EASTER WEEK 06 04 Prophetic Hope (Acts 18:1-8; Ps 98; Jn 16:16-20) *************************************** A title for this homily, Prophetic Hope, emerged naturally from the readings. First, in the Gospel, Jesus predicts his own passion, death, resurrection and the Pentecost event: “A little while, and you will no longer see me, then you will see me; […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 06 03 – Year I Grounded in Love; Evangelizing with Faith (Acts 17:15, 22-18.1; Ps 148; Jn 16:12-15) ************************************************* Did anything about the Gospel proclamation today strike you as unusual? For the third time this week, the gospel begins with the statement: “When Jesus knew that his hour had come to […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 06 02 – Year I Servants of the Word (Acts 16:22-34; Ps 138: Jn 16:5-11) *************************************** “Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world, and to go to the Father.” This statement provides the background for the message of the readings for us today: grounded in the […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 06 01 – Year I Bearing Witness to the Truth (Acts 16.11-15; Ps 149; Jn 15.26-16.4) ************************************************* “When Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father.” Perhaps you have noticed this sentence has consistently opened the gospel for over a week now […]

HOMILY EASTER SUNDAY 06 – A Intimacy – A Key to the Kingdom (Acts 8:5-8; 14-17; 1 Pt 3:15-18; Jn 14:15-21) ******************************************** If you were to summarize the whole bible in one sentence, what would that one sentence be? The answer: Love your neighbour as yourself. The gospel today is all about Jesus’ farewell discourse. […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 05 06 – Year I Participating in a Divine Paradigm Shift: Optional Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima (Acts 16:1-10; Ps 100; Jn 15:18-21) ************************************************* Have you ever experienced a paradigm shift? The readings today invite us to join the early disciples in their paradigm shift from a monotheistic to trinitarian […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 05 05 – Year I About Our Identity and Activity: Optional Memorial of Saints Nereus and Achilleus (Acts 15:22-31; Ps 57; Jn 15:12-17) ************************************************ Have you ever heard people say they believed in God but not in an institution? That they believed in Jesus but did not want to have anything […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 05 04 – Year I The Gift of Sheer Joy Acts 15:7-21; Ps 96; Jn 15:9-11 ****************************************  “God is sheer joy, and sheer joy demands company.” That comment by St. Thomas Aquinas, a theologian, and today’s gospel, invite us to join in God’s joy through love. Another famous person, this time […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 05 03 – Year I The True Vine and Fruitful Branches (Acts 15:1-6; Ps 122; Jn 15:1-8) ******************************************** When I began my strawberry patch, I bought two kinds of strawberry plants with some berries on them and planted them with great expectation. The berries that were on the plants grew, matured, […]

HOMILY EASTER SEASON WEEK 05 02 – Year I Being Missionary Disciples (Acts 14.19-28; Ps 145; Jn 14.27-31) ************************************************ To announce the release of a new movie, a trailer is often produced giving the viewer an idea of what the movie will be like, enticing viewers to go see the movie. The readings today are […]