HOMILY WEEK 23 01 – Year I Mining the Great Mystery – Christ in Us: (Col 1:24-2:3; Ps 62; Lk 6:6-11) ***************************************** As a 25th anniversary of priesthood initiative in 1994, I wrote a booklet on Indigenous ministry called “Northern Nuggets” that eventually morphed into the book Drumming From Within published by Novalis. That original […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 23 – A Forgiveness and Love – Heart of the Church (Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm 95; Romans 13:8-10; Mt 18:15-20) ************************************************************* Can you sum up the Bible in one sentence? St. Paul, in the second reading, does it for us. The commandments, he tells us, are summed up in this one word: “Love your […]

FEAST of the NATIVITY OF MARY – WEEK 22 04 – Year I Trust and Transformation (Rm 8:28-30/Micah 5:2-5; Ps 13; Mt 1:1-23) ********************************************* Have you had to make a difficult decision lately and felt very alone? Have you ever wondered where was God in a particular painful situation? The readings on this feast of […]

HOMILY WEEK 22 03 – Year I Faithful Ministers of Christ (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 minister of Christ. That means that […]

HOMILY WEEK 22 02 – Year I Living with Christ as Children of the Light (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 – almost forcing us to refocus […]

HOMILY for LABOR DAY Walking in Harmony with all of God’s Creation: Optional Memorial of Blessed Dina Bélanger (Gen 1:26-2:3; Ps 90; Mt 25:14-30) **************************************   The first reading from Genesis provided for this Labor Day fittingly portrays God at work at creating the universe.   “Let us make man in our image” could indicate […]

  HOMILY SUNDAY 22 – A “Passio” and the Cross (Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27) ********************************************************** “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him take up his cross and follow me.” What a strange invitation from someone who is looking for followers. Certainly, it is not coming from someone […]

HOMILY WEEK 21 06 – Year I Just Love: Optional Memorial of Blessed André Grasset (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,” […]

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, I noticed an oil lamp sitting on a side table in our chapel where I previously lived. I filled it with oil, held a match to it and voila! […]