HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 06 Following the Way of the Lord (Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119; Mt 5:43-48) ******************************************* A tourist stopped by a roadside café as he was travelling through an Indigenous community. He asked an elder sitting outside, smoking a pipe, “Where does this road go?” The elder calmly replied, “Road stays; you go.” […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 05 The Prism of AA (Ezk 18:21-28; Ps 130; Mt 5:20-26) **************************************** As I was about to enter into my monthly retreat or poustinia, Robert, a friend who teaches at the University of Saskatchewan, asked me on Facebook what I would recommend to him in the area of community development. I […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 04 Balancing Prayer and Work (Esther 14:1-14; Ps 138; Mt 7:7-12) *************************************** Many years ago, Franciscan priest Richard Rohr was inspired to open a Centre for Action and Contemplation. While he has been prophetic throughout his long career beginning with the charismatic renewal (he founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cleveland), […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 03 A Pattern for Transformation (Jonah 3:1-10; Ps 51; Luke 11:29-32) *************************************** “No sign will be given to this generation except the sign of Jonah.” These are the enigmatic words of Jesus in the gospel today. What are we to make of them? What is this sign of Jonah? What relevance […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 02 The Word That Transforms (Is 55:10-11; Ps 34; Mt 6:7-15) *********************************** “My word shall not return empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” This phrase spoken to the world by God through the prophet Isaiah raises two questions […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 01 Jesus, Justice, Love and Morality (Lev 19:1-18; Ps 19; Mt 25:31-46) ****************************************** Why is it impossible to starve in a desert? Because you can always eat the “sand-which-is” under your feet! The readings today are like a sandwich calling us to make justice our highest moral priority. They also reveal […]

HOMILY LENT SUNDAY 1- C Let Go and Let God (Dt 26:4-10; Psalm 91; Rm 10:8-13; Lk 4:1-13) ***************************************************** A woman back from shopping was showing her husband the expensive dress she had purchased. When he asked her why she bought a dress she did not really need, she replied that she couldn’t resist the […]

HOMILY – SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Acting and Feeling Like God (Is 58:9b-14; Ps 86; Lk 5:27-32) ********************************************* “When we act like God, we get to feel like God.” That is one of Ron Rolheiser’s favorite expressions, which is not only cute, but also very true. When we act as God does, we do get […]

HOMILY – FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Genuine Faith and Sincere Fasting – Optional Memorial: St. John of God (Is 58:1-9; Ps 51; Mt 9:14-15) ********************************************** At a particular Eucharistic celebration, I could not help but notice that the members of one family very seriously knelt during the communion hymn for private devotion, and also knelt […]

HOMILY THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Making a Divine Paradigm Shift (Dt 30:15-20; Ps 1; Lk 9:22-25) ***************************************************** Sr. Elaine Biollo, in a class on Culture & Spirituality, spoke about the reality of a paradigm shift in our lives. When digital technology was developed, apparently it was offered first to the Swiss watchmakers, who refused it […]