HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – Jan 04 Singing A New Song (1 Jn 3:7-10; Ps 98; Jn 1:35-43) **************************************** “O sing to the Lord a new song.” That first sentence of the first stanza of the psalm today captures the spirit of the readings: We are to live a new life in Christ, the Lamb of […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON – January 3rd Growing into Christ-likeness – The Holy Name of Jesus (1 Jn 2:29-3:6; Ps 98; Jn 1:29-34) *********************************************** One of the delights of returning to northern Saskatchewan for seasonal ministry is seeing the children of couples I knew as children, and guessing who their parents are. Often, it is obvious […]

HOMILY CHRISTMAS SEASON JAN 02 Abiding in friendship and in God: Saints Basil and Gregory (1 Jn 2:22-28; Ps 98; Jn 1:19-28) ******************************************** Can you think of a friendship that changed your life? The reading today from 1 John, and the memorial of St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory Nazianzen, invite us into an […]

MARY MOTHER OF GOD – YEARS ABC Adopted and Redeemed Children of God (Num 6:22-27; Ps 67; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21) ****************************************** A young Jewish girl told her teacher one day her cat had kittens, and they were all Fascist kittens. The teacher was impressed by this story and called one of Hitler’s generals to […]

HOMILY – OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS DAY 07 – December 31st Living as Children of God with Joyful Faith: Optional Memorial of St. Pope Sylvester (1 Jn 2:18-21; Ps 96; Jn1:1-18) **************************************************** Suppose you were given cold stone tablets with rules written on them to hold for a while – how would you respond and how […]

HOMILY – OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS – DECEMBER 30th Following the Wisdom of the Elders (1 Jn 2:12-17; Ps 96; Lk 2:36-40) *********************************************** What role do elders play in your life? Years of Indigenous ministry has taught me to appreciate the role of elders. The readings today present us two elders, St. John and Anna, who […]

HOMILY – FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY (Sir 3:2-14; Ps 128; Mt 2:13-23) *********************************************** The International Marian Centre, near the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, is built over the ruins of a 1st century home, one our guide pointed out could have been a home the young Jesus may have run in and out. […]

HOMILY – FEAST OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS Light in the Darkness (1 Jn 1:2-2:2; Ps 124; Mt 2:13-18) ********************************************** St. John, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, begins the readings today with the proclamation that God is light and in him there is no darkness. Those who repent and receive the forgiveness of Jesus will have […]

HOMILY – FEAST OF ST. JOHN Joyful Faith and Communion with the Lord (1 Jn 1:1-4; Ps 97; Jn 20:2-8) ***************************************** When a bishop is named, the tradition is to have the ordination on a feast day. So strong is that tradition that I, at the insistence of Luigi Venturi, papal nuncio at that time, […]

HOMILY FEAST OF ST STEPHEN Witnessing to Our Trinitarian Faith (Acts 6:8-10; Ps 31; Mt 10:17-22) **************************************** If it were against the law to be a Catholic Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you, and what would be the evidence? Today’s feast of St. Stephen and its readings invite us into a deeper […]