An Attitude of Gratitude – Memorial: St. Leo the Great – Pope and Doctor of the Church (Phil 4:10-19; Ps 112; Lk 16:9-15) ******************************************************** “You cannot serve God and wealth.” That cryptic statement by Jesus in the gospel brings to mind the story of a hundred-dollar bill, a twenty-dollar bill and a Loonie having a […]

Temples of the Holy Spirit – Feast: Dedication of the Lateran Basilica (1 Cor 3:9-17; Ps 46; Jn 2:13-22) **************************************** The Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador is the metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland and the mother church and symbol of Roman Catholicism […]

Transformative Faith in Jesus (Phil 3:3-8; Ps 105; Lk 15:1-10) ************************************* When now St. Pope John Paul II returned to Canada in 1987 in fulfillment of his promise to meet with the Indigenous peoples of the North, I was in the line-up of concelebrating priests and bishops who got to meet him and shake his […]

Discipleship as Taking Up and Letting Go (Phil 2:12-18; Ps 27; Lk 14:25-33) *********************************************** While in Newfoundland conducting a retreat for priests in the Diocese of Corner Brook-Labrador, this prairie boy enjoyed observing the tide come in and go out. It was like a relentless mantra – high tide pushing towards the shore and hours […]

Humble Praise and Worship – a Fitting Response (Phil 2:5-11; Ps 22; Lk 14:15-24) ****************************************************** Have you been invited to an important event recently? The liturgy today both extends an invitation to participate more fully in the Kingdom of God, and suggests humble praise and worship as a fitting response to that invitation. One has […]

Unity, Humility and Love (Phil 2:1-4; Ps 31; Lk 14:12-14) ********************************** “Coincidence is God working anonymously.” That saying seems to apply to the readings today, as the message they contain just happens to be rather remarkably reflected by an article at the back of the same issue of Living With Christin which Jean Vanier recounts […]

Living Teepee Spirituality (Dt 6:2-6; Psalm 18; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12:28-34) ************************************************* A man shared his problem of having nightmares with a psychiatrist – sometimes he dreamt he was a teepee, sometimes he dreamt he was a wigwam. The psychiatrist responded with a simple diagnosis – the man was just too tense (tents)! How can […]

Humble Faith and Joyful Fulfillment (Phil 1:18-26; Ps 42; Lk 14:1-11) ******************************************** Has the Word of God ever brought you to tears? The readings today invite us to humbly place our faith in an intimate relationship with Jesus leading us to experience deep joy and the fullness of life. A friend with whom I was […]

Living the Paschal Mystery (Job 19:1, 23-27; Ps 103; 1Cor 15:20-23; Jn 12:23-26) ***************************************************** Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. Both the readings and today’s commemoration of All Souls Day invite us to live the Paschal Mystery Jesus, in the gospel, speaks quite bluntly: unless a grain of […]

Living In the Reign as Servants and Children of God (Rev 7:2-4, 9-14; Ps 24; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12) ******************************************************** “It is heaven all the way to heaven.” This statement from St. Catherine of Sienna, and our All Saints Liturgy today, invite us to live in the reign of God as servants and children […]