Tenth Sunday of the Year Homily
TENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 10 JUNE 2018 One of the great things about the gospels is that they tell the truth even when it is unflattering. Today’s pericope, found only in Mark, and rarely read out at Mass is one of those instances. We are still early on in the gospel and the Marcan author is preparing the ground work for the end of his narrative. The question he keeps raising is, “Who is Jesus?” Today, there are two answers to the question– given first by his family–those closest to him, and then by those who would eventually join in having him killed. The first...
Read MoreCorpus Christi Homily
FEAST OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST 3 June 2018 Homily I’m not sure if you’ve heard about it, but 2/3rds of the German bishops have voted to allow non-Catholic spouses to go to communion. Well, there has been something of an uproar over their decision. The Pope has called their leadership to the Vatican to talk about it. This question of who goes to communion is really always around. During elections some bishops have urged priests to withhold communion from politicians. Cardinal Burke disallowed a whole parish from going to communion because they wouldn’t give him control over their...
Read MoreTrinity Sunday
TRINITY SUNDAY 27 May 2018 Homily Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity. It’s a different kind of feast. Normally we celebrate moments in the life of Jesus or the saints. Today however we reflect on what kind of God is it that we believe in. In the 14th century a mystic, Meister Eckhart wrote: “Do you want to know what goes on in the heart of the Trinity? I will tell you, in the heart of the Trinity the Father laughs and gives birth to the Son, The Son laughs back at the Father and gives birth to the Spirit. The whole Trinity laughs and gives birth to us” Leaving aside some finer...
Read MorePentecost Homily
PENTECOST 20 May 2018 Why do we close our eyes when we pray, when we cry, when we dream, when we kiss? I believe it is because we know the most important, most beautiful things are not seen but known by the heart. The Spirit speaks first and best to our hearts and has led us to this day, and will lead us onward still. Come, Holy Spirit, come! And from your celestial home Shed a ray of light divine! Come, Father of the poor! Come, source of all our store! Come, within our bosoms shine. You, of comforters the best; You, the soul’s most welcome guest; Sweet refreshment here below; In our...
Read MoreFeast of the Ascension
FEAST OF THE ASCENSION 13 May 2018 Homily I hate late night calls. They are often bad news, maybe always bad news. Several years ago I received one of those calls from a person I hadn’t seen in five years. She called to tell me that an old friend had just undergone a 12 hour surgery for cancer. They had removed all of his lower jaw and part of his upper jaw. The surgery was so extensive, the cancer had progressed so far, because he had simply refused to go to a doctor over a year ago when a persistent sore first appeared in his mouth. He was an alcoholi c and didn’t care I knew him...
Read MoreSixth Sunday of the Year Homily
SIXTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 11 February 2018 Homily On this last weekend before the beginning of Lent, a story which points us toward Lent. Some of you many remember Bishop Fulton Sheen. He was a precursor to many of the TV evangelists. He had a style and a flair for the dramatic and was probably the only Catholic church person who knew how to use TV. Once he went to visit a leper colony in Africa. He brought with him enough small silver crucifixes to each of the 500 lepers living in the camp. The first leper to meet him had only a stump of his left arm. His right arm and hand were...
Read MoreFifth Sunday of the Year Homily
FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 4 February 2018 Homily About the earliest thing I remember praying for was a horse. By the time I was in second grade Jesus was very real to me and I had learned, that when you are in need, when you want something, you ask Jesus. It may seem silly now but I had it all worked out how the horse would live in our garage. I discussed these plans with Jesus and because my parents seemed so dead set against it, I knew that only Jesus could make a horse appear in our garage. What about you? What is the first thing you remember asking for in prayer? From Jesus? The strange...
Read MoreFourth Sunday of the Year Homily
FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 28 January 2018 Homily We have this great image of Jesus–kind and gentle, the good shepherd. We’re still recovering from Christmas–the image of Jesus, a baby, a child, harmless, cute. Just last weekend, Jesus calls his first disciples– they are intrigued, attracted and become attached. But then this weekend, the first crack in the picture. Jesus meets a complete stranger and for however you want to explain it, the stranger shrieks at him, is terrified of him, and wants nothing to do with him. Not everyone who meets Jesus thinks he’s so hot. The Marcan author is...
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