“If you’re going to follow the Lord, then follow the Lord. Don’t put any stipulations on Him.”
Fr. Tom Sparacino: Give Up Fear and Follow Him All the Way
Fr. Tom Sparacino starts with a scream. He was napping on the top deck, minding his own “little plot of land,” when a friend from Canada shrieked — another passenger had snuck up and scared her again. Her husband, Fr. Tom reports, was “absolutely no help.” It’s funny, and then it isn’t: how often do we give in to a simple fear? He confesses he’s been staring out the cabin window at the dark water, half convinced a sea monster was about to surface.
That’s not what we were made for. What we do at the altar, he says, and what this whole mission has been about, is to be fearless — fearless in proclaiming the Good News, fearless in the Spirit. Not giving in to fear, but giving up fear, and asking the Lord for the gift of awe instead.
Then the hard part. Fr. Tom hears it all the time from young men discerning the priesthood: “Father, I want to be a priest — but before I do, here are the things I want to do first.” Go ahead, he tells them. I’ll be right here when you come to your senses. Every priest he knows has tried it, and the Lord “usually knocks us on our backside.”
He tells the story of a teenager who wanted a car. His parents set three conditions: no complaining about school, Mass and youth group and Scripture every week, and a haircut. The boy kept the first two beautifully — honor roll, rosary, even long talks with the priest. But the haircut? He’d learned his rhetoric well. “Every statue of Jesus has long hair,” he argued, “so it’s good enough for me.” Wonderful, said his father. And you’ll notice Jesus walked everywhere, too.
We do the same thing to God. Lord, we want this healing. We want, we want, we want. The Pharisees in today’s Gospel were busy washing cups and pots, while Jesus was looking at their hearts. The rules of the game were never complicated: love God, love your neighbor, be merciful.
What it looks like to love God without conditions
On the memorial of St. Scholastica, Fr. Tom — trained by the Benedictine monks at St. Vincent in Latrobe — remembers the sister who loved God so much that He answered her prayer with a storm, while her brother Benedict worried about keeping the rule. The Church prays that, following her example, we may “serve you with a pure love and happily receive what comes from loving you.” We can only do that, he says, if we stop putting our rules on God and just listen: read Scripture, let it penetrate the heart, stay in relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with Mary our Mother and with St. Joseph — and give Him full and complete control.
“When we do, honey child, we can walk on water. And not only walk — we can run across the water.”
“Let’s not allow fear to grasp us, but let’s be fearless in the love that we have for Jesus. And all the gifts that He has for us, let us be open to them — and not put any stipulations, because by His blood He has washed us clean already, once and for all.”
Key quotes (pull quotes / social)
- “How often we give in to a simple fear.”
- “Not giving in to fear, but giving up fear.”
- “If you’re going to follow the Lord, then follow the Lord. Don’t put any stipulations on Him.”
- “We give the Lord a list — I’ll try all this stuff, and then I’ll follow You. And He usually knocks us on our backside.”
- “We want, we want, we want — when all that we need to be is just open.”
- “When we do, honey child, we can walk on water. And not only walk — we can run across the water.”
- “By His blood He has washed us clean already, once and for all.”
Scripture & liturgy references
- Mark 7:1–13 — the Pharisees, the washing of hands, and “this people honors me with their lips”
- Matthew 22:37–39 — love God, love your neighbor
- Matthew 14:22–33 — walking on the water
- Memorial of St. Scholastica (February 10) — Collect: “serve you with pure love and happily receive what comes from loving you”
- Gregory the Great, Dialogues — St. Scholastica’s prayer and the storm
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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“Commit to the Lord, trust in Him, and He will act.”
The final homily of the Magnificat Caribbean cruise, preached at a votive Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — the theme, Fr. Tom Sparacino says, that has been running underneath everything since the group first stepped aboard.
