HOMILY WEEK 31 03 – Year II Disciples as Taking Up and Letting Go (Phil 2:12-18; Ps 27; Lk 14:25-33) *********************************************** While in Newfoundland conducting a retreat for priests in the Diocese of Corner Brook-Labrador, this prairie boy enjoyed observing the tide come in and go out. It was like a relentless mantra – high […]

HOMILY WEEK 31 02 – Year II Humble Praise and Worship – a Fitting Response (Phil 2:5-11; Ps 22; Lk 14:15-24) ****************************************************** Have you been invited to an important event recently? The liturgy today both extends an invitation to participate more fully in the Kingdom of God and suggests humble praise and worship as a […]

WEEK 31 01 – Year II Unity, Humility and Love: St. Charles Borromeo (Phil 2:1-4; Ps 131; Lk 14:12-14) ********************************** “Unity, humility, love and reaching out to the poor and disadvantaged” sums up the readings, inviting us to live those values in our own lives. In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul exhorts them […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 31 – B Living Teepee Spirituality (Dt 6:2-6; Psalm 18; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12:28-34) ************************************************* A man shared his problem of having nightmares with a psychiatrist – sometimes he dreamt he was a teepee, sometimes he dreamt he was a wigwam. The psychiatrist responded with a simple diagnosis – the man was just […]

HOMILY – ALL SOUL’S DAY Living the Paschal Mystery (Job 19:1, 23-27; Ps 103; 1Cor 15:20-23; Jn 12:23-26) ***************************************************** “Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.” Both the readings and today’s commemoration of All Soul’s Day invite us to follow Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery. Jesus, in the […]

SOLEMNITY: ALL SAINTS DAY 2024 Living In the Reign as Saintly Servants and Children of God (Rev 7:2-4, 9-14; Ps 24; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12) ******************************************************** “It is heaven all the way to heaven.” This statement from St. Catherine of Sienna, and the All-Saints liturgy today, invite us to live in the reign of […]

HOMILY WEEK 30 04 – Year II Putting on the Armor of God (Eph 6:10-20; Ps 144; Lk 13:31-35) ************************************ “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you!” According to the New Interpreter’s Bible, these are fateful words. Even though Luke here puzzlingly paints a more positive picture of the Pharisees than the […]

HOMILY WEEK 30 03 – Year II Humble Faith and Love – Keys to the Kingdom (Eph 6:1-9; Ps 145; Lk 13:22-30) ************************************* Strive to enter through the narrow gate. (Luke 13:24) Today’s liturgy reminds us that faith in Jesus, love for others, and humble self-awareness are critical keys to the kingdom of God. The […]

HOMILY WEEK 30 02 – Year II Marriage and the Kingdom of God (Eph 5:21-33; Ps 128; Lk 13:18-21) ******************************************* It has been said that the marriage bed is comparable to an altar for a married couple. That statement, and the readings today, present us with the message that marital commitment and achieving intimacy are […]

HOMILY WEEK 30 01 – Year II Our Identity and Life in Christ: Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude (Eph 2:19-22; Ps 19; Lk 6:12-19) ***************************************** Today’s readings, and this feast, firmly establish our identity in Christ, and what it means to live in Christ. The late motivational speaker Serge LeClerc claimed throughout his […]