The Eucharist – Sacrament of Reconciliation (Ex 24:3-8; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:1-16, 22-26) *********************************************** Three sentences provide a background for today’s liturgy of Corpus Christi or Body and Blood of Christ: Richard Rohr states “Transformed people transform people” and “We transmit the pain we don’t transform.”  A third sentence if from St. Thomas Aquinas: “He […]

Know the Way, Go the Way, Show the Way (Jude 17-25; Ps 63; Mk 11:27-33) ************************************** The Christopher Leadership Course for youth includes the saying, “Know the Way, Go the Way and Show the Way” in one of its warm-ups. In a way, that saying could be seen as embodying the message from today’s readings, […]

Bearing Fruit Faithfully: Memorial – Justin Martyr (1 Pt 4:7-13; Ps 96; Mk 11:11-25) **************************************************** Last fall my garden disappointed me – the potatoes were scabby, the carrots small and the strawberries few and certainly not everbearing. I have no idea why – I just know I was disappointed and can identify with the response […]

Setting All Our Hope on the Grace of Christ (1 Pt 1:10-16; Ps 98; Mk 10:28-31) ********************************************** One Sunday at the scholasticate at Battleford where I began the study of theology, Fr. Kedl, one of our professors, gave an eloquent homily. Fr. Huber, one of the elder Oblate priests in the congregation, was a type […]

Humble Faith, Living Hope and Eternal Joy (1 Pt 1:3-9; Ps 111; Mk 10:17-27) ********************************************** Have you ever seen yourself as the rich young man in today’s gospel? The readings today invite us to grow in humble faith leading us to greater hope and the enjoyment of eternal life to be shared with others. Back […]

The Sacrament of Childlikeness – Memorial: St. Philip Neri (Jm 5:13-20; Ps141; Mk10:13-16) ***************************************************** A set of parents finally managed to convince their precocious son that Jesus was really risen from the dead. As that truth settled on him, a gleam appeared in his eye and he headed straight for the door with a determined […]

Faith, Healing and Intimacy (James 5:9-12; Ps 103; Mk 10:1-12) ******************************** A Sunday school teacher said to her children, “We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a higher power. Can anybody tell me what it is?”A small hand shot up immediately and the owner blurted out, […]

Faith, Love and Justice (James 5:1-6; Ps 49; Mk 9:41-50) *********************************** Today’s readings present a challenge to us with their harsh language, both by James in the first reading and Jesus in the gospel. Combined with the psalm, however, they invite us to be grounded in God’s forgiveness and healing first, then offer up our […]

Humility, Wisdom and Joy (James 1:1-11; Ps 119; Mk 8:11-13) ************************************** Humility, Wisdom and Joy. Those three words can be a profound seven-syllable mantra for contemplative prayer emerging from today’s readings. They provide us with a compelling message: Be humble, pray for wisdom and we will experience joy. Psalm 119 sets the tone, with its […]

Holistic Healing (Leviticus 13:1-2, 45-46; Psalm 32; 1 Cor 10:23-11.1; Mark 1:40-45) **************************************************************** Fr. Lucien Larré, founder of Bosco homes for delinquent teenagers and well-known speaker and presenter of parish missions, shares an experience he had of a healing. A sister who had worked for him developed MS to the point where she was bedridden […]