SUNDAY 18 – B Change, Conversion and Transformation (Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15, 31a; Psalm 78; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35) ************************************************************* A saying attributed to Cardinal John Henry Newman fits the readings today: “To live is to change; to live well is to have changed much.” St. Paul, in the second reading to the Ephesians, puts […]

HOMILY WEEK 17 06 – Year I Jubilee, Justice and Hope: Memorial of St Ignatius of Loyola (Lev 25:1-17; Ps 67; Mt 14:1-12) ************************************** Have you walked through a Holy Door during the Jubilee Year of Mercy? Although that Jubilee Year ended in November of 2016, we are invited, as followers of Jesus, to live […]

HOMILY WEEKDAY 17 05 – Year I The Power of Ritual and Faith – Optional Memorial: St. Peter Chrysologus (Lev 23:1-37; Ps 81; Mt 13:54-58) ********************************************** It is common to think love supports marriage. Often, however, it is the other way around – marital commitment will support love, especially in tough times. The readings today […]

HOMILY WEEK 17 04 – Year I Living Tabernacles and Mutual Indwelling – Memorial: St. Martha (Ex 40:16-38; Ps 84; Mt 13:47-52) ********************************************* The readings invite us to be tabernacles of God’s presence in the world as we dwell with God and God with us in Christ. When our pilgrim group was in the Holy […]

HOMILY WEEK 17 03 – Year I The Kingdom of Heaven: Priceless Transformation and Radical Choice (Exodus 34:29-35; Ps 99; Mt 13:44-46) ************************************************************* The pearl is a very interesting analogy for life in the kingdom. Fred Sherrer, in his comment on this gospel, explains: “Unlike other precious stones, the pearl originates in a living thing, […]

HOMILY WEEK 17 02 – Year I Living in the Kingdom (Ex 33:7-11; 34;4-9, 28; Ps 103; Mt 13:36-43) ********************************************* After Word Youth Days in Toronto in 2003, Ken Yasinski, a gifted young man from St. Walburg, Sask. was inspired to begin offering a series of youth retreats he called Face to Face. These retreats, […]

HOMILY – FEAST of ST JOACHIM AND ANNE The First Holy Family (Sir 44:1, 8, 10-15; Ps 132; Mt 13:16-17) ********************************************** Today we celebrate the feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of our mother Mary, and the grandparents of Jesus. The gospels are bereft of details regarding them – not even offering […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 17 – B Hungering for Justice; Thirsting for Love (2 Kg 4:42-44; Ps 145; Eph 4:1-6; Jn 6:1-15) ************************************************** One night on television, a news item featured the reality of children starving in Zimbabwe. Pictures of children with extended stomachs troubled the viewers; a few minutes later, another news item dwelt on the […]

HOMILY WEEK 16 06 – Year I People of a New Covenant: Praise, Gratitude and Forgiveness: Optional Memorial of St. Sharbel Makhlūf (Ex 24:3-8; Ps 50; Mt 13:24-30) ******************************************************** Are you married? Committed to a life-long friendship? You are in a covenant relationship. The readings today designate us as a people of a new covenant […]

HOMILY WEEK 16 05 – Year I Hearing and Living the Word: Optional Memorial of St. Bridget of Sweden (Ex 20:1-17; Ps 19; Mt 13:18-23) ***************************************** Years ago, Fr. Richard Rohr founded the Centre for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, New Mexico. That prophetic move can be seen as a living out of the message […]