HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – JANUARY 8th Becoming Icons of God’s Love on Earth: Optional Memorial of St. Raymond of Penyfort (1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps 72; Mk 6:45-52) ************************************************* “… because as he is, so are we in this world.” For some reason, this sentence stood out for me as a focal point for this homily, […]

HOMILY WEEKDAYS OF CHRISTMAS – JANUARY 7th A God Who is Love, and Loving Like God: Memorial of St André Bessette (1 Jn 4:7-10; Ps 72; Mk 6:34-44) ******************************************** The readings today challenge us in two ways: how well do we really know God, and are we learning God’s language of love? John in the […]

HOMILY WEEKDAY OF CHRISTMAS – JANUARY 6th Living in the Kingdom through Faith and Love: (1 Jn 3:22-4:6; Ps 2; Mt 4:12-25) ************************************************* According to The Word Among Us, researchers interviewed American Christian youth, both Catholic and non-Catholic, for a recent study. The data indicated although they called themselves Christians, many of the young people […]

HOMILY FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY – YEAR A Living the Gifts of the Magi (Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12) **************************************************************** Lay theologian Gerry Kelly of Ottawa has a theory that the authors of the bible wrote with the intention that each word was important and significant. This was partly because of […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – Jan 04 Singing A New Song (1 Jn 3:7-10; Ps 98; Jn 1:35-43) **************************************** “O sing to the Lord a new song.” That first sentence of the first stanza of the psalm today captures the spirit of the readings: We are to live a new life in Christ, the Lamb of […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – January 3rd Growing into Christ-likeness – The Holy Name of Jesus (1 Jn 2:29-3:6; Ps 98; Jn 1:29-34) *********************************************** One of the delights of returning to northern Saskatchewan for seasonal ministry is seeing the children of couples I knew as children, and guessing who their parents are. Often, it is obvious […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON JAN 02 Abiding in friendship and in God: Saints Basil and Gregory (1 Jn 2:22-28; Ps 98; Jn 1:19-28) ******************************************** Can you think of a friendship that changed your life? The reading today from 1 John, and the memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, invite us into an […]

MARY MOTHER OF GOD – YEARS ABC Adopted and Redeemed Children of God (Num 6:22-27; Ps 67; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21) ****************************************** A young Jewish girl told her teacher one day her cat had kittens, and they were all Fascist kittens. The teacher was impressed by this story and called one of Hitler’s generals to […]

HOMILY – OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS DAY 07 – December 31st Living as Children of God with Joyful Faith: Optional Memorial of St. Pope Sylvester (1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96; Jn1:1-18) **************************************************** Suppose you were given cold stone tablets with rules written on them to hold for a while – how would you respond and how […]

HOMILY – OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS – DECEMBER 30th Following the Wisdom of the Elders (1 Jn 2:12-17; Ps 96; Lk 2:36-40) *********************************************** What role do elders play in your life? Years of Indigenous ministry has taught me to appreciate the role of elders. The readings today present us two elders, St. John and Anna, who […]