HOMILY ADVENT SUNDAY 01 – A Best Practices for Advent (Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44) ********************************************************** Happy New Year! That is a very appropriate greeting as we begin a new liturgical year. Something else that is quite appropriate at the beginning of a New Year is the making of New Year’s resolutions. […]
Category: Advent
HOMILY – FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS
Light in the Darkness (1 Jn 1:2-2:2; Ps 124; Mt 2:13-18) ********************************************** St. John, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, begins the readings today with the proclamation that God is light and in him there is no darkness. Those who repent and receive the forgiveness of Jesus will have communion with each other, and also walk […]
HOMILY ADVENT SUNDAY 4 – C
Filled with the Spirit, Sent to Serve and Open to the Word (Micah 5:2-5; Psalm 80; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45) ************************************************** An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor who fitted him with a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100% clearly. […]
ADVENT HOMILY DECEMBER 20 Yr I
Prophecy Fulfilled – Mary’s Fiat – God is With Us (Is 7:10-8:10; Ps 24; Lk 1:26-38) ************************************************ How accurate do you think you would be in predicting events seven hundred years into the future? The readings today, about prophecy fulfilled in Mary, encourage us to be like her and let the Lord of glory enter […]
HOMILY ADVENT DEC 18th – Yr I
(Jer 23:5-8; Ps 72; Mt 1:18-24) *********************************** The late Serge LeClerc was a motivational speaker who spoke at a Health Conference in Saskatoon some years ago. Born in Winnipeg to a young drug addict mother deemed unfit to raise a child, he was taken away, put into foster homes, rebelled and got into a life […]
ADVENT HOMILY WEEK 03 01 – Yr I
Believing and Blessing (Gen 49:2-10; Ps 71; Mt 1:1-17) ********************************* Did you notice a shift in today’s readings? Until the last seven days of Advent, the emphasis is on the coming of Jesus at the end of time. On December 17th, the theme switches to the coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem, to […]
HOMILY ADVENT SUNDAY 3 – C
Joyful, Transformative Love (Zephaniah 3:14-18; Isaiah 12; Phil 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18) ************************************************************ What happens when you put a piece of paper in a glass of water? Nothing really – the paper simply gets soaked and soggy. What happens when you hold a piece of paper over a lit candle? Transformation – the paper bursts into flame, […]
HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 02 04 – Yr I
The Pain of Entering Heaven – Memorial: St Lucy (Isaiah 41:13-20; Ps 145; Mt 11:11-15) *************************************************** Since John the Baptist, the violent take heaven by force. These are strange words. What do they mean? The readings today invite us to enter into the hard work of healing, of transformation, of taking heaven by force. Isaiah […]
HOMILY – FEAST OF OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
(Rev 11:19, 12:1-10; Judith 13; Lk 1:39-47) **************************************************** There are two options for the first reading on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The richness and appropriateness of the second option from Revelations makes for an easy decision. The whole reading lends itself to a deeper understanding of the mystery of our salvation through […]
HOMILY SOLEMNITY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Balancing Devotion with Imitation (Gen 3:9-20; Ps 98; Eph 1:3-12; Lk 1:26-38) ********************************************************** In November – December of 2016 and again in 2918, I was chaplain for a group of pilgrims to the Holy Land, and was privileged to preside at the Eucharist commemorating this feast of the Immaculate Conception. The celebrations took place in […]
