HOMILY LENT SUNDAY 04-B Back to the Future (2 Chronicles 36:14-17; 19-23; Ps 137; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-21) ***************************************************************** In the not too recent past, a movie came out called Back to the Future, in which the main character experiences a time warp into another period of history. The readings today come together to form […]
Category: Homilies
St. Frances of Rome
HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 06 – Year II Letting Go of Living in Illusion: Optional Memorial of St. Frances of Rome (Hosea 5:15b-6:6; 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 […]
St. John of God
HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 05 – Year II Speaking of Hymns to God’s Mercy: Optional Memorial of St. John of God (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 […]
Saints Perpetua and St. Felicity
HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 04 – Year II Harden not Your Hearts: Optional Memorial of Saints Perpetua and St. Felicity (Jer 7:23-28; Ps 95; Lk 11:14-23) ********************************************* Healed people heal people; hurt people hurt people. Sin and sinfulness; stubbornness and disobedience seem to sum up the readings today, inviting us to be just the opposite […]
Law of Love
HOMILY WEEK 03 03 – Year II Loving Intimacy and Fulfilling the Law of Love: (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 great nation is there that has gods […]
Forgiveness
HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 02 – Year II Forgiveness and the Furnace of Resentment: (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 on make-up, neglecting her […]
St. Casimir
HOMILY LENT WEEK 03 01 – Year II The Healing Power of Humility: Optional Memorial of St. Casimir (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 often in the scriptures, Jesus would say things like “Your faith […]
Temples of the Holy Spirit
HOMILY LENT SUNDAY 3 – B Temples of the Holy Spirit (Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 18; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 22-25; John 2:13-25) ************************************************************ Bob, a young priest who was not that self-aware was walking outside with a companion during a retreat. Hector, another priest whom he knew was walking toward him with someone else. Hector looked […]
Compassion
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 […]
Repentance
WEEKDAY LENT WEEK 02 05 – Year II Resisting Repentance (Gen 37:3-28; Ps 105; Mt 21:33-46) ******************************************* The poet, Robert Frost, wrote these memorable words: “Something there is that does not love a wall; that sends the groundswell under it.” There is something in human nature that does not love goodness; that resists it and […]
