Following Jesus into the Kingdom (Job 9:1-16; Ps 88; Lk 9:57-62) ************************************* The kingdom of God, discipleship, priorities, sacrifice, witness, redemptive suffering and prayer are a sequence of themes making up the readings today. The kingdom of God is the underlying reality of the gospel, revealing again the main focus and interest of Jesus in […]

Humble Trust: Memorial of the Guardian Angels (Exodus 23:20-23; Ps 91; Mt 18:1-5, 10) ************************************************** A young boy asked his parents to be alone with his newly born baby sister. The parents listened in and heard him say to his little sister, “Quick, tell me what God is like. I’m starting to forget.” That little […]

Humble Faith and Redemptive Suffering: Memorial – St Therese of Lisieux (Job 1:6-22; Ps 17; Luke 9:46-50) ************************************************ “An argument arose among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest.” How fitting that line should be found in the gospel for today when we honor a young saint who popularized just the […]

Entering the Kingdom of God (Num 11:16-17, 25-29; Psalm 19; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48) ************************************************************ If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! My brothers and sisters, seek first the Kingdom of God. In the gospel today, Jesus uses very strong […]

Known and Loved – Like Nathanael (Rev 12:7-12; Ps 138; Jn 1:47-51) ******************************************************* Have you ever wondered what it must have been like to be one of the apostles and meet Jesus in person? Today’s feast of the Archangels and the gospel encounter of Nathaniel with Jesus invite us to be like him – known […]

The Messiah of God (Ecclesiastes 3; Lk 9:18-22) ****************************************** At one of our seminary liturgies, after Fr. Kedl, a professor and historian, had delivered one of his erudite homilies, Fr. Hubert, a simple, down-to-earth country priest, blurted out in a voice everyone could hear, “Vell den, vat does it all mean?” In today’s gospel, Jesus […]

(1 Cor 1:26-31; Ps 111; Mt 9:35-37) ******************************************** Today the Church honors St. Vincent de Paul, founder of the Congregation of the Missions (Vincentians) and co-founder of the Daughters of Charity. Born in France in 1580, the son of a peasant farmer, Vincent attended university and was ordained at 20. His first inclination was to […]

Taking up the Cross and Living Calvary in Slow Motion (Rev 7:9-17; Ps 124; 2 Cor 4:7-15; Lk 9:23-26) ********************************************************* The feast we celebrate today is a significant feast for the Canadian Church, evidenced by two readings plus the Gospel. We are honoring the eight martyrs of North America who died between 1642 and 1649. […]

Like a Stream in God’s Hand (Prov 21:1-6, 10-13; Ps 119; Lk 8:19-21) **************************************** The Grand Canyon is two hundred, seventy-seven miles long, up to eighteen miles wide, and over a mile deep. Water flowing there, over millions of years, has left its mark in layer after layer of rock. How awesome, then, that the […]

Living as Blessed – Who You are Meant to Be (Prov 3:27-34; Ps 15; Lk 8:16-18) ********************************************** When he turned fifty, folk-music legend Bob Dylan was asked by Rolling Stone magazine if he was happy. He replied, “These are Yuppie words, happiness and unhappiness; its either blessed or unblessed. As the Bible says, ‘Blessed is the […]