HOMILY WEEK 27 06 – Year II Free to Live the Word of God (Ga 3:22-29; Ps 105; Lk 11:27-28) ********************************************** You have probably heard the somewhat cynical saying that was used years ago to describe the life of a church-goer – pay, pray and obey! In the gospel today, Jesus urges us to go […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 05 – Year II Holding Nothing Back: Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Gal 3:6-14; Ps 111; Lk 11:15-26) ******************************************* “After Jesus had cast out a demon…” This Gospel passage seems to refer to Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons. Visionary Ann Catherine Emerich claims after Jesus […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 04 – Year II Faith Expressed Through Prayer: Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher (Ga 3:1-5; Lk 1:69-75; Lk 11:5-13) ********************************************* There is a saying, “Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on you.” That saying resonates with the readings today, inviting us to place our faith […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 03 – Year II The Freshness of Our Faith: Optional Memorial of St. Faustina Kowalska (Ga 2:1-2,7-14; Ps 117; Lk 11:1-4) ***************************************** The movie Risen imparts to the viewer a glimpse of the freshness and hopeful newness the resurrection of Jesus brought to the early disciples, and to the whole world eventually. […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 02 – Year II Respect for Life, Conversion and Contemplation: Memorial of St Francis of Asissi (Gal 1:13-34; Ps 139; Lk 10:38-42) ******************************************** Today’s liturgy provides us with a triple-header, much like in the world of baseball. Three major themes emerge from the readings that invite us to respect all life, enter […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 01 – Year II A Church of Good Samaritans – Loving as Jesus Loved (Gal 1:6-12; Ps 11; Lk 10:25-37) *************************************************** As participants in a course at the Tantur Ecumenical Centre in Jerusalem, we attended a Sabbath service, then we were invited to share a Sabbath meal in the home of a […]

HOMILY SUN 27-C Faith that Hopes, Serves and Loves (Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Psalm 95; 2 Tim 1:6-8; 13-14; Luke 17:5-10) ************************************************************* So, did Mother Theresa have strong faith, or weak faith? Pray for a strong faith that keeps on hoping, loving and serving, no matter what. After the death of Mother Theresa of Calcutta, a […]

HOMILY WEEK 26 06 – Year II Humble Faith, Repentance and Awe: Memorial of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus (Job 42:1-17; Ps 119; Luke 10:17-24) ************************************************ “When you are dead, you do not know that you are dead – all of the pain is felt by others left behind. The same thing happens when […]

HOMILY WEEK 26 05 – Year II Discipleship as Humble, Repentant Faith: Memorial of St. Jerome (Job 38:12-40:5; Ps 139; Lk 10:13-16) ************************************* Have you ever thought of what it must have been like for Jesus to have seventy disciples following him? Who did all the cooking? Where did they stay? As disciples of Jesus […]

HOMILY WEEK 26 04 – Year II Known and Loved – Like Nathanael: Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael (Rev 12:7-12; Ps 138; Jn 1:47-51) ******************************************************* One person once said his wife was like an angel. When asked how so, he replied, “She’s up in the air and always harping!” Have you ever wondered […]