Living as Members of the Body of Christ (Rm 12:5-16a; Ps 131; Lk 14:15-24) ********************************************** Years ago, I took the Community Addictions Training course offered by Nechi Institute in St. Albert. As an Indigenous institute, the course was 80 percent right-brain activity and only 20 percent lecture – just the opposite of my university experience. […]

God’s Great Gift of Mercy (Rm 11:29-36; Ps 69; Lk 14:12-14) *************************************** Have you ever received an unexpected gift that touched you deeply, and even had an effect on your life? The liturgy today invites us to reflect on gift-giving – God’s gifts to us, especially mercy, and how we can be gift to others. […]

Living the Covenant of Love (Malachi 1:14 – 2:2, 8-10; Psalm 131; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13; Mt 23:1-12) ****************************************************************** One of the world’s most popular series of cartoons was Charlie Brown by Robert Schultz. Its popularity probably stems from the gift he had of portraying, through comic characters, the foibles of daily ordinary life that […]

  Participating in God’s Mysterious Tapestry (Rm 11:1-2,11-12,25-29; Ps 94; Lk 14:1,7-11) ********************************************* “Has God rejected God’s people?” The Word Among Us commentary for today begins with that rhetorical question by St. Paul, who is asking whether God has given up on God’s chosen people. This builds on Paul’s anguish in yesterday’s first reading regarding […]

Living the Paschal Mystery (Job 19:1, 23-27; Ps 103; 1Cor 15:20-23; Jn 12:23-26) ) ***************************************************** Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. Both the readings and today’s commemoration of All Souls Day invite us to live the Paschal Mystery Jesus, in the gospel, speaks quite bluntly: unless a grain […]

Living In the Reign as Servants and Children of God (Rev 7:2-4, 9-14; Ps 24; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12) **************************************************** “It is heaven all the way to heaven.” This statement from St. Theresa of Avila, and our All Saints Liturgy today, invite us to live in the reign of God as servants and children […]

Word on Fire (Rm 6:19-23; Ps 1; Lk 12:49-53) ******************************** Word on Fire is what Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, calls his social media ministry. That title was probably inspired by the gospel of today, in which Jesus exclaims that he came to bring fire to the earth, and how […]

Instruments of Righteousness (Rm 6:12-18; Ps 124; Lk 12:39-48) ********************************* “Present yourselves to God as instruments of righteousness.” That sentence from the first reading to the Romans, the reading itself and the gospel combine to offer us a clear two-pronged message: let go of sin and do the will of God. In other words, be […]

Justified by Faith – St Paul of the Cross (Rm 3:21-30; Ps 130; Lk 11:47-54) ******************************************* Someone once said that if Christians wanted others to believe in their redeemer, they needed to act more redeemed. The readings today invite us to live the fullness of our redemption. St. Paul, in the first reading, becomes very […]

Listening and Obeying (Joel 3:12-21; Ps97; Lk 11:27-28) *************************************** “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” That statement from Jesus in today’s gospel needs a bit of tweaking for our society today that is full of sound bites, news clips, fake news and catchy headlines. We are challenged by […]