2013

One Christmas night, a family went to church but they left grandma at home with her youngest grandson, so she shared with him a story that I think every child of every age would like to hear that she called The Holy Night.

There was a man who went out in the dark night to borrow live coals to kindle a fire. He went from hut to hut and knocked. “Dear friends, help me!” said he. “My wife has just given birth to a child, and I must make a fire to warm her and the little one.

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ChristmasRead More »

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 »

Today’s readings are giving us a wake-up call. As St. Paul says in the second reading: “it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep”. But there is more at stake than just being awake. We could be awake and yet be only half alive, because we have no awareness, no understanding, no vision as to what lies ahead. It may take a shock or at least a jolt of some kind to wake us up.

Today we begin the Church season of Advent, a season that calls us to be awake, a season that invites us to assess our relationship with our Lord Jesus as we prepare for his 1st coming at Christmas. Advent is a time where we are called to be patient, to be willing to allow God’s presence in our daily lives and to awake every morning with gladness and hope.

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1st Sunday of AdventRead More »