HOMILY WEEK 19 04 – Year I  The Assumption of Mary –A Call to Greater Justice (Rev 11:19, 12:1-6, 10; Ps 45; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Lk 1:39-56) ***************************************************** The feast of the Assumption we are celebrating today comes to us, not from scripture as such, but from the lived tradition of the Church, the lived […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 02 – Week I Childlike Humility – Key to the Kingdom of God Optional Memorial: Saints Pontian and Hippolytus (Dt 31:1-8; Dt 32; Mt 18:1-14) ************************************************* Veteran missionary priest and former Oblate René Fumoleau died recently in Yellowknife on his 93rdbirthday, shortly after sharing with those at his bedside he had lived […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 01 – Year I A Religion of the Heart – Optional Memorial: St Jeanne Frances de Chantal (Dt 10:12-22; Ps 147; Mt 17:22-27) ************************************************ “Act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God.” That quote, taken from the prophet Micah, aptly summarizes the message of today’s readings – to walk humbly […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 19 – C Faith, Freedom and Service (Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19; Luke 12:32-48) ************************************************************* On one of his trips to Canada from Brazil where Paul Ehle OMI was stationed as an Oblate missionary, I apologized to him for not staying more in touch with him over the years. Fr. Ehle’s […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 03 – Year I Living a Spiritual Triathelon – Feast of St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (2 Cor 9:6-10; Ps 112; Jn 12:24-26) ********************************************** Have you ever participated in a triathelon? Today’s gospel challenges us to do just that – participate in a spiritual triathelon of three activities: be a grain of […]

  HOMILY WEEK 18 05 – Year I Faith Lived Out Through Love – Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) (Dt 4:32-40; Ps 77; Mt 16:24-28) ******************************************* A theologian was asked what he thought would be a simple summary of faith everyone would understand. He responded with the children’s hymn, “Jesus […]

WEEK 18 04 Faith Like a Rock – Key to the Kingdom Memorial: St Dominic de Guzman (Num 20:1-13; Ps 95; Mt 16;13-23) ************************************** A woman who promised her husband she was only going window shopping returned with a very expensive dress. Upset, he asked her why she did that when she had promised not […]

HOMILY – FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD Being Attentive to the Mystery (Dan 7:9-10/2 Pt 1:16-19, 13-14; Ps 97; Mt 17:1-9) ********************************************** “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” Those words from St. Peter, a witness to the transfiguration, invite us to […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 01 – Year I Faith in Jesus as the Bread of Life Optional Memorial: Blessed Frédéric Janssoone (Num 11:4-15; Ps 81; Mt 14:13-21) **************************************** “Moses said to the Lord” and “Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” Those two quotes from the readings today encourage us to deepen […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 18 – C Being Rich towards God (Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23; Psalm 90; Col 3:1-5; 9-11; Luke 12:13-21) ************************************************************* A group of Oblates once organized a weekend trip from the renewal program in Aix-en-Provence, France, to Lyons where we viewed a basilica with marvelous, rich tile work, then on to Cluny where we viewed […]