HOMILY TUESDAY of HOLY WEEK Redemptive Suffering and Brokenness (Is 49:1-6; Ps 71; Jn 13:21-33. 36-38) ****************************************** As a young seminarian, my spiritual director was Fr. Adam Exner, who eventually became an archbishop. After hearing my story (the first one to ever do so), Exner asked me to pray with Is 43:1-4, and that passage […]
Category: Lent
Palliative Care
HOMILY – MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK Being Present to the Lord with Loving Palliative Care (Isaiah 42:1-7; Ps 27; Jn 12:1-11) ************************************************ Monday of Holy Week, the readings increase in intensity, preparing us to celebrate the Great Triduum. They invite us to deepen our faith in Jesus as the Messiah, Son of God and Suffering […]
HOMILY PALM SUNDAY YEAR C
Palm Sunday – Feast of Selfless Love (Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22; Phil 2:6-11; Lk 22:14-23:56) ************************************************** Do you have a favourite coat? What would it take to motivate you to give it away? The Palm Sunday and the Sunday of the Lord’s Passion is all about emptying one’s self in order to be filled with […]
Messiah-Covenant
HOMILY LENT WEEK 05 06 – Year II The Messiah and Covenant Love: (Ezk 37:21-28; Jer 31; Jn 11:45-57) ************************************** “I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them.” That promise from God, proclaimed by the prophet Ezekiel in the first reading, invites us to put our […]
Faith-Prayer
HOMILY LENT WEEK 05 05 – Year II Faith and Prayer – Lifelines in Times of Distress (Jer 20:7, 10-13; Ps 18; Jn 10:31-42) *************************************** “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he heard me.” The readings today are quite appropriate for this time of global distress from both Covid and the war […]
Faith-Decision
HOMILY LENT WEEK 05 03 – Year II A Critical Decision (Dan 3:13-95; Dan 3:52-56; Jn 8:31-42) *************************************** Perhaps you have heard this tongue in cheek saying, “The truth will set you free, but first it may make you miserable.” A disciple is a life-long learner, a “mathetes,” someone who seeks the truth, and strives […]
St Vincent Ferrer
HOMILY LENT WEEK 05 02 – Year II Spiritual Vaccination: Optional Memorial of St. Vincent Ferrer (Num 21:4-9; Ps 102; Jn 8:21-30) ********************************* Have you ever wondered why we Catholics put so much emphasis on the crucifix, bearing a corpus, and not just a plain cross? One example would certainly be my own Oblate cross […]
Justice-Mercy-St. Isidore
LENT WEEKDAY 05 01 – Year II Seeing As Jesus Sees: Optional Memorial of St. Isidore (Dan 13:1-64; Ps 23; Jn 8:12-20) ******************************** The story of Daniel and Susanna today can be compared to yesterday’s gospel of Jesus with the woman caught in adultery. In so doing, we see the contrast between Old Testament justice […]
Faith-Forgiveness
LENT SUN 5 – C Live in Christ Through Forgiveness (Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Phil 3:8-14; John 8:1-11) ******************************************************* An aboriginal legend sets the tone for our reflection on the readings today. An old Grandfather, whose grandson came to him with anger at a schoolmate who had done him an injustice, said, “Let me tell […]
Authority-Humility-St. Francis of Paola
HOMILY LENT WEEK 04 06 – Year II Speaking with Authority: Optional Memorial of St. Francis of Paola (Jer 11:18-20; Ps 7; Jn 7:40-53) ****************************************** “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” (John 7:46) That exclamation by the temple police in todays’ gospel stands as a clear invitation for us to listen to the […]
