HOMILY WEEK 22 05 – Year I New Wine, Fresh Skins; Old Wine, Mature Christianity (Col 1:15-20; Ps 100; Lk 5:33-39) ************************************************** Did you notice a puzzling dichotomy in the gospel? In one breath, Jesus seems to say he is like new wine needing fresh skins of faith, then claims old wine is better. What […]
Category: Ordinary Time
Faith-Living in Christ-The Miraculous Catch of Fish
HOMILY WEEK 22 04 – Year I Our Life in Christ (Col 1:9-14; Ps 98; Lk 5:1-11) ********************************* “Since we heard of your life in Christ.” Has anyone ever said that to you? Those words of St. Paul to the Colossians in the first reading today are a strong reminder to us that we are […]
Faith-Hope-Love-Blessed Dina Bélanger
HOMILY WEEK 22 03 – Year I Faithful Ministers of Christ: Optional Memorial of Blessed Dina Bélanger (Col 1:1-8; Ps 52; Lk 4:38-44) ********************************************** Have you ever thought of taking Epaphras as your model for a life of faith? In the first reading, St. Paul holds him up as a beloved fellow servant and faithful […]
Faith-Change-St Gregory the Great
HOMILY WEEK 22 02 – Year I Living with Christ as Children of the Light: Memorial of St. Gregory the Great (1 Thess 5:1-11; Ps 27; Lk 4:31-37) *********************************************** Are you familiar with the term “paradigm shift”? It refers to an idea or event that radically affects the way we see and deal with reality […]
Faith-Humility and Pride
HOMILY SUNDAY 22 – C Being Humble of Heart (Sirach 3:17-20, 28-29; Psalm 68; Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14) ************************************************************* A happy loving couple celebrating their 60thwedding anniversary was asked their secret. The husband replied that when they got married, they agreed that he would make the major decisions, and she all the minor […]
Faith-Love-Justice-Judgment
HOMILY WEEK 21 06 – Year I Just Love (1 Th 4:9-11; Ps 98; Mt 25:14-30) ************************************* A customer placed an exquisite greeting card on the store counter and reached for his wallet. Pushing the keys on the cash register, the clerk said, “That will be $4 please.” “$4,” the man reacted, “Forget it.” He […]
Faith-Human sexuality-Will of God
HOMILY WEEK 21 05 – Year I Living with Lamps Lit (1 Thess 4:1-8; Ps 97; Mt 25:1-13) ************************************* Recently, after years of burning messy candles, we noticed an oil lamp sitting on a side table in our chapel. We filled it with oil, held a match to it and voila! – it lit up […]
Faith-Prophets-Passion of St. John the Baptist
HOMILY – THE PASSION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST Prophetic Consolation and Desolation (Jer 1:17-19; Ps 71; Mk 6:17-29) *********************************************** The late Fr. Andrew Britz OSB, former editor of the Prairie Messenger newspaper, was noted for his courageous editorials that addressed rather fearlessly and directly the key and often controversial issues of the day. After his […]
Faith-Love-St. Monica
HOMILY WEEK 21 02 – Year I Genuine Faith and Love: Memorial of St. Monica (1 Thess 2:1-8; Ps 139; Mt 23:23-26) ************************************* What sins bothered Jesus the most in the Gospels? Were they sexual in nature? The answer is the unbelief and hypocrisy of the Pharisees, which explains why he was always in tension […]
Faith-Christian Life
WEEK 21 01 Living Faith (1 Thes 1:1-10; Ps 149; Mt 23:13-22) *************************************** The problem of addicts is not that they think they are worms, nor that they think they are special. Their problem is that they think they are very special worms! This cute saying actually fits in with today’s liturgy. Usually, liturgists aim […]
