HOMILY WEEK 11 05 – Year I    Priorities, Perception and Perseverance       (2 Cor 11:18-30; Ps 34: Mt 6:19-23) ****************************************************** Three words capture the essence of the readings for today’s liturgy: priorities, perception and perseverance. We are invited to make the kingdom of God the number one priority in our lives, to become more aware […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 04 – Year I Doing the Will of God (2 Cor 11:1-11; Ps 111; Mt 6:7-15) ***************************************** “To do the right thing for the wrong reason is the greatest kind of treason.” Those words by Alfred Lord Tennyson can actually apply to our life of faith. We are called by today’s readings […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 03 – Year I The Biblical Faith Triad (2 Cor 9:6-11; Ps 112; Mt 6:1-18) ********************************************************* Today’s readings actually bring to mind a humble biblical faith triad. This triad invites us to express our faith in Jesus by generous almsgiving, sincere prayer and humble self-care. Jesus in the gospel instructs his disciples […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 02 – Year I Excelling in Faith: Forgiveness, Compassion and Generosity (2 Cor 8:1-9; Ps 146; Mt 5:43-48) ******************************************************* “You have heard it said, but I say to you …” With that simple statement, Jesus opens up a whole new way of being in this world for us – to make both […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 01 – Year I Going the Extra Mile (2 Cor 6:1-10; Ps 98; Mt 5:38-42) *********************************** What do the readings today and the 12 Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous have in common? The answer in one word is “service” although expressed differently. For Jesus in the gospel, it is “going a second […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 11 – B Living in the Reign (Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92; 2 Cor 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34) ****************************************************** Wanting a creative title for a retreat I was to conduct, and wanting something on the Kingdom of God, I came up with Living in the Reign. Actually, that title fits the readings for today, the […]

HOMILY WEEK 10 06 – Year I Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Is 61:9-11; 1 Sm 2; Lk 2:41-51) ********************************************** “Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not.” That statement by St. Augustine fits today’s memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, who models for us a life of deep faith lived […]

SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS – 2021 Seeing Into the Heart of God Hosea 11:1-9; Is 12; Eph 3:8-19; Jn 19:31-37) **************************************************** Today, we celebrate the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a devotion rooted in John’s Gospel, where blood and water flowed from Jesus’ side at his crucifixion. Gazing at the […]

HOMILY WEEK 10 04 – Year I Living A Transformative Faith (2 Cor 3:15-4:6; Ps 85; Mt 5:20-26) ****************************************** What do you make of Paul’s focus on “glory” in the first reading today? The message he is earnestly trying to communicate to the Corinthians, and to us, is to allow our faith in Jesus to […]

HOMILY WEEK 10 03 – Year I Ministers of a New Covenant: (2 Cor 3:4-11; Ps 99; Matt 5:17-19) ************************************** Would you like to be given new, very important role in your life? You already have one – just believe it and be ministers of a new covenant. Those who are married will perhaps understand […]