HOMILY WEEK 19 03 – Year I The Power of Forgiveness: Memorial of St. Clare (Dt 34:1-12; Ps 66; Mt 18:15-20) ********************************************************* The gospel today invites us to encounter Jesus face to face through forgiveness and heart-felt prayer. Matthew 18:15-20 is perhaps one of the most potent yet least appreciated passages in all of the […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 03 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 following him, by […]

HOMILY WEEK 19 01 – Year I A Religion of the Heart – Optional Memorial: St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (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 […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 19 – B Transformative Faith (1 Kg 19:4-8; PS 34; Eph 4:30-5:2; Jn 6:41-51) ************************************************ Have you ever heard the statement, “Some people are reacting against a God they have been taught wrongly about?” Faith in Jesus can transform our lives and lead us to experience God. Thomas Keating, renowned monk and spiritual […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 06 – Year I Our Mustard Seed Faith (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 airport, as his wife and children waited. Then […]

FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD Being Attentive to the Mystery (Dan 7:9-10/2 Pt 1:16-19, 13-14; Ps 97; Mt 17:1-9) ********************************************** “You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place.” Those words in the optional reading from St. Peter, a witness to the transfiguration, invite […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 04 – Year I Faith Like a Rock – Key to the Kingdom: Memorial of Blessed Frédéric Janssoone (Num 20:1-13; Ps 95; Mt 16;13-23) ************************************** Powerful archetypal readings today invite us to deeper faith in Jesus that will unlock the key to the kingdom of God. The delicate yet deliberate connection between […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 03 – Year I Strong Faith and Persistent Prayer (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 Jesus precisely as Lord and Son of David, and turn to […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 02 Growing in Faith (Num 12:1-13; Ps 51; Mt 15:1-14) ************************************** Ron, who hailed from a French-Canadian family, married a Protestant English woman. His staunch French-Canadian aunt in Quebec was shocked and very upset, not because she was Protestant, but because she was English – the first English person in that particular […]

HOMILY WEEK 18 01 – Year I Faith in Jesus as the Bread of Life: Optional Memorial of St Peter Julian Eymard (Num 11:4-15; Ps 81; Mt 14:13-21) ******************************************** “Moses said to the Lord” and “Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” Those two quotes from the readings today encourage us […]