HOMILY WEEK 23 05 – Year II Journeying into Greater Self-Awareness: Memorial of St. John Chrysostom (1 Cor 9:16-27; Ps 83; Lk 6:39-42) *************************************** “You are, who you are, who you are – what are you afraid of?” Franciscan Father Richard Rohr started a retreat for our Oblate community years ago with the startling statement, […]

HOMILY WEEKDAY 23 04 – Year II The Heart of Christian Living: Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (1 Cor 8:1b-7, 11-13; Ps 139; Lk 6:27-38) ************************************************************ A woman died and arrived at the Gates of Heaven.  Saint Peter told her she had to spell a word to get in. “Which word?” […]

HOMILY WEEK 23 03 – Year II Living the Beatitudes (1 Cor 7:1-31; Ps 45; Lk 6:20-26) ********************************************* The Beatitudes are the Magna Carta of Jesus’ teaching. Part of the Sermon on the Mount in both Matthew and Luke, they present Christ as the new Moses, building on the Ten Commandments of the first Moses […]

HOMILY WEEDAY 23 02 – Year II Celebrating Who We Are (1 Cor 6:1-11; Ps 149; Lk 6:12-19) ************************************ The late Anthony de Mello, in The Song of the Bird, recounts this captivating story: A boy found an eagle’s egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the […]

HOMILY WEEK 23 01 – Year II Attitudinal Healing: Optional Memorial of St. Peter Claver (1 Cor 5:1-8; Ps 5; Lk 6:6-11) ******************************* Has the cryptic statement, “Check that attitude” ever applied to you? The liturgy today invites us to be aware of and open to a transformation of attitudes, so we can help others […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 23 – B Genuine Faith Expressed through Unconditional Love (Isaiah 35:4-7; Psalm 146; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-17) ********************************************************** A Sunday school teacher asked her children, “Why is it necessary to be quiet in church?” One bright little girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.” Faith that expresses itself through love is true faith indeed. […]

HOMILY WEEK 22 06 – Year II Servants of Christ and Stewards of God’s Mysteries (1 Cor 4:6-15; Ps 145; Lk 6:1-5) ************************************************ “Think of us as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.”  That line, from St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, provides us with a strong message and mandate: we […]

HOMILY WEEK 22 05 – Year II New Wine, New Wineskins (1 Cor 4:1-5; Ps 37; Lk 5:33-39) *********************************************** “The new wine will burst the skins.” In ancient Israel, the juice from pressed grapes immediately went into a container to ferment into wine. If the wine was going to be transported a long distance, the […]

HOMILY WEEK 22 04 – Year II An Invasion of Grace (1 Cor 3:18-23; Ps 24; Lk 5:1-11) ************************************* Did you know that all wise people come from the East? And that the wiser they are, sooner they come! The liturgy today encourages us to be wise, put our faith in Jesus, receive his forgiveness, […]

HOMILY WEEK 22 02 – Year II Living Out Fully Our Trinitarian Faith: Memorial of St. Gregory the Great (1 Cor 2:10-16; Ps 145; Lk 4:31-37) ******************************************************* Step 3 of the A.A. program reads, “Made a decision to surrender our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.” This […]