HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 05 – Year I (Hos 14:1-9; Ps 81; Mk 12:28-34) **************************************** A lady confessed she was guilty of the sin of narcissism. When asked by the confessor what that meant, she replied she was totally centered on herself, spent all her time on her make-up, hair, nails, looking in the mirror, […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 04 – Year I (Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95; Lk 11:14-23) **************a********************************** The late psychiatrist Gerald May wrote a book entitled Will and Spirit. In it he claims the gift of free will that we have been given by God is one of our most precious attributes as human beings in this […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 03 – Year I (Dt 4:1-9; Ps 147; Mt 5:17-19) ************************************************* We need to hear again the striking statement of Moses to the people, “What other nation has a god as near and as just as the Lord our God whenever we call him?” The readings to day invite us to […]

  HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 03 – Year I (Dt 4:1-9; Ps 147; Mt 5:17-19) ************************************************* We need to hear again the striking statement of Moses to the people, “What other nation has a god as near and as just as the Lord our God whenever we call him?” The readings to day invite us to […]

SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION (Isaiah 7:10-14, 8:10d; Ps 40; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-28) ************************************************* Sr. Connie Piska UJ of Edmonton gave me a gift she made for my priestly ordination in 1974 that still hangs on a wall in the bathroom so that I see it every day. It is a silhouette of Mary kneeling […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 01 – Year I (2 Kg 5:1-15; Ps 42; Lk 4:24-30) *********************************** A little recovery joke fits today’s liturgy. The addict’s problem is not that he or she thinks, “I am very special.” Nor is it that he or she thinks, “I am a worm.” The addict’s problem is that he […]

LENT SUN 03-C (Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15; Psalm 103; 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12; Lk 13:1-9) ********************************************************* Many years ago, a well-known spiritual writer and mystic, Carlo Coretto, wrote a book entitled Letters from the Desert. It was quite popular when it came out, with its invitation to greater spiritual growth to his fellow Christians, perhaps not […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 02 06 – Year I (Micah 7:14-20; Ps 103; Lk 15:1-32) *********************************** Have you ever felt lost in sin, struggling with false pride, alienated from God, others and even yourself? There is a close link between the readings today, inviting us to come to God for both forgiveness and healing. The prophet […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 02 05 – Year I (Gen 37:3-28; Ps 105; Mt 21:33-46) ***************************************** Joe Walsh, former member of the Eagles, sings in his signature song “One Day at a Time,” of his life at one time being like riding on a “runaway train heading for the end of the line.” Today’s readings are […]

HOMILY WEEK 02 04 – Year I (Jer 17:5-10; Ps 1; Lk 16:19-31) ************************************************ Have you ever seen the bumper sticker “If you want peace, work for justice?” The readings today present us with a tweaked version: “If you want to live in joyful serenity, pray for peace and work for justice.” The first two […]