Fr. Kyle White's Homilies
St. Leo - Lafayette
Fr. Kyle White is Pastor at St. Leo the Great Church in Lafayette. We are passionate about bridging heaven and earth. To learn more about St. Leo, visit stleolafayette.com
Episodes
Possessive
Everything we have is a gift from God. Gratitude and generosity protect us from falling into the trap of the wicked tenants in Matthew 21. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Prayers for Spiritual Battle
Every generation is faced with a spiritual battle. Fortunately, we are not alone in the fight. When we unite our prayers to the prayers of the Church, we stand with the armor of the Body of Christ. For more information on our mission, visit www.stleolafayette.com
Laboring in the Vineyard
At first glance, the parable of the landowner and the laborers in the vineyard seems like bad economics. But a closer look at this parable reveals a number of parallels to the parable of the prodigal son. For more information on our mission, visit www.stleolafayette.com
You Don't Forget When Someone Saves Your Life
When someone saves your life, that's a big deal. In some sense, you become forever indebted to them. And yet, we so easily forget what Christ has done for us. Imagine how different things would be if we would recognize just how big of a deal it is that Christ saves us from Hell. For more information on our mission, visit www.stleolafayette.com
Seeking Reconciliation
How do we know whether or not God is calling us to have a hard conversation with someone? Here’s 3 things to consider when making that decision.For more information on our mission, visit www.stleolafayette.com
Once You See It, You Can't Unsee It
A true conversion is about seeing everything differently. The Truman Show, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, and Jesus’ rebuke of Peter in the gospel reading all point to the importance of a true metanoia, a change of perspective.Visit stleolafayette.com to learn more about our mission.
The Wrong Foundation
We are all building things - families, careers, relationship - but what are we building them upon? If we don’t build them upon Christ, they will all eventually become another ruin. Visit stleolafayette.com to learn more about our mission.
A Light to Others
Your faith is a gift that was never meant to be kept for yourself. Just as Old Testament Isreal was supposed to be a light to the gentiles, so too are we supposed to be a light to the world.Visit stleolafayette.com to learn more about our mission.
Crippling Fear
Even faithful people experience fear. We can’t always control whether or not we feel afraid, but we can decide how we’ll respond to it. Visit stleolafayette.com to learn about our mission.
The Pressure of Outcomes
It's not your job to feed the 5,000. Your job is only to provide the 5 loaves and 2 fish. Imagine the freedom we'd have if we cared more about being faithful to God than about worldly outcomes.Learn more about our mission at stleolafayette.com
Be Attentive
True wisdom is not about having all the information, but in having an attentive heart that notices the treasures of God and responds accordingly.Learn more about our mission at stleolafayette.com
In Tough Times
When bad things happen to us or around us, we find ourselves wondering why God doesn’t just fix it. Jesus offers a mysterious answer to this question deep within us. Learn more about our mission at stleolafayette.com
Freedom
The average American would probably define freedom a bit differently than the Christian. True freedom is not in escaping yokes, but in embracing the yoke of Christ. Learn more about our mission at stleolafayette.com
Fullness of Life
A Christian who doesn’t put Christ first is out of place. If we want to experience fullness of life, we must first enter into fullness of death to our constructed ego. This will be tough, as the cross is guaranteed, but the payoff is more than worth it. Learn more about our mission at stleolafayette.com
A Modern Martyr
Most of us care more about what others think of us than about what God thinks of us. This not only prevents us from having a true conversion, but also burdens us with insecurity and fear. But the love of God has the power to cast away all fear. Learn more about our mission at stleolafayette.com
Do I Matter?
There seems to be a growing interest in Catholicism among young people. Perhaps one reason for this is because they’ve been left empty by the promise of modernity, and Catholicism offers the only adequate response to their deeper questions. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Should I receive the Eucharist?
God has given us an extraordinary gift in the Holy Eucharist, but we too often take it for granted. Here are some minimum requirements for preparing to receive the Eucharist, as well as some practical tips to better prepare for Holy Communion. For more information on our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Artificial Intelligence, Pope Leo, and the Trinity
In a world of AI, what makes us human? The good news is that it’s more than intelligence alone. We are made for communion.For more information on our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Anticlimactic Confirmation?
Sometimes the sacrament of confirmation can feel a bit anticlimactic when we compare it to Pentecost. But, the measure of the Holy Spirit’s action in us is not so much about emotional intensity, but about the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5).For more information on our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Influence
Who is growing closer to Christ because of you? We all have influence over others, positively or negatively. How are you using it? For more information on our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Hope in Suffering
When Christians persevere in hope, the Gospel spreads like wildfire. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The Way, The Truth, & The Life
More than having all the answers or the perfect plan, our hearts are fundamentally longing for Jesus Christ. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Big Decisions
We often make it more complicated than God does. In making decisions, we don’t have to approach it as a puzzle to solve, but a relationship to trust. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and he respects our freedom. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Walking Away from the Church
We all know people who have left the faith. Some of them might have once had a strong faith, only until something happened that caused them to walk away. Jesus is drawn to these people, just as he was drawn to the disciples on their way to Emmaus. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Divine Mercy
The Risen Jesus enters into the upper room even though the doors are locked. He does the same for our hearts and says, “peace be with you.”To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
He either rose or He didn't
The fundamental claim of Christianity is that Jesus Christ truly died & rose from the dead. We have plenty of historical evidence to suggest that he did. There’s no room for middle ground here. He either rose or he didn’t. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Barabbas’ First Name
Pontius Pilate gives us two options: the kingdom of the world v the kingdom of God. Which will you choose? To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Living Like You're Already Dead?
So many of us live as though we’re already dead, but Jesus calls us by name and loves us back to life. It’s time to start acting like it. **This is the final week of our series on conversion. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The Lens of Christ
Although conversion includes a change in behavior, it’s so much more than that. True Christian conversion is about changing the way we see. Everything changes when we put on the lens of Christ. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Purification of Desire
The problem is not that we desire too much, but that we settle for too little. Deep within each of us is an innate desire for God, but most of us aren't able to tap into that desire because of so many smaller desires that keep our attention. Our desires need to be purified so that we can discover our thirst for the Lord, who thirsts even more for us. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Stepping Beyond Our Comfort Zone
When God calls, fear surfaces where trust is thin. If we fix our eyes on Jesus, our fear begins to fade, trust begins to grow, and our hearts begin to heal. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Divided Heart
Our hearts are divided because ew distrust Our Father. God wants to rebuild our hearts by regaining our trust.To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Early Signs of a Heart Attack
Just as a good doctor addresses high blood pressure & high cholesterol, Jesus addresses the “smaller,” hidden sins because they are still indicative of poor spiritual health. If left unchecked and unaddressed, these tend to escalate into much larger problems.To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
What I learned in the grocery store check out line
When Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth, he means so much more than simply “making the world a better place”. While that’s definitely true, there’s a deeper meaning connected to the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The Way of Happiness
Jesus was happy and he wants us to be happy. The Beatitudes are his instructions for deep, enduring fulfillment (makarios). Jesus not only taught them, but lived them out perfectly.
Deepening Conversion
Although important, the call of the first apostles is but one moment of a much longer, complex story. Our conversion upon encountering Christ is a major event in our lives, but each day following should be a deepening of that conversion. The apostles give us much hope here. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Faith & Reason
God created both faith and reason to draw us to Himself. The Magi used both to discover the Christ child. When the star and the scroll converge, the only proper response is worship.To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Honoring Our Parents
We don’t honor our parents because they’re perfect. We honor them because love demands it. The 4th commandment never expires, it only matures through the seasons of life. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Hope in Suffering
Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy and happiness, but that’s sometimes overshadowed by a cloud of suffering. Whether this past year has been filled with great moments or difficult ones, we’re in this together. God is with us! To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Feeling Unworthy
Although we may feel unworthy of the task to which God is calling us, we can find encouragement in taking Mary into our hearts. Be not afraid to accept God’s mission for you. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
God outdoes our expectations
John the Baptist points out that something better than the Messiah is here. Just because things may not be happening according to our plan doesn’t mean that God is not present. In fact, he may be doing something even better. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The Long Slow Process
Just like marathon training, growing in the spiritual life is a long, slow process. Patient endurance is key to building strength over time. You’ve already come this far - have hope in how much further God is taking you!To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Distractions dull the soul
In the spiritual journey, many of us have been driving distracted, or worse, falling asleep at the wheel. Advent is our annual spiritual alarm clock. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Pontius Pilate v St Dismas
How is it that two people can look at the same thing, but see something completely different? Here’s how Pontius Pilate and St Dismas saw Jesus differently during his final moments. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The Dignity of Work
Work has dignity because of the dignity of the worker. From the medical field to the construction site, and from the stay at home parent to the disabled veteran, every human person needs a sense of meaningful purpose. Without it, we lose an essential piece of what makes us human. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
A love that moves us to action
Three events converged this weekend: the conclusion of National Vocation's Awareness Week, the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica this Sunday, and Veteran's Day coming up this Tuesday. What do all three of these have in common? Holy Zeal.To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
Purgatory, Suffering, & Praying for the Dead
Even after someone experiences a conversion, they still sin because of their brokenness. We all need to go through a process of purification, and suffering can be the opportunity we didn’t know we needed. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The Jesus Prayer
Like the Pharisee in the parable, we tend to compare ourselves to others and lean too much into our spiritual resumes. The tax collector shows us the better way by praying The Jesus Prayer. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The Most Efficient Use of your Time
The most important, effective, and powerful thing that you can do for someone you love is to pray for them. Our prayers are like lightning bolts where divine power meets human surrender. Prayer is so much more than a mental health exercise. We pray because the world depends on it. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com
The first step to happiness
Gratitude is more than good manners. It keeps grace alive in us. Pride keeps us from happiness, but humility makes us grateful. To learn more about our mission, visit stleolafayette.com