HOMILY WEEK 32 02 – Year II Gracefully Responding to Grace: Memorial of St. Josaphat (Titus 2:1-8, 11-14; Ps 37; Lk 17:7-10) *************************************** “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all.” This proclamation by St. Paul to Titus provides the context for today’s readings that are all about God’s salvation freely given […]

WEEK 32 01- Year II Shine Like Stars Offering the Word of Life: Memorial of St. Martin of Tours (Titus 1:1-9; Ps 24; Lk 17:1-6) *************************************** “It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” This motto from the Christopher Leadership Course connects with the message from today’s Gospel Acclamation: “Shine on […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 32-B The Widow’s Mite (1 Kg 17:10-16; Psalm 146; Heb 9:24-28; Mk 12:38-44) ************************************************************* “To die for a good reason is something you can live with.” This anonymous quote can be adapted to deepen it’s meaning: to give something up out of faith in God leads to the fullness of life. The readings […]

FEAST – DEDICATION OF ST JOHN LATERAN Temples of the Holy Spirit and Life-giving Water (Ezk 47:1-12; Ps 46; Jn 2:13-22) ***************************************************** “Wherever this river flows, the waters shall be made fresh.” The readings today, and this feast of the dedication of St. John Lateran, invite us to drink of the living waters of God’s […]

HOMILY WEEK 31 05 – Year II The Primacy of Relationships (Phil 3:17-21; 4:1; Ps 122; Lk 16:1-8) **************************************** Did you know that the most recent addiction in our world is being right? One party in a relationship is convinced she is right and the other wrong, while the other party is convinced he is […]

HOMILY WEEK 31 04 – Year II Transformative Faith in Jesus (Phil 3:3-8; Ps 105; Lk 15:1-10) ************************************* When then Pope John Paul II returned to Canada in 1987 in fulfillment of his promise to meet with the Indigenous peoples of the North, I was in the line-up of concelebrating priests and bishops who got […]

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 […]