HOMILY WEEKDAY 19 05 – Year I Eunuchs on a Healing Journey for the Kingdom of God (Jos 24:1-13; Ps 136; Mt 19:3-12) *********************************************** The first reading today seems to miss a few other groups the Israelites had to face upon entering the promised land: the Gigabytes and the Terrabytes! Each reading today holds a […]

HOMILY WEEKDAY 19 – 04 Our Own Exodus Journey and Paschal Mystery Experience (Jos 3:7-17; Ps 114; Mt 18:21-19:1) **************************************************** One day, Ronnie, a tall Cree recovering alcoholic, came into my office and shared his story with me: a drunk for years; sobriety; joining AA; a dry drunk for four years, organizing Round-ups and chairing […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 03 – Year I The Power of Forgiveness: Optional Memorial of St. Stephen of Hungary (Dt 34:1-12; Ps 66; Mt 18:15-20) *************************************** Ken Yasinski from St. Walburg, Sask., developed a Face-to-Face retreat for youth in response to Pope JP II’s challenge at WYD in Toronto. It is a dynamic retreat of music, […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 04 – Year I  The Assumption of Mary – A Call to Greater Justice (Rev 11:19, 12:1-6, 10; Ps 45; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Lk 1:39-56) **************************************************** The feast of the Assumption we are celebrating today comes to us, not from scripture as such, but from the lived tradition of the Church, the […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 01 – Year I A Religion of the Heart: Memorial of St Maximilian Kolbe (Dt 10:12-22; Ps 147; Mt 17:22-27) ************************************************ “Act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with our God.” That quote, taken from the prophet Micah, aptly summarizes the message of today’s readings – to walk humbly with our God […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 19 – A The Sound of Sheer Silence (1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a; Psalm 85; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33) *********************************************************** A group of friends and I took the tram up the mountain in Jasper one summer. We then climbed up and over the nearest peak, and found ourselves in Marmot Basin where the ski […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 06 – Year I Our Mustard Seed Faith: Optional Memorial of St. Jane Frances de Chantal (Dt 6:4-13; Ps 18:2-51; Mt 17:14-20) **************************************** On a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I noticed a Jewish man wrap a coil of leather around his arm and proceed to pray in a corner of the […]

  WEEK 18 05 – Year I Faith that Obeys and Follows: Memorial of St Clare (Dt 4:32-40; Ps 77; Mt 16:24-28) **************************************** A theologian was asked what he thought would be a simple summary of faith that everyone would understand. He responded with the children’s hymn, “Jesus loves me, this I know, ‘cause the […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 03 – Year I Following and Serving Jesus: Feast of St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr (2 Cor 9:6-10; Ps 112; Jn 12:24-26) ********************************************** Have you noticed that Jesus asked us to follow him much more often than to simply worship him? Today’s gospel is an example, inviting us to serve Jesus by […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 03 – Year I Strong Faith and Persistent Prayer: Optional Memorial of St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) (Num 13:1-33, 14:1-35; Ps 106; Mt 15:21-28) ************************************************* Today’s readings focus our attention on the titles of Jesus as Lord and Son of David. We are invited to place our faith in […]