Jesus Levels up the Law!

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Feb 15, 2026

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021526.cfm

Sirach 15:15-20   Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34

1 Corinthians 2:6-10    Matthew 5:17-37

Today’s Gospel continues the Sermon on the Mount.  We heard the Beatitudes a few weeks ago.  Last week, we heard of salt and light.  This week, we hear about how Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill them.  Later on in the Gospel of Matthew, we will see Jesus physically present with the Law and the Prophets in person at his Transfiguration.

Mt 17:2-3 And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, conversing with him.

Moses represents the Law. Elijah represents the prophets.  Even God the Father and the Holy Spirit get into the action…but let’s not jump ahead, back to the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus isn’t abolishing the law or the prophets here; instead, Jesus is leveling up the law and the prophets in this part of the Sermon on the Mount.  The first reading echoes the importance of the law as Sirach tells us: 

If you choose, you can keep the commandments; they will save you; if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.

Pro tip here: choose water! The responsorial Psalm carries on that theme: 

Blessed are they whose way is blameless,

who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart.

Then the Gospel breaks through! The law tells us you shall not kill - but Jesus levels that up: 

Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment

The law tells us we shall not commit adultery - but Jesus levels that up:

But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The law tells us that we cannot bear false witness or take a false oath - but Jesus levels that up:

But I say to you, do not swear at all;

not by heaven, for it is God's throne;

nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;

…Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'

Anything more is from the evil one.

The laws God gave to Moses were to keep our external actions in check; this still remains true today, perhaps more than ever!  Now, Jesus wants us to take the law to a deeper level as well, to have it written on our hearts to have that interior transformation.  Without it, He tells us we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  With that said, I give you our Catholic word of the day - metanoia!  It’s a Greek word combining “meta”, meaning change, and “noi”, meaning mind.  Literally, it means a change of mind, but it’s more than that, so much more!  We aren’t talking about you looking at yourself in the mirror and changing your mind about your outfit!  Metanoia is a profound change of mind and conversion of heart.  Metanoia focuses on our sins, but it goes far beyond simple regret for sins; it signifies an enduring, radical transformation of one's entire being, perception, and direction—the turning away from sin and self-centeredness toward a life centered on God.

I’m not going to give us a laundry list of sins now. What I want you to do is take a moment to think of that one persisting sin, one you just can’t shake no matter what…Got it?  Good, that’s what you need to focus on during Lent.  Lent begins on Wednesday, so what better time to bring up metanoia than now!

Metanoia is hard!  Without confession, it’s impossible! God knows this, that’s why he gave us the sacrament of confession!   God also gave us a helper, a paraclete, the Holy Spirit, to assist us! The Holy Spirit is also needed for metanoia because true repentance is a divine gift, and not something we can do on our own. The Holy Spirit can convict our hearts, removing our stony hearts and replacing them with hearts that are more in tune with the teachings of Jesus Christ.  It’s always a work in progress. All we need to do is take that first step, ask for forgiveness in the confessional, and reach out to the Holy Spirit for help.  When we fall, and we will, we need to get back up and start over as soon as possible!

St. Bernard of Clairvaux tells us:

A saint is not someone who never sins, but one who sins less and less frequently and gets up more and more quickly.

When you fall in love with the Eucharist, you fall in love with Jesus Christ

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Jan 18, 2026

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011826.cfm

Isaiah 49:3, 5-6   Psalm 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10

1 Corinthians 1:1-3    John 1:29-34

John the Baptist knew Jesus.  They were cousins, so that makes sense.  But John tells us he didn't know Jesus. I think what John was talking about is that he didn't know that Jesus really was the Son of God. Last week, we heard how John baptised Jesus.  The Holy Spirit came down upon Jesus - that is when John knew who Jesus was! Today, we hear that John knew who Jesus was on another level as he proclaims:

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

John used language that Jewish people would understand.  We may not fully grasp the connection today, but it harkens back to the book of Exodus and the Passover.  Exodus 12 describes the rules for the Passover Ritual, the thing the Jews had to do to be saved:

Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month, every family must procure for itself a lamb… Your lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish… They will take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They will consume its meat that same night…

Jews sacrificed lambs, particularly for Passover, by selecting a perfect male lamb, slaughtering it in the Temple courtyard, and having priests collect its blood to sprinkle on the altar while the owner roasted and ate the meat with family. This was a solemn, communal act of remembrance and thanks, marking God's protection in Egypt. 

These words and actions should be at least remotely familiar to all of us!  This is a snippet taken from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the book all priests use at every Mass, the one on the altar, which reads:

The Priest genuflects, takes the host and, holding it slightly raised above the paten or above the chalice, while facing the people, says aloud: Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

Blessed are we indeed!  Jesus became the perfect sacrifice, the sinless “Lamb of God,” and his offering was pure and final, until the end of time.  He gave his life willingly, not just for his followers, but also for his enemies and those who persecuted him.  His sacrifice is eternally effective, extending to us today and on into the future.  We experience this sacrifice today, a bit different, a bit cleaner, if you will.  Today we experience this sacrifice in the Eucharist.  Here are some summaries from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Eucharist:

It is a perpetuation of Christ's Sacrifice (CCC 1323, 1351): At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Eucharist to "perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again," entrusting it as a memorial to His Church.

It is one single sacrifice (CCC 1367): The Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross; it's the same Christ who offered Himself, but the manner of offering (unbloody) is different from the bloody sacrifice on the cross.

Christ is Present (CCC 1374): Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the priest's words, the bread and wine become the true Body and Blood of Christ, really and substantially present.

Source and Summit (CCC 1324): The Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life," completing Christian initiation and uniting believers more deeply with Christ.

A Sacrament of Love (CCC 1323): It's a "sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet" where Christ is consumed, grace is received, and glory is pledged.

Offered for All (CCC 1369): As a sacrifice, it's offered for all the faithful (living and dead) for the forgiveness of sins and to obtain spiritual benefits.

So what are we supposed to do with all this information?  I suggest this week get to confession if you haven’t been in a while.  Let the Lamb of God take away your sins. Unclog that pipeline of God’s grace into your life.  After that, fall in love with the Eucharist all over again because when you fall in love with the Eucharist, you fall in love with Jesus Christ!

I pray that this week we all come to realize the words of St Thomas Aquinas: 

The Eucharist is the sacrament of love: it signifies love, it produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life.

Fortitude calls us to demonstrate Joseph’s silent strength

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Dec 21, 2025

4th Sunday of Advent

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122125.cfm

Isaiah 7:10-14   Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

Romans 1:1-7    Matthew 1:18-24

So far in our Cardinal Virtue homily series, we have heard about Temperance - the regulating of our desires and appetites for created goods.  Next was Prudence - The ability to discern the true good and the right means to achieve it.  Last week was Justice - giving each person their due and fulfilling duties to God, others, and society. This week, we will discuss the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude. 

Let’s start right off with what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says in paragraph 1808:

Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes one even to renounce and sacrifice his life in defense of a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my song."  "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." 

The Catechism never says it will allow you to not have fear, but when you do have fear, fortitude helps you overcome it.

Of course, the first thing that popped into my head was in Star Wars, when Luke tried to lift his spaceship out of the swamp using the force and failed, claiming it’s too big. Yoda scolds Luke, saying,

Size matters not. Look at me; judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? And well you should not.

Well, Yoda is right, the virtue of Fortitude is not made stronger by going to Planet Fitness and pumping iron.  This virtue is strengthened by prayer and reaching out to the Holy Spirit for guidance and help.  This virtue grows most with true love of Jesus, and we can see that in our Scripture readings today.  We see three main men today: Ahaz, Paul, and Joseph.  Two illustrated extreme, but different types of Fortitude, and one failed miserably.  

Ahaz looked to his own power and not to God, so if you guessed Ahaz as our failure today, then you guessed right! In our reading from Isaiah, Ahaz was told to trust in God, and if he did, the oncoming army would not destroy the city.  God said he would give Ahaz a sign, but Ahaz didn’t want the sign; he wanted to trust in himself and perhaps try to ally with another nation.

Let’s look at some of Ahaz’s deeds:

• He allied with the pagan king of Assyria 
• Created a pagan altar just like the king of Assyria had
• Because of the pagan altar, Ahaz desecrated the true temple with sacrifices to the gods of Damascus on this new altar 
• He moved the altar of the Lord to the side to make way for this pagan altar
• Ahaz removed the royal entryway of the temple and the Sabbath canopy as well.  He also destroyed the temple furnishings
• Ahaz also sacrificed some of his VERY OWN children to these pagan gods.

I won’t go into too much detail about Paul. I think we are familiar with his writings and the fact that, after his sinful persecution of Christians, he had a change of life and turned to God, demonstrating his great Fortitude.

Lastly, Joseph, who quietly followed the will of God and is never quoted in scripture.  Joseph trusted and followed God’s will even when it was hard.

Let’s look at some of Joseph’s accomplishments:

• Scripture tells us he was a righteous man
• He sought to divorce Mary quietly so as not to subject her to a trial and the death penalty.
• He listened to the Angel of God and took Mary, the Mother of God, as his wife.
• He named the child Jesus as the angel instructed.
• He became the foster father of the Son of God!
• Joseph protected Jesus and Mary and again listened to an angel and went to Egypt when he found out Herod was looking to kill the Christ child.

What about us? Fortitude, for us, doesn’t have to be on such a grand scale as helping to raise the Son of God or martyrdom.  For us, it is simply facing life's difficulties with steadfastness, not just in great deeds, but in daily perseverance.  It can be choosing what is difficult but right; over what is easy yet wrong.  It’s our daily struggle in resisting temptations.  Our Fortitude calls us to the foot of the cross when we are suffering, staying by God’s side when enduring hardship.  Fortitude calls us to stand up for and respect life in all its stages, even as our society preaches a culture of death. Fortitude calls us to stand up for the marginalized, the poor and the destitute. 

Sometimes, especially for me, Fortitude calls us to demonstrate Joseph’s silent strength as a spouse and parent, always following the will of God.

Ask the Holy Spirit for guidance towards Fortitude this week to help us live out the words of Pope Leo:

Here is the secret of the movement of the human heart: returning to the source of its being, delighting in the joy that never fails, that never disappoints. No one can live without a meaning that goes beyond the contingent, beyond what passes away

Pray for the souls in Purgatory

 Deacon Kevin Gingras

Oct 26th, 2025

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111625.cfm

Malachi 3:19-20a  Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 9

2 Thessalonians 3:7-12    Luke 21:5-19

Today, I wanted to walk up and down the sidewalk outside the church, carrying a sandwich board that read: “Repent for the end is near!” but I thought better of that.  Today’s homily does have that fire and brimstone feel to it:

See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for such things must happen first… Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place… they will seize and persecute you,

Scary stuff, right?  This teaching is what probably got the Thessalonians to think Jesus was coming back and really soon.  So soon, some of them had just stopped working to wait.  St. Paul had to set them straight in his letter.  We don’t know the time or the hour; we just know some day the time will come, and we will get to our particular judgment.  This occurs at the moment of death, where each individual is judged based on the life they led according to God’s rules.  Our death is merely an end to our life here on Earth.

Gandalf the wizard from Tolkien’s book The Return of the King said about death:

End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.

Jesus, in today’s Gospel, gives us hope when he tells us:

Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance, you will secure your lives.

And that is certainly good news, isn’t it! I recently started setting up for a baptism by placing the Easter candle front and center before the altar, and then the baptismal font just in front of that.  This is how our life in the church begins, by our baptism.  When our journey on earth has ended, the candle is in the same spot, and it is our casket that is in front.  The casket is sprinkled with holy water to remind us of our beginning.

Ok, back to our particular judgment that happens right at our death.  Three destinations await - Heaven for those who die fully in God’s grace, Purgatory for those who die in God’s love, but we still need some purification before we can be with God for eternity, and third is Hell for those who have died with mortal sin still on their souls and have rejected God’s love.

CCC 1030:

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”

Why bring all this up now?  Because November is the month to remember all the souls in Purgatory.  We begin with All Saints’ Day (those who have died and are now in Heaven) and then have All Souls’ Day (those who have died and are in Purgatory).  The Church encourages us to pray for the dead, visit cemeteries, and attend Masses to pray for the dead.

A while back, there was a woman I knew very well who knew she was dying.  I asked her how she was doing, and she replied that she was fine.  I told her not to lie, I asked how she is really doing, and what I can do to help her.  Her response surprised me.  She said that when she dies, she wants me to make sure that people don’t saintify her - in other words, correct people who say she is in Heaven now.  She made me promise that I would tell those people to instead pray for her soul and not make that assumption.  Our prayers can help those who have gone before us attain Heaven.  In Purgatory, souls cannot pray for themselves.  When you lose a family member or somebody close to you, you now have a job to do!  That job is to pray for them, to help their souls get to Heaven from Purgatory!  Especially in November, but also in all other months.  Your prayer for a loved one today could be exactly what they need to attain entry into Heaven!

St. Gertrude’s had a great prayer for this:

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.

This week I’ll end with two saint quotes, it’s that important!

Saint Padre Pio says

"We must empty Purgatory with our prayers."

And Saint John Paul II

“Praying for the souls in purgatory is the highest act of supernatural charity”

Stay humbly focused on the goal: Eternity in Heaven

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Oct 26th, 2025

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102625.cfm

Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23

2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14

When I pray, I always thank God for making me the most humble person that I know. The top dog, number one when it comes to being humble, more humble than everyone else!

Now, of course, we know that kind of prayer contradicts itself; if you think you are the most humble, then you are very far from humility and are more prideful than humble. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins, and humility is one of the 7 virtues. Yes, there are sins that are deadly and sins that are not so, mortal and venial sins. This is in scripture and can be found in 1 John 5:16-17

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. … All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.

A deadly sin, or mortal sin, requires the sacrament of confession to get back to the graces of God. The reason for this is explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1855:

Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.

Further on in Paragraph 1861, the Catechism tells us:

It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices forever, with no turning back.

That took a dark turn, didn’t it, but I try to preach what the Holy Spirit tells me to, and the Holy Spirit is reminding us that we must remain aware that we have lost some sense of sin of late in modern society, and we need to get it back. Influences such as secularism, the decline of religious influence, and our wrongdoing are sometimes shrugged off as I’m not hurting anybody or the harm is to others and there is not much thought of offending God. We need to be aware of how we offend other humans, but we also need to be aware that our sins offend God. We need to remember that our sins are our sins, and they don’t become less severe because we aren’t murderers or adulterers. I may have done this, but at least I didn’t do what THAT person did! We are inclined to judge ourselves based on people we think are less than we are, but who are those who are above us and judging us in the same manner? Are we the Pharisee or the tax collector? Our disposition must be one of humility, like the tax collector. Our prayer must be made in humility! The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2559:

When we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? He who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God."

Well… terribly uplifting homily, isn’t it? There is hope, there is the rest of the story! Jesus died for us to open the gates of Heaven when we enter our eternity, and within his church and through the priesthood, Jesus gave us the sacrament of Confession. Confession cleans the slate, gives us a fresh start, and opens up the graces of God to be received by us again. St. Paul knew his journey into eternity was coming up when he wrote:

I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on, the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.

Do we long for the Lord’s appearance? Do we realize we are fighting a battle against evil, against Satan? It is indeed a competition, not against our fellow humans but against all evil, especially pride. We must race to win. We must race humbly! If we have strayed off the course and are in danger of losing, then head to confession to get back on track - it’s a sacrament that we must take advantage of as often as necessary, especially when we fear we are in the state of mortal sin! We must stay focused on the goal: eternity in Heaven. Saint Vincent de Paul tells us:

The most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility. For, as he does not know at all how to employ it, neither does he know how to defend himself from it.