FEAST – DEDICATION OF ST JOHN LATERAN Temples of the Holy Spirit and Life-giving Water (Ezk 47:1-12; Ps 46; Jn 2:13-22) ***************************************************** “Wherever this river flows, the waters shall be made fresh.” The readings today, and this feast of the dedication of St. John Lateran, invite us to drink of the living waters of God’s […]

HOMILY WEEK 32 02 – Year II Gracefully Responding to Grace: (Titus 2:1-8, 11-14; Ps 37; Lk 17:7-10) *************************************** “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.” This proclamation by St. Paul to Titus provides the context for today’s readings that are all about God’s salvation freely given to us through Jesus, […]

WEEK 32 01- Year II Shine Like Stars Offering the Word of Life (Titus 1:1-9; Ps 24; Lk 17:1-6) *************************************** “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” This motto from the Christopher Leadership Course connects with the message from today’s Gospel Acclamation: “Shine on the world like bright stars; you […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 32-C Living Calvary in Slow Motion (2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14; Psalm 17; 2 Thes 2:16-3:5; Luke 20:27-38) ************************************************************** “May our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father who has given us his love, strengthen you in everything you do or say.” With these words, and indeed with the whole paragraph of the second […]

HOMILY WEEK 31 06 – Year II An Attitude of Gratitude (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 serious conversation about life one day. […]

HOMILY WEEK 31 05 – Year II The Primacy of Relationships: Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo (Phil 3:17-21; 4:1; Ps 122; Lk 16:1-8) **************************************** Did you know that the most recent addiction in our world is being right? One party in a relationship is convinced she is right and the other wrong, while the other […]

HOMILY WEEK 31 04 – Year II Transformative Faith in Jesus: Optional Memorial of St. Martin de Porres (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 […]

HOMILY – ALL SOUL’S DAY 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 Soul’s Day invite us to follow Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery. Jesus, in the […]

SOLEMNITY: ALL SAINTS DAY 2022 Living In the Reign as Saintly 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 the All Saints Liturgy today, invite us to live in the reign […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 31-C Repentance and Justice (Wisdom 11:23-12:2; Psalm 145; 2 Thes 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10) ********************************************************* Would you climb a tree to see a famous person? That famous person, Jesus himself, asks us in today’s liturgy to climb down from our tree of sin and self-righteousness, to repent and work for greater justice. That Zacchaeus […]