HOMILY WEEK 12 03 Fruitfully Participating in an Intimate Covenant (Gen 15; Ps 105;  Mt 7:15-20) **************************************************** Have you ever found yourself yearning for intimacy? Know that God yearns for an intimate covenant relationship with us that is best fostered through contemplative prayer and expressed by acts of love. We are a covenant people, called […]

WEEK 12 02 The Golden Rule and the Narrow Gate (Gen 13:2-18; Ps 15; Mt 7:6-14) ************************************************* Two phrases from today’s gospel, “Golden Rule” and “Narrow Gate” call us to humble faith and sincere love. The Golden Rule is common to all the major religions of the world – so much so that a poster […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 12 – C The Birth of John the Baptist (Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 139; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66; 80) ************************************************************ Have you answered the call of God in your life? Be a disciple: Take up your cross and follow Jesus. In the first reading today, Isaiah is called to a mission, a vocation. His […]

THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST – C (Gen 14:18-20; Ps 110; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Lk 9:11-17) **************************************************** Noted spiritual theologian Ron Rolheiser OMI recounts how a distraught young man accosted him in the sacristy after mass one Sunday. He had preached on the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan; how the Father had blessed […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 04 – Yr I Doing the Will of God (2 Cor 11:1-11; Ps 111; Mt 6:7-15) ***************************************** “To do the right thing for the wrong reason is the greatest kind of treason.” Those words by Alfred Lord Tennyson can actually apply to our life of faith. We are called by today’s readings […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 03 – Yr I The Biblical Faith Triad – Optional Memorial: St. Romuald (2 Cor 9:6-11; Ps 112; Mt 6:1-18) ********************************************************* Today’s readings actually bring to mind a humble biblical faith triad. This triad invites us to express our faith in Jesus by generous almsgiving, sincere prayer and humble self-care. Jesus in […]

WEEK 11 02 Excelling in Faith: Forgiveness, Compassion and Generosity (2 Cor 8:1-9; Ps 146; Mt 5:43-48) ******************************************************* “You have heard it said, but I say to you …” With that simple statement, Jesus opens up a whole new way of being in this world for us – to make both forgiveness and compassion our […]

HOMILY WEEK 11 01 – Year I Going the Extra Mile (2 Cor 6:1-10; Ps 98; Mt 5:38-42) *********************************** What do the readings today and the 12 Step program of Alcoholics Anonymous have in common? The answer in one word is “service” although expressed differently. For Jesus in the gospel, it is “going a second […]

TRINITY SUNDAY – YEAR CA Triune God Who Suffers (Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8; Romans :1-5; John 16:12-15) ******************************************************** Every year the northern and western Canadian bishops invite a resource person to address them at their plenary. In 2007 Dr. Hannah Kassis, an expert on Islam, was asked to speak about the culture and religion of […]

HOMILY WEEK 10 06 Newly Minted Ambassadors of Reconciliation (2 Cor 5:14-21; Ps 103; Mt 5:33-37) ************************************************ A young boy wanted to be alone with his newly born little sister. Curious, his parents stood by the door to listen, and heard him say to his baby sister, “Quick, tell me about God. I’m starting to […]