Proclaiming the Good News by Word and Witness (1 Pt 5:5-14; Ps 89; Mk 16:15-20) *********************************************** “Go in peace.” “Go in the peace of Christ.” “Let us go out to love and serve the Lord in one another.” These are all dismissals one might hear from different presiders at the Eucharist. This feast of St. […]

Called to Kerygma and Didache – St Fidelis of Sigmaringen (Acts 11:19-26; Ps 87; Jn 10:22-30) ******************************************************** Do the words Kergyma and Didache resonate with you? These two words capture the dynamic of the activity of the early church and invite us to do the same today: proclaim, and teach about, Jesus to the world. If the […]

Jesus as Good Shepherd and Gate to Eternal Life (Acts 11:1-18; Ps 42 & 43;Jn 10:1-10) *************************************************** Why did the ram fall over a cliff? Because he didn’t see the ewe turn! That children’s riddle introduces us to the invitation to place our faith in Jesus as the Good Shepherd and experience him as the […]

Shepherds of the Heart (Acts 4:7-12; Psalm 118; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18) ****************************************************** Jean Vanier, in his book Becoming Human, shares a personal transition in his notion of love. He used to think love involved being good, being efficient, using one’s intelligence and time well, and doing things for others. Then he chose to […]

Getting in God’s Wheelbarrow (Acts 9:31-43; Ps 116; Jn 6:53, 60-69) **************************************** A man asked his friends if they believed he could push a wheelbarrow on a high wire over Niagara Falls. When they replied they did not, he told them to watch, and he did it, across and back. He then asked his friends […]

Saul’s Transformative Vision Quest (Acts 9:1-20; Ps 117; Jn 6:52-59) ******************************************** From 1983 to 1988, the Oblate Lebret Task Force organized a series of four-day fasts at late elder Mike Steinhauer’s home in Saddle Lake (Onihcikiskwapiwin). We went without food or water for about 72 hours. Every year I was gifted with a new awareness […]

On Being Missionary Disciples (Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66; Jn 6:44-51) ********************************************* Do you see yourself as a missionary disciple? That is what Pope Francis challenges us to be constantly. In today’s first reading, Philip can serve as a model for us. His missionary activity presents four key elements: faith in Jesus Christ; attentiveness to the […]

Fulfilling Our Deepest Yearning (Acts 8:1-8; Ps 66; Jn 6:35-40) ******************************************** Karl Rahner famously stated: “In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable, we finally learn that here in this life all symphonies must remain unfinished.” That raises the question, “What is your unfinished symphony? What is your deepest yearning?” The readings today provide […]

Living Without Blinders – Memorial: St Kateri Tekakwitha (Acts 7:51-8:1a; Ps 31; Jn 6:30-35) ************************************************** Caroline, a friend whom I have known for years, shared something with me recently I did not know and had not noticed about her – she has been living without sight in her left eye since being hit by an […]

Living the New Paradigm of Eternal Life (Acts 6:8-15; Ps 119; Jn 6:22-29) ********************************************* Sister of Charity Elaine Biolo once offered a course on faith and culture at Newman Theological College in which she explained how the sociological term “new paradigm” applies to our faith. She recounted how the Swedish watchmakers lost seventy percent of […]