Homily | July 20, 2026 | Stop Asking For Signs And Start Living Faithfully | (Episode 203)

Homily | July 20, 2026 | Stop Asking For Signs And Start Living Faithfully | (Episode 203)

We ask what God really wants from us, then discover the answer is simpler and harder than a religious checklist. We connect Micah’s call to ordinary faithfulness with Jesus’ response to people who keep demanding signs instead of opening their hearts.  • our instinct to bargain with God through more religious activity  • Micah’s three-part summary of the spiritual life  • choosing what is right even when no one is watching  • the difference between doing good and loving goodness  • walking humbly as a lifelong journey with God  • why the demand for signs can reveal a closed heart  • the Resurrection as God’s definitive sign and our call to respond Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

Homily | July 19, 2026 | God’s Patience And The Problem Of Evil | (Episode 202)

We name the question every believer eventually asks: why God doesn’t stop evil right now, and we let Jesus answer it through the parable of the wheat and the weeds. We explore how God’s patience protects the wheat, leaves room for conversion, and calls us to look honestly at our own need for mercy.  • the “enemy has done this” as a clear Christian view of evil  • why the weed looks like wheat and why early uprooting destroys the crop  • the real question of delayed judgment and sinners remaining in the world  • God’s patience as strength, not weakness, and mercy as opportunity  • conversion stories that change everything: Paul, Augustine, Peter  • the mirror turning back on us: resentment, habits, healing, neglected prayer  • mercy now, justice later, and grace at the altar doing what we cannot  Be a good seed, trust in the Lord, and all will come to fulfillment.  Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

Homily | Español | July 19, 2026 | God’s Kingdom Is Not Static, It Transforms Us | (Episode 201)

We explore how the Kingdom of God is God reigning in our souls, our personal history, and the world, revealed through three parables that describe growth and transformation. We challenge complacent faith, practice patient trust in God’s timing, and use the daily examen to notice grace early and uproot sin while it is still small.  • defining the Kingdom of God as God’s reign within the heart  • treating the kingdom as dynamic growth rather than a static label  • rejecting “staying a seed” as a refusal to change for the better  • naming habits that lead to mediocre Christian life without a growth plan  • learning patience from the parable of wheat and weeds  • trusting slow spiritual formation through confession, counsel, books, and life events  • seeing God work quietly like yeast and goodness grow like a mustard seed  • practicing the daily Ignatian examen to track grace and detect weeds early  Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

Homily | July 18, 2026 | Power Used Well | (Episode 201)

We contrast Micah’s warning about people who misuse power to take from others with Jesus’ way of leading through restraint, mercy, and healing. We end by challenging ourselves to audit our influence and to become the kind of people who strengthen the bruised instead of breaking them.  • Micah’s critique of power used to exploit and diminish others  • Power, wealth, influence, and leadership as gifts shaped by how we use them  • Why love feels threatening to people committed to control  • Jesus withdrawing as strength under control rather than weakness  • Staying focused on mission instead of getting consumed by conflict  • “A bruised reed he will not break” as a picture of Christ’s gentleness  • Naming real-life bruises: grief, divorce, sin, addiction, anxiety, disappointment  • A personal audit of influence in daily roles and relationships  • Choosing mercy over manipulation, encouragement over criticism, forgiveness over revenge  Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org

Homily | July 17, 2026 | Why God’s Law Exists To Help People Flourish | (Episode 200)

We face a quiet spiritual danger: caring more about rules than the reason God gives them. We hold up Jesus’ call for mercy, connect it to Hezekiah’s tearful prayer, and ask what it means to see people the way Christ does.  • Rules, discipline, and truth matter, but they must serve love  • The Pharisees missing hungry men while policing a violation  • Jesus restoring the Sabbath’s purpose with “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”  • Hezekiah choosing honest prayer instead of despair  • God not only hearing words but seeing tears  • Prayer opening our hearts to the God who already knows us  • Grace working through ordinary means like remedies, doctors, counsel, friends, sacraments, and obedience  • A personal examen: do we notice failure first or hunger and wounds first  • Holiness measured by a heart that resembles Jesus in truth and mercy  Thank you for listening! Visit us at www.saintaugustinechurch.org