HOMILY WEEK 28 01 – Year I Set Apart for the Gospel: Memorial of St. Marguerite d’Youville (Rm 1:1-7; Ps 98; LK 11:29-32) ************************************* In 1976, while heading home after an old-timer’s hockey game, I came across a fatal accident. A head-on collision had occurred between a drunk driver and a pickup truck of local […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 06 – Year I Listening and Obeying Like Mary; Optional Memorial of St. Callistus I (Joel 3:12-21; Ps 97; Lk 11:27-28) *************************************** “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” That statement from Jesus in today’s gospel needs a bit of tweaking for our society today that […]

  HOMILY WEEK 27 05 – YEAR I The Finger of God in our Lives (Joel 1:13 – 2:2; Ps 9; Lk 11:15-26) **************************************** The readings today invite us to heed the word of God like Joel, to repent and change, to practice justice and fairness in our lives and all our affairs, to put […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 04 – Year I Persevering Prayer and Serving the Lord: (Mal 3:13-20; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 11:5-13) *************************************************** A man and his wife are awakened at 3 o’clock in the morning by a loud pounding on the door. The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 03 – Year I An Extreme Faith Makeover: Optional Memorial of Pope St. John XXIII (Jonah 4:1-11; Ps 86; Lk 11:1-4) ************************************************* “Extreme Makeover” shows on TV that involve the transformation of plain looking persons or run-down houses into a stunning display of poise and beauty all end with a “big reveal” […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 02 – Year I Genuine Repentance and Mature Prayer: (Jonah 3:1-10; Ps 129; Lk 10:38-42) ************************************************ Usually, the liturgists who choose the readings for the Eucharist try to find a link or connection between the reading and the gospel. Not so today – the readings provide us with two very distinct messages […]

HOMILY WEEK 27 01 – Year I An Attitude of Faithful Obedience and Compassionate Caring: Optional Memorial of St. John Leonardi (Jonah 1:1-2:1, 10; Jonah 2; Lk 10:25-37) ************************************************************* The readings today, for this optional memorial of St. John Leonardi, invites us to check out attitude towards God’s infinite mercy and how well we live […]

HOMILY SUNDAY 27-A The Vineyard Given to Others (Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43 ***************************************************** How are you responding to God’s call to build up his kingdom here on earth? Cherish the greatest gift of all – the Kingdom of God. Live in it and never lose it. I once began a garden […]

  HOMILY WEEK 26 06 – Year I Faith, Repent, Serve: a recipe for joy (Bar 4:5-29; Ps 69; Lk 10:17-24) ******************************************** When was the last time you felt a moment of pure joy? That probably doesn’t happen often, partly because as Henri Nouwen wrote, in this life there is no such thing as a […]

HOMILY WEEK 26 05 – Year I Listen and Repent: Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher (Bar 1:15-22; Ps 79; Lk 10:13-16) ************************************************** “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory” and “Admitted to God, ourselves and another human being, the exact nature of our wrongs” These two sentences are Step 4 and Step 5 of […]