Fr. Rick Spicer

One line jumps out at me in this gospel. “Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home.” He had good reason to be afraid. Mary was pregnant. How scandalous! He wasn’t the father but what would others think of the situation he was in? Who would blame him for divorcing this young woman? Imagine how different our world would be if he had chosen not to welcome Mary into his home.

Imagine how different our lives would be if we were not so inclined to invite others, including Jesus, into our lives. Perhaps you can relate to what happened to a young girl when she celebrated her tenth birthday.

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4th Sunday of AdventRead More »

3rd Sunday of Advent

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    Category: Homilies for 2013   
    Published on Sunday, 15 December 2013 13:11
    Written by Fr. Rick Spicer
    Hits: 954

If something is impersonal or distant, we have little trouble believing what we are told or read. For example, most of us accept the notion that there are over 3 billion stars in the universe. But if you saw a bench with a sign, “wet paint,” how likely are you to see for yourself if the paint is still wet? Sometimes we want proof while other times we act on faith. How we relate to Jesus depends on the depth of our faith. We can’t touch him or speak with him like we can with our friends, yet for people of faith, Jesus is very real.

Isaiah speaks of them when he proclaims, “Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.”

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3rd Sunday of AdventRead More »

“It was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hope that St. Nicholas would soon be there.” I know that won’t be true in every home on Christmas Eve. While most everyone will be asleep, there will be a few exasperated parents here and there trying to give Santa a helping hand by putting some toy together. One frustrated father was about to give up when he noticed a slip of paper a the bottom of the box with the advice, “If all else fails, follow the directions!”

Simple advice, yet how often have we not done that? When we don’t follow the directions, we’re asking for trouble. The same is true for the game of life. The world we live in bears little resemblance to Isaiah’s idyllic image of the peaceable kingdom because throughout history, God’s directions for living the game of life have often been ignored.

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2nd Sunday of AdventRead More »

Luke combines two short yet interesting parables in today’s Gospel, the mustard seed and the useless servant. With a bit of irony, Jesus is asking the apostles to respond to his love by proclaiming the Kingdom of God for that task will never be done.

We too must proclaim God’s kingdom and love to our fellow citizens. Some don’t realize how much God loves them! So they downplay or even ignore God.  Many feel that religion is on the decline in the United States but not so. The US Census shows that only 15% of the country claims to be atheist, agnostic or irreligious yet they are impacting our society with their values. We who are committed to the Kingdom of God need to stand up for our faith for there is a deep malaise in our society.

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27th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Pope Gregory the Great sent missionaries to England in the year 597 to convert the Angles and Saxons to the Christian faith. When King Edwin heard the gospel message, he held a council of his nobles to discuss this new religion. One wise nobleman concluded the discussion, “Your majesty, it seems to me that our human life is like a banquet hall. You are sitting at table feasting, with the warm fire blazing in the hearth, while outside the wintry storm rages. A sparrow enters through a window, flies the length of the hall, enjoying the light and warmth, and then flies out back into the cold wintry darkness from which it came. So with us.  At birth we emerge from who knows where, and for a short time we live here on earth, with its light and comfort, but then we fly out back into the darkness. We know nothing of what went before and what comes after. If this new teaching can lighten the darkness for us, let us follow it.”

The good news is that this new teaching does lighten the darkness for us.  By his death and resurrection, Jesus has revealed that there is new life beyond the threshold of death and many who have had near death experiences testify to the beauty that awaits those who seek to be there.

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26th Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »