Browsing the 2024 archive of Fr. Arturo Homilies

Christmas-December 25, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 12/28/24

I was born in my parents' home. This was common practice in my village half a century ago. I don't know who else was present in the room with my mother and the midwife. I'm not sure if my father was in the room or in an adjoining room ... Read More »

Fourth Sunday, of Advent-December 22, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 12/23/24

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her relative Elizabeth is the distinctive theme of the Gospel reading this Fourth Sunday of Advent. The Visitation was immediate preparation for the Lord’s arrival. Once she learned from the angel that Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy, Mary ... Read More »

Third Sunday of Advent-December 15, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 12/18/24

The late Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos was a prominent bishop in Latin America. Pope St. John Paul II appointed him to a very important position at the Vatican. As it often happens, there was speculation about who would be the next pope. In the early 2000s, Cardinal Castrillon ... Read More »

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception-December 9, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 12/10/24

The book of Judges tells us about Gideon. It was in the decades after the entry into the Promised Land and before the time of the kings. Nomadic peoples came and stole Israel's crops and livestock. God chose Gideon to confront Midian, one of these exploitative peoples.

Gideon was ... Read More »

Second Sunday of Advent-December 8, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 12/10/24

People ask us priests how we knew we had a vocation to the priesthood. Giving a straight answer is difficult. It is not like one day we heard a voice from heaven giving us the assurance of our vocation. It is more like the Word of God subtly entering ... Read More »

Solemnity of Christ the King-November 24, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 11/25/24

We are used to seeing the letters INRI on crucifixes, an acronym for the words “Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews” in Latin. When a friend of mine from High School would see a crucifix with the acronym on top, he would jokingly say that the crucifix, “It ... Read More »

Diocese of Raleigh Centennial Sunday-November 17, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 11/17/24

At the end of a recent Concert at the Cathedral as part of the Centennial celebration of the Diocese of Raleigh, attendees were told that upon exiting the building we were to look at the sky and wait for a surprise. I wondered whether there would be fireworks illuminating ... Read More »

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time-November 10, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 11/10/24

I see this family every Sunday at Mass. The girl in the family, over seven years old and with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is the person who insists on putting the family’s offering envelope in the collection basket each week. And woe to the parents if they do not ... Read More »

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time-November 3, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 11/03/24

I had not been back to Rome in 23 years. This past January when I returned, after visiting St. Peter's Basilica, the Pantheon was my second stop. I had forgotten how big the hole also called the oculus or eye in the center of the Pantheon dome was. It ... Read More »

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time- October 20, 2024

Posted by Carol Johnson on 10/20/24

In today's Gospel reading, St. Mark tells us about the time when two apostles, James and John, made an important request to the Lord. They asked the Lord, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left” (Mark 10:37). St. ... Read More »