HOMILY WEEK 13 05 – Year I Following Jesus More Closely (Gen 23:1-24:62-67; Ps 106; Mt 9:9-13) ************************************** “Follow me” – two cryptic words spoken by Jesus that changed a troubled person’s life, and can change ours as well. Today’s liturgy invites us to follow Jesus into a more compassionate way of living. The next […]

HOMILY WEEK 13 04 – Year I Walking in the Presence of the Lord: Optional Memorial of St. Maria Gorretti (Gen 22:1-19; Ps 116; Mt 9:1-8) ************************************************* Today’s psalm response extends to us an important invitation to, “Walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.” That raises the question – […]

HOMILY WEEK 13 03 – Year I Be the First Fruits of God’s Creation: Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria (Gen 21:5-20; Ps 34; Mt 8:28-34) ********************************************************* “That we might be as the first fruits of God’s creation.” That interesting quote from the gospel acclamation today becomes for us both a challenge and an invitation […]

HOMILY WEEK 13 02 – Year I A Seismic Revelation of God: Optional memorial of St. Elizebeth of Hungary (Gen 19:15-29; Ps 26; Mt 8:23-27) ************************************** “What sort of man is this?” The Word Among Us offers us some insights into the answer to the question, inviting us to grow in our appreciation of who […]

HOMILY – FEAST OF ST. THOMAS, WEEK 13 03 – Year I Faith, Identity, Transformation and Mission (Eph 2:19-22; Ps 117; Jn 20:24-29) *********************************************************** A trip to Chenai, India, would not be complete without a visit to the tomb where tradition tells us St. Thomas is buried, after evangelizing and laying the foundations of the […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 13 – A Strong Faith and Generous Hospitality (2 Kings 4:8-12a, 14-17; Psalm 89; Romans 6:3-4, 6-11; Mt 10:37-42) ************************************************************ The announcement that parents are expecting a set of twins is usually met with both surprise and excitement. Today’s readings offer us a set of twin inter-connected themes on which to focus our […]

HOMILY CANADA DAY 2023 An Irresistible Revolution (Is 56:1,6-7; Ps 84; Mt 5:1-12a) ****************************** The title of one of our contemporary prophets, Shayne Claiborne, The Irresistable Revolution, fits the special readings for this Canada Day liturgy. We are invited to maintain justice and to live the revolutionary new way of life Jesus gave us in […]

HOMILY WEEK 12 05 – Year I Walking in the Way of the Lord: Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church (Gen 17:5-22; Ps 128; Mt 8:1-14) ******************************************************** The late Gerald May, a Catholic psychiatrist, is author of the book Will and Grace on addictions awareness. In it he highlights free […]

HOMILY – SOLEMNITY of SAINTS PETER AND PAUL Apostles of Forgiveness and Evangelization (Acts 12:1-11; Ps 34; 2 Tim 4:6-8;17-18; Mt 16:13-19) *************************************************** Today’s solemnity invites us to reflect on two foundational figures of the early Church, to be inspired by them and to learn from them. St. Peter and St. Paul met only a […]

HOMILY WEEK 12 03 – Year I Fruitfully Participating in an Intimate Covenant: Memorial of St. Irenaeus (Gen 15:1-18; Ps 105; Mt 7:15-20) **************************************************** Have you ever found yourself yearning for intimacy? God yearns for an intimate covenant relationship with us that is best fostered through contemplative prayer and expressed by acts of love. We […]