WEEKDAY ADVENT WEEK 02 01 Redeemed and Ransomed by the Lord (Is 35:1-10; Ps 85; Lk 4:17-26) ****************************************** The movie Argo depicts the liberation of American hostages from their captivity in Iran with the help of Canada. Imagine the feelings of those hostages as their feet touched freedom for the first time in months. The […]

HOMILY ADVENT SUNDAY 2 – B Repentance – Key to the Kingdom (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 85; 2 Peter 3:6-15; Mark 1:1-8) **************************************************************** A dishonest painter thinned paint with water and painted a church. As long as it didn’t rain right away he would be okay, he thought. That night there was a big storm. […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 05 – Year II Seeing with the Eyes of Faith: Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene (Isaiah 29:17-24; Ps 27; Mt 9:27-31) *********************************************** “Do you see what I see?” This line from a familiar Christmas Carol, along with today’s readings, invite us to see Jesus with the eyes of faith, and […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 04 – Year I Building Our Lives on Rock: Memorial of St. Francis Xavier ((Is 26:1-6; Ps 118; Mt 7:24-27) ************************************* At the Western Wall in Jerusalem, our guide pointed out that the massive stones we saw were really just a retaining wall to support the platform on which the temple […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 03 – Year I Love That Satisfies Spiritual Hunger (Is 25:6-10a; Ps 23; Mt 15:29-37) ************************************************* “Is that all there is to my life?” This is a question many people end up asking, especially as they enter into the second half of life. Our yearning for the fullness of life can […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 02 – Year I A Shoot Shall Come Out (Is 11:1-10; Ps 72; Lk 10:21-24) **************************************** There is a bumper sticker that reads, “If you want peace, work for justice.” The powerful readings for day two of the first week of Advent inspire me to adapt that saying to become, “If […]

HOMILY ADVENT 01 01 – Year I Feast of St Andrew: Kerygma and Didache (Rm 10:9-18; Ps 19; Mt 4:18-22) *************************************************** “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your hearts that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” This message of Paul to the Romans succinctly […]

HOMILY ADVENT SUNDAY 01 – B Biblical Waiting: Faith, Hope and Love (Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8; Psalm 80; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37) ***************************************************************** An old pastor got carried away with his homily. Eventually he realized he had talked at great length. He searched for his pocket watch but to no avail. He quietly asked […]

HOMILY ADVENT DECEMBER 23 An Infinite Horizon of Faith, Forgiveness and Healing (Mal 3:1-4; 4:5-6; Ps 25; Lk 1:57-66) ************************************************** Bishop Olivier Tremblay, an Oblate who previously worked with university students in Eastern Canada, spoke at an Oblate symposium once. He noted that youth today lack hope, because they don’t have an infinite horizon of […]

HOMILY SUNDAY ADVENT 4 A Opening up to Newness and Our True Identity (Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalm 24; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24) ************************************************************** Are you afraid of the unknown? Today, the Word of God invites us to have faith of St. Joseph, let go of sin and open ourselves to the newness of life with God. […]