HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – January 8th Lessons on Faith, Humility and Freedom: Optional Memorial of St. Raymond of Penyafort (1 Jn 5:14-21; Ps 149; Jn 3:22-30) ****************************************** Have you ever felt envy at someone else’s success? One response to such a question might well be, “Who hasn’t?” as envy has surely visited all of us […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – JANUARY 07th Three That Testify: Living God’s Testimony: Optional Memorial of St. André Besette (1 Jn 5:5-13; Ps 147; Lk 5:12-16) ******************************************* And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. That sentence from the first reading hints at the dynamic energy and […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – JANUARY 6th Faith Expressed Through Love: (1 Jn 4:19-5:4; Ps 72; Lk 4:14-22) ******************************************* The liturgy today invites us to deepen our faith in Jesus as the Messiah, revealing a God who is love, and then express that faith by living his commandment to love. In the first reading, John gives […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – JANUARY 5th Becoming Icons of God’s Love on Earth: (1 Jn 4:11-18; Ps 72; Mk 6:45-52) ************************************************* “… because as he is, so are we in this world.” For some reason, this sentence stood out for me as a focal point for this homily, emerging as it did from the readings […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – JANUARY 4th A God Who is Love, and Loving Like God (1 Jn 4:7-10; Ps 72; Mk 6:34-44) ******************************************** The readings today challenge us in two ways: how well do we really know God, and are we learning God’s language of love? John in the first reading, and Mark in his […]

HOMILY FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY Let Us Also Follow That Star (Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12) **************************************************************** In the fall of 2009, a couple from the Sageeng First Nations won the largest single lottery prize ever in Canada. They went into seclusion for several days as speculation swirled about how they […]

Mary, Mother of God – New Year’s Day – Years ABC Pray, Bless and Praise (Numbers 6:22-27; Psalm 67; Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 2:16-21) ************************************************************* Ritual, Theology and Narrative: these three words succinctly describe the three readings for today. In essence, they call us to bless one another; pray like Mary, and worship God like the […]

HOMILY – OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS DAY 07 – DECEMBER 31st From Hard Laws to Warm Grace and Truth Optional Memorial of St. Pope Sylvester I (1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96; Jn1:1-18) **************************************************** Suppose you were given hard stone tablets with rules written on them to hold for a while – how would you respond and […]

HOMILY – OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS – DECEMBER 30th Following the Wisdom of the Elders (1 Jn 2:12-17; Ps 96; Lk 2:36-40) *********************************************** What role do elders play in your life? Years of Indigenous ministry has taught me to appreciate the role of elders. The readings today present us two elders, St. John and Anna, who […]

CHRISTMAS OCTAVE DAY 05 – DECEMBER 29th Walking as Jesus Walked: Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket (1 Jn 2:3-11; Ps 96; Lk 2:22-35) ********************************************** The Word Among Us has an interesting commentary on today’s gospel that with some adaptation will make up this homily. It begins with the quote, “The parents of Jesus took […]