Twenty-Seventh Sunday of the Year Homily
TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 8 OCTOBER 2017 Homily I have a list–an internal list–of the ways my life could be improved. I could have hair–on the top of my head. I could live where it was always summer and never winter. I could sing–really sing, beautifully. I could not ache after I exercise. I could….. Well, you get the idea. I bet you have such a list as well, a list of the way your life could be better. And yet the truth is for most of us here, our lives are pretty good, especially in this country. How could they be better? At this point, only greed makes us ask that question....
Read MoreTwenty-Sixth Sunday of the Year Homily
TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 1 October 2017 Homily Hatley–the town where I grew up–was small. There were, I’m sure, many things which went on that most of us never knew about. I think there were some people in our small town who suffered great injuries, and none of us ever knew about them. I think there were some people who endured great hardships, and none of us ever knew about them. I think there were some people who made great promises to God, and kept them, and none of us ever knew about them....
Read MoreTwenty-Fifth Sunday of the Year Homily
TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 24 September 2017 Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were in first grade? When I was in first grade I wanted to be a builder. I organized my red bricks and building blocks into elaborate structures. I traded with my uncle for the use of his erector set to combine with mine so I could make even grander structures. I still harbor thoughts of designing buildings and have made a pilgrimage to Taliesan West in Phoenix, And Taliesan Wisconsin to visit the school founded by Frank Lloyd Wright. Things didn=t work out as simply as I thought they would. When...
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TWENTY FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 17 September 2017 Homily This is such a tricky story and Jesus is at his best in telling it. There’s a king who is rich beyond our experience. In a kind of fickle move, he decides to settle up with all the people who owe him. So the debtors are brought in. One by one: pay up, or suffer the consequences. A poor man who owes a lot— It could have been anyone of us who has a mortgage, Is hauled in and forced to pay up now. The guy has no way to pay. He begs for time, the time he thought he had anyway. The king relents and not only that, forgives him the...
Read MoreTwenty-Second Sunday of the Year Homily
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 3 September 2017 Homily One of my favorite actors is Martin Sheen. The latest series I’m watching him in is Grace and Frankie. It’s on NetFlicks and it’s a hoot. I suppose the first movie I really remember Martin Sheen in was Apocalypse Now. It brought home the real horror of a war that nobody wanted to win. He became a big star with that movie but his life was in crisis. He was drinking heavily. He suffered a near fatal heart attack. He was near despair. A friend of his gave him a book by Dostoevsky: The Brothers Karamazov. After reading it he...
Read MoreTwenty-First Sunday of the Year Homily
TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 27 August 2017 Homily Harold Kushner, a rabbi, tells this story in his book, Overcoming Life’s Disappointments. Every day for years a man visited his wife in a nursing home. She suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Every day he would come and feed her. He would sit with her and show her pictures of their children and grandchildren. She would forget as soon as he showed her the pictures who they were. He would remind her, patiently. He would explain each day who he was, that they had been married for 52 years. Before leaving each day he would kiss her and...
Read MoreSeventeenth Sunday of the Year Homily
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 30 July 2017 Homily As most of you know the first parish to which I was assigned after ordination was St. Pat’s in Eau Claire. It was a great parish, those were my Camelot years. The people were good to me. I learned a lot. Early on one parishioner said to me: “George you need more balance in your homilies. You seem to be saying it’s all or nothing. God or nothing. What about people with families , responsibilities. We can’t all be priests.” His comments stuck with me for a long time. How could I square the ordinary lives of people with a gospel...
Read MoreFifteenth Sunday of the Year Homily
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR 16 July 2017 Homily She rises each day at 5 am in her tiny prison cell. She spends the first hour of her day in prayer, and then begins her rounds of the prison cells. She brings clothing, soap, blankets to prisoners. She is not the warden, She is not one of the guards, she is a nun, who lives in the prison spending 10 hours a day visiting prisoners. Her life didn’t start out pointed in this direction. She grew up in Beverly Hills–Dinah Shore and Cary Grant were her neighbors. She has raised 7 children and lived through two marriages, the second...
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