Based on a homily from Jan. 25, 2026
When I was a pastor in a parish, there was a beloved lady who would come to daily Mass. She prayed fervently for her husband, who did not believe in God. She would bring their children to Mass, but he never joined them. She did her best to raise them in the faith by herself.
And then the husband had a near-death experience. His heart stopped. He was resuscitated. Looking up at his wife, he asked her to please call a priest so he could receive the sacraments.
I can’t tell you what a gift it was for me as a pastor to receive that call. I don’t know how fast I was driving, but I wanted to get there as fast as I could to give him the one thing that mattered—God himself in the sacraments. When I arrived, our time was short but beautiful; he died shortly after receiving the sacraments.
During our time, I was reminded of Christ calling the Apostles. “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Lk 5:11). They knew Christ was different. They recognized he was truth. In that recognition, they left their father and mother, their occupation and their stability to follow Christ, knowing nothing of what lay ahead except that the darkness of their lives, a darkness perhaps only realized when they met Christ, was filled with light, truth and God’s love for them.
Brothers and sisters, if you only could have seen the relief on the face of the husband and wife when he opened his heart to God, when God gave him that second chance. Like the Apostles, the husband came to recognize the light of truth. His visible relief echoed the Apostles’ decision to abandon everything. It was the relief of one who had wandered in darkness and suddenly found light.
Let us not wait, but each day eagerly seek God, the light of truth. Each day, may that light penetrate our hearts. Each day, may the holy Word of God penetrate to the very core of who we are, so that we are transformed and recognize Christ’s own words, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6).
Our deepest call, our deepest longing, is living in union with God. We are called to give ourselves wholly to the path God has prepared for us, especially now as we celebrate the Easter season. Let’s pray for the grace to let the light of the risen Christ into our hearts, our minds, our will, our whole being and to follow and live each day to the best of our capacity, like the Apostles, eagerly following Christ, the light of truth.
