HOMILY EASTER WEEK 04 06 This Is Exciting! (Acts 13:44-52; Ps 98; Jn 14.7-14) ******************************* When was that last time that you really got excited? Pray for faith that will excite you – faith in Jesus arisen from the dead. It seems that the whole city of Antioch was stirred up with excitement by Paul’s […]

HOMILY EASTER WEEK 04 04 After God’s Own Heart – Living a 9thBeatitude (Acts 13.13-25; Ps 89; Jn 13.16-20) ***************************************************** If you were invited to speak in a Jewish synagogue, what would be your message? The readings today provide us with one: have faith in Jesus and do the will of the Father; be a […]

EASTER WEEK 04 03 Believing in God – Listening to the Spirit – Living as Church (Acts 12.24-13.5; Ps 67; Jn 12.44-50) ****************************************************** The readings today continue to plumb the deeper meaning of the Resurrection event, extending to us an invitation to grow in faith, live in the Spirit, and spread that gift of faith. […]

HOMILY – FEAST OF ST MATTHIAS Chosen to Love (Acts 1:15-17, 20-26; Ps 113; Jn 15:6-17) ******************************************   Two words almost leap out at us in today’s readings: “chosen” and “love.” Putting them together, we get the message from this feast day of St. Matthias that we are Chosen to Love.   In the first […]

EASTER WEEK 04 01 The Cross and Resurrection (Acts 11.1-18; Ps42; Jn 10.11-18) **************************************** Sr. Lùcia Silva’s nephew was walking home one night with a friend when he looked up and saw they were by a tall wooden cross bathed in bright moonlight. The scene was so striking he took a picture of the cross […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 4 – C The Greatest Vocation – Good Shepherd Sunday (Acts 3:14, 43-52; Palm 100; Rev 7:9, 14b-17; Jn 10:27-30) *********************************************************** How would you like to give life to others? Believe in the Good News of Jesus, and bring salvation and eternal life to others. These are such simple words, yet they hold […]

HOMILY EASTER WEEK 03 06 Growing our Relationship with Jesus ((Acts 9:31-42; Ps 116; Jn 6:53-69) ********************************************* What do you think was the most pivotal moment of Peter’s life with Jesus? What would ours be? St. Peter is strikingly central to both readings today, inviting us to grow in our relationship with Jesus as he […]

HOMILY EASTER WEEK 03 04 Dare We Also Rejoice and Proclaim? (Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66; Jn 6:44-51) ****************************************** Henri Thoreau once famously claimed “Most people lead lives of quiet desperation.” Given our society today, I would add “and silent depression,” coming from the surprising response to a retreat we gave at the Star of the […]

HOMILY EASTER WEEK 03 03 Profound Faith, Joyful Experience, Courageous Proclamation (Acts 7:51-8:1; Ps 31; Jn 6:30-35) *********************************************************** Canon Andrew White shared with a church full of people recently in Edmonton a painful reality he experienced during his ministry in Iraq. A group of ISIS fighters stormed into a school and demanded the children follow […]

EASTER WEEK 03 02 Believe, Pray, Love (Acts 7:51-8:1; Ps 31; Jn 6:30-35) ************************************** “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Today’s liturgy invites us to deepen our faith in our Trinitarian God, soak up God’s love through prayer, and then keep the law by […]