibate single life as a real charism (grace) and call from God. Most surprisingly of all, he says that he prefers the single life to the married life and says earlier in this chapter that he wi...

Jesus Calls Fishers of Men (a.k.a. Being Good Bait)

In today's Gospel Jesus call his first four Apostles, all fishermen. These will be the first bishops and priests of his Church. Why does Jesus choose a seemingly disproportionate number of men with this particular vocation? Precisely because these men understand the basics of evangelization. They know how to put good bait on their hook to draw in the fish. To be fishers of men, they will have to be like Jesus, attracting men to their self. To be good "bait" will be for them to be more and mo...

Epiphany: What the Magi Teach Us about our Journey of Faith

The identity of these Magi "from the East" is very mysterious, but what we know for sure is that they were seekers, looking for God. Once they recognize Him in the sign of the Star, they take action, making the long and difficult journey to Israel. Losing sight of the Star, instead of succumbing to discouragement they seek out the direction that they need. Soon the Star reappears, and they "rejoice with great joy". Upon finding the Christ, they worship him and offer gifts in sacrifice. Final...

Holy Family 2023: Not Understanding but Believing

Today's first and second readings for the Feast of the Holy Family have to do with the person of Abraham, called the "Father of our Faith". God called Abraham to leave his ancestral home and go to the place God had prepared for him. Abraham obediently left but without knowing where he was to go! But he believed that the One asking him to go was trustworthy, and so he went. When God told Abraham that his wife Sarah would conceive and bear a son in her old age, Abraham did not understand how t...

Christmas 2023: Babies and Happiness

Whether our heart is tender and sensitive or cold and hardened, we all of love babies. Even the frostiest heart can't help but melt when a sleeping baby is placed in their arms. It is one of the most simple and basic human experiences, but to hold a baby is to experience happiness. At Christmas, this prompts us to ask: Since God chose to make Himself visible (for the first time) as a helpless baby, what does this tell us about God? Does it not tell us that God is revealing Himself to be Happ...

Rejoice! The Lord is With You

On this last Sunday of Advent we meditate on the first words that the Archangel Gabriel says to Mary at the Annunciation: "Hail!" "Full of Grace!" "The Lord is with you!"

Recognizing Jesus

In the dialogue between John the Baptist and Pharisees in today's Gospel, John makes a devastating comment regarding the ultra-religious Pharisees. He says, "I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie." It's an astonishing accusation that these most (externally) religious in Judaism would not be able to recognize the One whom they have been awaiting. While the Pharisees are so focused...

A Highway to our Heart (a.k.a. Confession is in the Bible)

The vocation of John the Baptist was to prepare the people for the coming of Christ. How did he prepare the people to receive the Lord? Two ways: He baptized them and had them confess their sins. If we want there to be a highway to our heart, opening the way for God, then we also have to acknowledge our need for God’s mercy through the confession of our sins.

Not Out of Fear but Love

Today Pope Francis said something intriguing about today's Gospel, which features a man who leaves his servants in charge when he is away abroad. He expects that when he arrives back the servants will be doing their assigned tasks and not lazily asleep. Pope Francis said that servants can be obedient to their Master out of fear. Or they can be obedient out of love. This is true for us! We can serve God out of fear or merely out of a sense of obligation. Or we can serve God because we love hi...

Why I’m Thankful for Purgatory

Traditionally, November is the month when the Church emphasizes the importances of praying for the souls of the dead, sometimes referred to as the "Poor Souls" in Purgatory. In recent decades, one hears much less about the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory: Perhaps this is because our modern religious tendency is to immediately canonize anyone who has died and presume an easy judgment for them and a swift and sure entrance into the eternal reward. Or perhaps Catholics are reticent to speak of p...

The Distressing Disguise of Christ the King

As we come to the end of another liturgical year and conclude our weekly meditation on the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Church gives us Jesus's parable on the Last Judgment. Jesus brings to the fore the mandate that we have as his followers to perform the Corporal Works of Mercy: Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, care for the sick, etc. But the radically of today's Gospel message lies in the fact that Jesus himself so identifies himself with his beloved po...

Not Successful but Faithful

In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus gives us the parable of the Talents. In it, the Master praises and rewards the servants who make a return on their Master's gift. But they are praised not because they have been "successful", but rather because they responded with faithfulness to their Master. In fact, their success is their fidelity. May we, too, respond with fidelity to all of the grace and spiritual gifts that God is giving us!

How God Gets Us Ready

In the Gospel for this 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we have the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. While the foolish ones were trying to buy more oil for their lamps, the Bridegroom arrives and "those who were ready", i.e. the wise ones, were able to go into the feast with him. What does it mean for us to be ready to meet the Lord when he comes? How does God get us ready?

St. Francis and his True Father

In today's Gospel we hear Jesus say, "Call no one on earth your father; you have but one father in heaven." In this homily, we explore what the literal meaning of Jesus is, and then we examine the spiritual meaning using a famous scene from the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

Meditation: Why the Eucharist is the Sacrament of Sacraments

Reflection from our first Eucharistic Revival “Encounter” night.

Men’s Night Talk: What is a Man?

Talk given at COR Men’s Night: 5-17-23

The Intimacy God Desires with Us

In today's Gospel Jesus tells the parable of the wedding feast. Throughout the Scriptures this image of marriage is used to describe the relationship between God and Israel, which will finally be fulfilled in heaven. But even now, we have the Mass, which is our foretaste and present participation in heaven. As Jesus gives his Body to his Bride, the Church, He desires an intimate union with us for which the best analogy is the union between bridegroom and bride. This is truly Good News!

A Theology of Wine

After three straight weeks of Jesus telling parables featuring a vineyard and its landowner, we have to explore why vineyards, vines, and wine appear all over the Scriptures from the Old Testament to the New Testament. What are the spiritual lessons that the Lord is trying to teach us?

Astonished by God’s Love

In today's Gospel, as well as the one from last week, we see through the parables Jesus tells that God is inviting into his Kingdom those we would least expect him to invite. Last week we saw how the landowner didn't just want the responsible and industrious laborers who showed up at dawn. He also wanted the ones who didn't roll out of bed until noon or bother to make themselves useful under the end of the day. Today we see how both the religious leaders are invited in the Kingdom (although ...

God Also Wants Lazy People

Hearing today's Gospel, we might feel some injustice as those who worked for ten hours in the vineyard receive the same recompense as only an hour. What amazes me, however, is that the landowner is relentless in his search for workers, which yields both responsible ones who are ready to work at dawn and lazy ones who don't bother to get out of bed most of the day. Obviously the quality of work will be affected. Yet, we learn something about God from this: God loves all of his children and wa...

What Jesus Wants His Church to be Like

In our Sunday readings over the past month or so we've heard Jesus talk about the church a couple times, which is significant, because they are the only two times that Jesus uses the word "church" in all four Gospels. Zooming out of our readings, he gives us a vision of what he desires his church to be: A Church in which we take responsibility for the material and spiritual needs of its members. A Church in which we are willing to have difficult conversations with each other so long as we do...

What to Do When Someone has Sinned Against Us

In today's Gospel, Jesus gives us practical instruction on how to handle conflict. We must go directly to that person (instead of going to Facebook or gossiping to other people). A closer look at the text allows us to see that Jesus is not just talking about personal conflict but what we must do when our brother or sister in Christ is struggling with sin. We have a responsibility not just for the material needs of the members of the Church but also the spiritual needs. Jesus gives us a bluep...

St. Peter, Pray for Us!

Since the Church has given us two episodes having to do with the Apostle Peter the last two weeks, today we’ll reflect on this important character from the Gospel. His humanity – including his protective love for Jesus, his zeal, his impulsiveness, and his fear – makes him one of the most relatable figures in the early Church. While we see him at times trying to avoid suffering for himself or his master, at the end of his life, and now filled with the Pentecost gift of the Holy Spirit, we see...

Christ’s Church is on the March

I’ve always marveled at what Jesus says after he gives Peter the keys to his kingdom. He says “the gates of hell will not prevail against it”. He is talking, of course, about the new Church, founded on the rock of Peter. Often we think of the Church and her mission being on the defensive. But Jesus‘s image that he gives is quite the opposite: The Church is on the march. The light of Christ will seek out and dispel the darkness of the world. There is great comfort in his words, and we must joi...

The Consistency of the Church’s Teaching on Mary

The Solemnity of the Assumption each year on August 15 gives us the opportunity to reflect on the Church’s rich teaching on our Blessed Mother Mary.

Where is God in the Storm?

In today's Gospel, the disciples are rightfully terrified when their boat is being tossed about by a violent storm at sea. Adding to their angst, they were sent across the sea by Jesus himself, who was not with them in the storm. So where was he? He was praying on the mountain, from a vantage point where he would have been watching the storm, aware of everything that they were going through. At his own time, he walks on the water towards them and, after allowing Peter to walk on the water, c...

You are the Light of the World

In today's Feast of the Transfiguration we marvel once again at the weird and wonderful account of Jesus shining like the sun on Mount Tabor with the disciples as witnesses. "I am the Light of the World," Jesus says in John's Gospel. Interestingly, in Matthew's Gospel, we hear Jesus say, "You are the light of the world." So who is it? The light is always the light of Jesus, but as the light of faith increases and grows within us, we begin to be radiant with Christ's light. It's his light shi...

The Struggle of Choosing God’s Will over My Will

Today in the Second Reading St. Paul teaches us something very important. He says, "In all things God works for God those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." It's not too difficult to accept that God's will is done when good things are happening to us. But God wants us to believe with the Apostle that in "all things" -- even the bad things that happen to us -- God is accomplishing good for us. May we see all things -- the good and the bad -- as God's loving blessing for u...

Letting God Say ”I’ve Got This”

In today's parable, when the servants discover the weeds among the wheat the wisely bring their problem to the Master. Does he want them to pull up the weeds? And then he shows them that this isn't their responsibility -- that he is in control. What do we do when we encounter the weeds among the wheat in our family or workplace or parish? Do I automatically assume that I need to do something about it to fix it? Or can I enter into a prayerful dialogue with God and trust that he will fix it i...

Picking Rock in our Heart

In the famous "Parable of the Sower", Jesus uses farming images to help us to see what prevents us from allowing God's Word to take root in our heart and bear fruit. Like farmers have to pick rock, spray for weeds, and plow, so the same thing is necessary for us if we are to grow in our spiritual life!

Forgotten by the World but not by God

Today’s magnificent readings show a real contrast between the kings of the world and the Messiah-King, Jesus. The first reading gives us the prophesy that the future king will enter his kingdom on a donkey – hardly dignified transport for royalty!  Jesus tells us in our Gospel that he is “meek and humble of heart”. How different he is from the “important people” in our society! We also hear him at prayer thanking his Father for revealing heavenly things to the “little ones” and not the “wise ...

Do I Need to Love Jesus More than my Family?

Today's Gospel shows how radical Jesus's demands on his disciples are: He says, "He who loves mother or father or son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." Is Jesus really saying that we need to love him more than our closest family members? Is this even possible? Would doing so actually be a good thing for us? We tackle these difficult questions in today's homily.

Be Not Afraid!

Jesus's mantra for the disciples today is, "Be not afraid." What do we fear and why? Specifically, Jesus today is telling us not to fear those who would persecute us for our faith. This persecution can be strong and dramatic, even to the point of martyrdom. Or it can be quite subtle, and we notice it when we feel like we can't be our authentic, faith-filled selves when we are around certain people. We feel like we can't talk about God or practice our faith openly. Jesus never told his discip...

What Attracted Me to the Priesthood

In today's Gospel Jesus encounters the crowd and has compassion on them. It's important for us to see what happens next. Jesus doesn't get discouraged because of the number of needy people, yet that would be an understandable reaction. How can one man minister to so many? Instead he gathers the twelve and sends them out to heal the physical and spiritual maladies of the people. Our Catholic tradition has always held that these twelve men were the first bishops and priests ordained and sent b...