HOMILY LENT SUNDAY 2 A The Transfiguration – To Glory Through the Cross (Genesis 12:1-4; Psalm 33; 2 Timothy 1:8b-10; Matthew 17:1-9) *********************************************************** The Glory of God is man and woman fully alive!  That statement by St. Irenaeus, and today’s liturgy, invite us to follow Jesus through the Cross to Glory and Transformation Our modern […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 06 – Year I Following the Way of the Lord: Optional Memorial of St. Casimir (Dt 26:16-19; Ps 119; Mt 5:43-48) ******************************************* A tourist stopped by a roadside café as he was travelling through an Indigenous community. He asked an elder sitting outside, smoking a pipe, “Where does this road go?” […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 05 – Year I Looking at our Faith Through the Prism of AA (Ezk 18:21-28; Ps 130; Mt 5:20-26) ******************************************* We can gain an interesting perspective by looking at today’s readings through the lens of the 12 Step program. The message that appears is clear: repent, receive God’s forgiveness, be open […]

HOMILY WEEK 01 04 – Year I Balancing Prayer and Work (Esther 14:1-14; Ps 138; Mt 7:7-12) *************************************** Many years ago, Franciscan priest Richard Rohr was inspired to open a Centre for Action and Contemplation. While he has been prophetic throughout his long career beginning with the charismatic renewal (he founded the New Jerusalem Community […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 03 – Year I A Pattern for Transformation (Jonah 3:1-10; Ps 51; Luke 11:29-32) *************************************** “No sign will be given to this generation except the sign of Jonah.” These are the enigmatic words of Jesus in the gospel today. What are we to make of them? What is this sign of […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 02 – Year I The Word That Transforms (Is 55:10-11; Ps 34; Mt 6:7-15) ****************************************** “My word shall not return empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” This phrase spoken to the world by God through the prophet Isaiah […]

HOMILY LENT WEEK 01 01 – Year I Jesus, Justice, Love and Morality: Optional Memorial of Gregory of Narek (Lev 19:1-18; Ps 19; Mt 25:31-46) ****************************************** Why is it impossible to starve in a desert? Because you can always eat the “sand-which-is” under your feet! The readings today are like a sandwich calling us to […]

HOMILY LENT SUNDAY 01 – Year A Two Kinds of Sin Only (Genesis 2:7-9, 16-18, 25, 3:1-7; Psalm 51; Rom 5:12-19; Mt 4:1-11) ************************************************************** A woman back from shopping was showing her husband the expensive dress she had purchased. When he asked her why she bought a dress she did not really need, she replied […]

HOMILY – SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Acting and Feeling Like God (Is 58:9b-14; Ps 86; Lk 5:27-32) ************************************************* “When we act like God, we get to feel like God.” That is one of Ron Rolheiser’s favourite expressions, which is not only cute, but also very true. When we act as God does, we do get […]

HOMILY – FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY Genuine Faith and Sincere Fasting (Is 58:1-9; Ps 51; Mt 9:14-15) ********************************************** At a particular Eucharistic celebration, I could not help but notice that the members of one family very seriously knelt during the communion hymn for private devotion, and also knelt during the recessional hymn for another time […]