HOMILY WEEK 02 05 – Year II Following the Lord with Faith and Fidelity: Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Loretto (Is 48:17-19; Ps 1; Mt 11:16-19) ************************************************** “Oh, that you had paid attention to my commandments!” Today’s readings and memorial of Our Lady of Loretto invite us to respond to God’s unconditional covenant love […]

HOMILY WEEK 02 04 – Year II From Exile to a New Creation: Optional Memorial of St. Juan Deigo (Is 41:13-20; Ps 145; Mt 11:11-15) **************************************** “The hand of the Lord has done this.” This sentence, from the prophecy of Isaiah in the first reading, can be taken in two ways. Ultimately, it’s deepest meaning […]

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. […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 02 02 – Year II God as Loving Father and Good Shepherd: Memorial of St. Ambrose (Is 40:1-11; Ps 96; Mt 18:12-14) ************************************************ There’s nothing like a parable to illustrate a spiritual point in a new way, or to offer new insight to a familiar point. Jesus used these short stories drawn […]

ADVENT WEEK 02 01 Tee Pee Spirituality and Healing (Is 35:1-10; Ps 85; Lk 5:17-26) ************************************ A man told a psychiatrist that he suffered from nightmares – sometimes he dreamt he was a teepee, other times he was a wigwam. When he asked what his problem was, the psychiatrist replied simply that he was two […]

HOMILY ADVENT SUNDAY 2 – C Through Repentance to the Glory of God (Baruch 5:1-9; Psalm 126; Phil 1:3-6, 8-11; Luke 3:1-6) ************************************************* St. Irenaeus once said, “The glory of God is man and woman fully alive.” Repent, believe in Jesus and you too will be fully alive. In today’s gospel we are told the […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 06 – Year II Isaiah’s Offering of Hope and Healing: Optional Memorial of St. John Damascene (Is 30:19-26; Ps 147; Mt 9:35 – 10:8) **************************************************** Are you shocked at the number of drug-related deaths due to the opioid crisis in our society today? Could that be an indication of a deeper […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 05 – Year II Seeing with the Eyes of Faith: Memorial of St. Francis Xavier (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 come […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 04 – Year II Humble and Obedient Faith in God (Isaiah 26:1-6; Ps 118; Mt 7:21, 24-27) *************************************************** “Only the ones who do the will of my Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of God.” Jesus could not be clearer or more direct than this teaching: “Not everyone who says […]

HOMILY ADVENT WEEK 01 03 – Year II Realized Eschatology and Abundant Grace: (Is 25:6-10; Ps 23; Mt 15:29-37) ************************************************* Did you realize that we are actually to be immersed in realized eschatology? Christian life is all about both living in the graced reign of God here and now, while being on the way to […]