HOMILY LENT WEEK 04 01 – Year II New Creation through Faith and Love (Isaiah 65:17-21; Ps 30; Jn 4:43-54) ******************************************** How strong is your faith? How deep is your love? Important questions, these, because today’s liturgy invites us to be part of God’s new creation through faith in Jesus, and love for one another […]

HOMILY LENT SUNDAY 04 – Year A Living as Children of the Light (1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a; Psalm 23; Eph 5:8-14; John 9:1-41) *********************************************************** “You are who you are who you are – what are you afraid of?” Richard Rohr, noted Franciscan priest, spiritual writer and speaker, uttered these words as he started a […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 06 – Year II Letting Go of Living in Illusion (Hosea 6:1-6; Ps 51; Lk 18:9-14) ******************************************** Did you know that disillusionment is not necessarily a negative reality? It just means one was living an illusion, and has now become aware of it. Today’s readings invite us to let go of […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 05 – Year II Speaking of Hymns to God’s Mercy (Ho 14:1-9; Ps 81; Mk 12:28-34) ***************************************** “Only he who has been touched and caressed by the tenderness of God’s mercy really knows the Lord.” That comment by Pope Francis invites us to see today’s readings as hymns to God’s mercy, […]

HOMILY – SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH Ushering in the Realm of Faith and Loving Grace (2 Sam 7:4-16; Ps 89; Rm 4:13-22; Mt 1:16-24/Lk 2:41-51)) ********************************************************** Have you ever been embarrassed by taking something totally of out context? The readings today, as well as the solemnity of St. Joseph, are best understood within the context […]

HOMILY WEEK 03 03 – Year II Loving Intimacy and Fulfilling the Law of Love: Optional Memorial of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (Dt 4:1, 5-9; Ps 147; Mt 5:17-19) ********************************************* Two sentences sum up the message from today’s readings: “I have come, not to abolish but to fulfill” by Jesus in the gospel, and “What […]

HOMILY WEEK 03 02 – Year II Forgiveness and the Furnace of Resentment: Optional Memorial of St. Patrick (Dan 3:25-43; Ps 25; Mt 18:21-35) ********************************************* A lady confessed the sin of narcissism, of vanity to a priest. She claimed she was so beautiful that she was wasting countless hours admiring herself in the mirror, putting […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 01 – Year II The Healing Power of Humility (2 Kg 5:1-15a; Ps 42; Lk 4:24-30) ******************************************* What comes first – faith or healing? Ordinarily, we would automatically think the answer would be faith, as so often in the scriptures, Jesus would say things like “Your faith has saved you” or […]

HOMILY LENT SUNDAY 03 – A Thirsting for Living Water (Exodus 17:3-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42) ************************************************************* Have you ever heard the country song, Thank God for Unanswered Prayer? Believe in Jesus, and trust him at all times. The singer in that song is looking back over his life, and realizes how […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 02 06 – YEAR II On Being as Compassionate as God (Micah 7:14-15, 18-30; Ps 103; Lk 15:1-3, 11-32) *********************************************** When was the last time you saw a play? Today’s liturgy unfolds like a three-act play, inviting us to be as compassionate as our God is compassionate. The prophet Micah provides the […]