“Commit to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act.”
Fr. Tom Sparacino: When Wickedness Seems to Be Winning
It was a rough day at sea, and Fr. Tom Sparacino doesn’t pretend otherwise. “That’s a heavy load when you’re rocking on the seas — literally.” He’d spent the morning watching the seabirds dive-bomb into the waves and wondering where they ever find rest, and one bird out in front of the ship looked to him like the Holy Spirit leading the way.
He admits he’s not a confident flyer, and he hadn’t counted on turbulence on a boat. When a plane bounces, he asks, do you grab the seat in front of you? “Do you realize you’re holding on to the thing that’s going to crash?” That’s what fear does, and it’s what the evil one does: he wants us to go with him. “We could never go with him, because we have the Lord. Why would we want something like that when we have salvation?”
On the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Fr. Tom traces where Mary has appeared — in the fields of Portugal, in a cave in Lourdes, on a mountain in France with tears on her face — and notes that every time, she warns us: don’t give in to evil.
The day’s psalm is a reaction to that same question every believer eventually asks: why do the wicked seem to prosper while the good suffer? The psalmist’s answer is simple — commit to the Lord your way; trust in Him, and He will act. Fr. Tom shares the breviary antiphon he underlines every time he comes across it: “I love you, Lord, my strength.” It’s only by grace that we overcome wickedness, he says. The good aren’t losing. They’re gaining grace.
Let Him into the recesses of your heart
Then he turns to the Gospel, where Jesus says it isn’t what goes into a person that defiles but what comes out of the heart. Fr. Tom loves to cook — with plenty of garlic, so the seminarians always know when he’s in the kitchen — and he points out that even the best meal in the world ends up in the latrine. “We’ve eaten good on this boat, right?” But the food we receive at the altar, and the Word we consume, cut straight to the heart — “where wickedness doesn’t live, but God lives, the good lives. And that’s where we need to live.”
“Wickedness always appears to be winning — but it will never win. Commit to the Lord. For Lord, You are our strength, You are our hope.”
Key quotes (pull quotes / social)
- “When there’s turbulence, do you hold on to the seat in front of you? Do you realize you’re holding on to the thing that’s going to crash?”
- “We could never go with him, because we have the Lord. Why would we want something like that when we have salvation?”
- “Each time she appears, she warns us: don’t give in to evil.”
- “Commit to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act.”
- “I love you, Lord, my strength.”
- “The good aren’t losing. We’re gaining grace.”
- “Wickedness always appears to be winning — but it will never win.”
Scripture & liturgy references
- Psalm 37:5–6 — “Commit to the Lord your way; trust in him, and he will act”
- Psalm 18:2–3 — “I love you, Lord, my strength, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer”
- Mark 7:14–23 — what comes from within defiles
- 1 Kings 10 — the Queen of Sheba visits Solomon
- Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes (February 11); Marian apparitions at Fatima, Lourdes, and La Salette
Nine Homilies with Fr. Tom Sparacino— Living in the Heart of Christ
In this inspiring collection of nine homilies, Fr. Tom invites listeners into a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ through the liturgical year, the Eucharist, and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Preached during a Magnificat pilgrimage, these reflections weave together Scripture, personal testimony, humor, and practical spiritual wisdom to encourage believers to live boldly as missionary disciples.
Throughout the series, Fr. Tom repeatedly returns to the central truth that Jesus desires to dwell in the temple of our hearts.
Just as the infant Christ was presented in the Temple, believers are called to welcome His presence daily through prayer, Scripture, and especially the Eucharist. Every Mass is an invitation to encounter Christ anew and allow His Word to become the guiding light for life’s journey.
Listeners are encouraged to embrace the gifts of the Holy Spirit with confidence and humility. Holiness is presented not as perfection but as complete dependence upon God. Fr. Tom reminds us that every baptized Christian has received spiritual gifts and is called to use them courageously in service of the Church and the world.
A recurring theme is the Sacred Heart of Jesus—the refuge where every burden, fear, and sorrow finds rest.
Through moving personal stories and reflections on sunrise prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and the beauty of creation, Fr. Tom illustrates how Christ continually invites His people away from the noise of everyday life into intimate communion with Him.
The homilies also challenge listeners to confront the obstacles that hinder spiritual growth.
Pride, fear, divided hearts, and the temptation to place conditions on God’s will prevent authentic healing and discipleship. Instead, Fr. Tom calls believers to surrender everything to the Lord, trusting that God’s grace is always sufficient, even amid suffering and uncertainty.
Drawing from the lives of saints including Simeon, Anna, St. Agatha, St. Scholastica, St. Bernadette, and St. Blaise, these messages demonstrate how ordinary people become extraordinary witnesses through unwavering faith and courageous obedience.
One of the most powerful themes woven throughout the homilies is that God does not abandon His people in suffering. Rather than removing every trial, He provides the grace necessary to endure them. Through stories of pastoral ministry, healing prayer, and personal encounters with God’s mercy, Fr. Tom encourages listeners to trust God’s timing and remain steadfast even in life’s darkest moments.
Ultimately, these nine homilies form one unified invitation: to become living tabernacles of Christ. Nourished by the Eucharist, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and transformed by divine mercy, every Christian is called to leave Mass renewed, fearless, and ready to bring Christ’s light into the world.
Highlights
- Encountering Christ through the liturgical year and the Eucharist
- Living as temples of the Holy Spirit
- Receiving and using the gifts of the Spirit
- The healing love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Overcoming pride, fear, and spiritual distractions
- Learning from the witness of the saints
- Trusting God’s grace in suffering
- Becoming missionary disciples with holy boldness
- Allowing God’s mercy to transform everyday life
- Living each day focused on Christ and His mission
Fr. Tom Sparacino’s 9 Homilies were given during the Magnificat Caribbean Visitation Cruise Jan. 31 – Feb. 14th, 2026.
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