HOMILY WEEK 28 03 – Year II Claiming our Inheritance and Called to Conversion: Memorial of St. Marguerite d’Youville (Gal 5:18-22; Ps 1; Luke 11:42-46) ****************************************************** Have you heard the expression “The spiritual life is more a journey than a destination?” There is some truth to that statement. Today’s readings call us to conversion, and […]

HOMILY WEEK 28 02 – Year II Genuine Faith Expressed Through Selfless Love: Optional Memorial of St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila) (Gal 5:1-6; Ps 119; Lk 11:37-41) *************************************************** “For freedom Christ has set us free” and “Give for alms those things that are within.” These two quotes from the readings today focus our attention on […]

HOMILY WEEK 28 01 -Year I On Being Thankful and Living with Gratitude: Optional Mass – Thanksgiving Day 2024 (Col 3:12-17; Ps 113; Mt 7:7-12) ***************************************** The remark “A grateful person is a happy person” was made on a panel show once, causing me to reflect on its truth ever since. That truth is especially […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 28 – B Be wise; Pray with God’s Word; Let Go (Wis 7:7-11; Ps 90; Heb 4:12-13; Mk 10:17-30) *************************************************** Sr. Therese Arcand was a Grey Nun of Mètis ancestry stationed in Ile-à-la Crosse, Saskatchewan. One day she performed a service for her superior, who told her that certainly she would have another […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 06 – Year II Free to Live the Word of God (Ga 3:22-29; Ps 105; Lk 11:27-28) ********************************************** You have probably heard the somewhat cynical saying that was used years ago to describe the life of a church-goer – pay, pray and obey! In the gospel today, Jesus urges us to go […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 05 – Year II Holding Nothing Back: Optional Memorial of St. Pope John XXIII (Gal 3:6-14; Ps 111; Lk 11:15-26) ******************************************* “After Jesus had cast out a demon…” This Gospel passage seems to refer to Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus had cast seven demons. Visionary Ann Catherine Emerich claims after Jesus […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 04 – Year II Faith Expressed Through Prayer (Ga 3:1-5; Lk 1:69-75; Lk 11:5-13) ********************************************* There is a saying, “Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on you.” That saying resonates with the readings today, inviting us to place our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection, and […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 03 – Year II The Freshness of Our Faith: Optional Memorial of St. John Leonardi (Ga 2:1-2,7-14; Ps 117; Lk 11:1-4) ***************************************** The movie Risen imparts to the viewer a glimpse of the freshness and hopeful newness the resurrection of Jesus brought to the early disciples, and to the whole world eventually. […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 02 – Year II Our Choice: Dopamine or Jesus? (Gal 1:13-34; Ps 139; Lk 10:38-42) ************************************** “There is nothing we humans crave more, fear more, and fumble more than intimacy.” This statement by David Hassell S.J., author of Dark Intimacy, provides the context for today’s readings. As human beings, we all have […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 01 – Year II A Church of Good Samaritans – Loving as Jesus Loved: Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary (Gal 1:6-12; Ps 11; Lk 10:25-37) *************************************************** As participants in a course at the Tantur Ecumenical Centre in Jerusalem, we attended a Sabbath service, then were invited to share a Sabbath […]