HOMILY – FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY (Sir 3:2-14; Ps 128; Mt 2:13-23) *********************************************** The International Marian Centre, near the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, is built over the ruins of a 1st century home, one our guide pointed out could have been a home the young Jesus may have run in and out. […]

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 […]

HOMILY – FEAST OF ST. JOHN Joyful Faith and Communion with the Lord (1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97; Jn 20:2-8) ***************************************** When a bishop is named, the tradition is to have the ordination on a feast day. So strong is that tradition that I, at the insistence of Luigi Venturi, papal nuncio at that time, […]

HOMILY FEAST OF ST STEPHEN Witnessing to Our Trinitarian Faith (Acts 6:8-10; Ps 31; Mt 10:17-22) **************************************** If it were against the law to be a Catholic Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you, and what would be the evidence? Today’s feast of St. Stephen and its readings invite us into a deeper […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS DAY YEAR A You Change the World (Isaiah 5:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18) ******************************************************* The theme song for the Christopher Leadership Course Instructors’ Seminar in The Pas years ago was Today I’m Gonna Try to Change the World by Johnny Reid.  He sang it in Ottawa on Canada Day where it […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS EVE YEAR A Christmas as Nothing Out of the Ordinary (Isaiah 9:2-4, 6-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-16) ************************************************************ What words best describe Christmas? Humble faith? Immense hope? Great joy? Endless Peace? Perhaps all of these? We could add two other perhaps shocking words: Ordinariness and Poverty. These two words convey, at […]

Baptism – a New Creation (Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-38; Matthew 3:13-17) **************************************************** An elder came to a missionary in China one day to say that he had no trouble understanding God the Father, and no trouble understanding God the Son, but that he was having a hard time understanding the “Honourable Bird!” […]

Faith Expressed Through Love (1 Jn 4:19-5:4; Ps 71; Lk 4:14-22) ******************************************* The liturgy today invites us to deepen our faith in Jesus as the Messiah, revealing a God who is love, and then express that faith by living his commandment to love. In the first reading, John gives us a glimpse into the importance […]

Becoming Icons of God’s Love on Earth (1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps 72; Mk 6:45-52) ************************************************* Jesus and Moses were golfing one day, and it turns out Jesus was a great fan of Jack Nicklaus. If he hit a good shot, he would exclaim, “Yes, just like Jack Nicklaus!” If he hit a poor shot, he […]

A God Who is Love, and Loving Like God (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 first reading, and Matthew in his gospel account, are clear: God is […]