Walking in the Ways of the Lord (Is 2:1-5; Ps 122; Mt 8:5-13) *************************************** Walk a new path is the title of a book I wrote on addictions awareness and the 12 Step program. It connects with the message from Isaiah today, encouraging us to go up to the mountain of the Lord, that God […]
HOMILY ADVENT SUNDAY 01 – B
Waiting with Faith (Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1, 3-8; Psalm 80; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 13:33-37) ***************************************************************** Two young boys were praying their night prayers, one silently and one very loud, shouting what he wanted for Christmas. The quiet child rebuked him, telling him that God was not deaf. The second boy replied that God wasn’t, but […]
HOMILY WEEK 34 05 – Yr I
Serving Jesus our King (Dan 7:1-14; Dan 3:75-81; Lk 21:29-33) ****************************************** Did you know that Prince Harry, about to be married, is 5th in line to the throne? Someday he might be king of England and Meghan Markle would be queen! Perhaps not that surprising, as the media has just pointed out that she is […]
HOMILY WEEK 34 03 – Yr I
Bless and Praise God Forever (Dan 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28; Dan 3; Lk 21:12-19) ************************************************* Last century, there was a great ecclesiological debate in the Vatican to decide which was the greatest male religious order in the world. They were all gathered – Jesuits, Dominicans, Franciscans, Redemptorists, Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), etc. The Holy […]
HOMILY WEEK 34 02 – Yr I
(Dan 2:3, 9-30, 31-45; Dan 3; Lk 21:5-11) ******************************************* Did you know that Meghan Markle was the most googled woman in the world as of her engagement to Prince Harry? And that it seems there is worldwide interest in the prospect of a royal wedding in the spring? Yet all that pales in comparison to […]
HOMILY WEEK 34 01 – Yr I
Glory and Praise (Dan 1:1-20; Dn 3:52-56; Lk 21:1-4) **************************************** When Bad Things Happen to Good People is a book written by Rabbi Kuschner, appropriate for the readings today that invite us to trust God totally in good times and bad. The psalm response from the Book of Daniel puts it succinctly: Glorify and praise […]
HOMILY SUNDAY 34 – YEAR A
Christ the King (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17; Psalm 23; 1 Cor 15:20-26, 28; Matthew 25:31-46) ****************************************************************** Marie-Louise Ternier-Gommers, soon to be ordained, once wrote a reflection on today’s gospel in the Living With Christ. In it she asked an interesting question: “What would our communities look like if we let the ones most in need determine […]
HOMILY WEEK 33 – 05 – Yr I
Living Temples of the Word (1 Macc 4:36-37; 52-59; Ps29; Luke 19:45-48) ******************************************** When was the last time you were spellbound by someone’s words? Today’s liturgy extends a double invitation to us: not just to be “spellbound” by the words of Jesus, but to actually be a temple of the Word. Both readings focus on […]
HOMILY WEEK 33 04 – Yr I
The Many Visitations of Jesus (1 Macc 2:15-29; Ps 50; Lk 19:41-44) ************************************* When I was a young Oblate in my first mission of Beauval, Fr. Jim Fiori OMI and Sr. René Buliard SMS, drove down from Île-à-la-Crosse for a visit one evening. The two Grey Nuns Sr. Simard and Sr. Gamache, and I shared […]
HOMILY WEEK 33 03 – Yr I
Faith, Hope and Love: Memorial – St Cecilia (2 Macc 7:1-31; Ps 17; Lk 19:11-28) ***************************************** Some years ago, the St. Albert parish celebrated their 150th anniversary with a year-long series of speakers and events. I was invited to conduct a parish mission as part of that series, and was impressed by their theme: Rooted […]
