Homilies

It is said that Christmas is for children. There is truth in that statement. It is also said that Christmas is the celebration of family. There is truth in that statement as well, however, we should not overlook that fact that the celebration of Christ’s birth is for each of us, young and old, personally and individually as well as for community.

The wood of the crib will eventually be the wood of the cross. It is because of Christmas that we will have a Good Friday and an Easter Sunday, the ultimate celebration of God coming to us in his Son’s body and blood in the Eucharist.

Advent is a time when we pay attention to the fact that God came to us in Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary in the wonder of stars and angels over Jerusalem. And Advent likewise looks for the coming of God to us at the end of the world when the elements of the universe will be shaken, the stars will fall from heaven, and the sun and moon will no longer give us light.

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2nd Sunday of AdventRead More »

As you can readily see from the change in color from green to purple, we have with Advent entered into the beginning of a new liturgical season and year. Thanksgiving and Black Friday are now history. Staring at the calendar, we are aware that Christmas is less than a month away. Will we be ready when that day comes? Will the cards and packages have been sent in time? Will the shopping be done? Will all the decorations and tree be in place? Will the menu be planned and the pantry stocked? Will the travel itinerary be worked out? Undoubtedly, the deadline of Christmas can be a bit overwhelming for a fair number of us.

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1st Sunday of AdventRead More »

Today is the second to the last Sunday of the Church year.  Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  As the Church nears the end of the liturgical year, the Scripture readings take on a more ominous nature. The readings traditionally speak about the end of the world, the end time, the final coming of Jesus to take all peoples and all creation to himself.

Each of the readings speak of a future time when there will be judgment and a reckoning before God.  The tone of the readings is foreboding and the imagery includes cosmic upheaval. BUT in the outcome, we see the triumph of good over evil and that new life will overcome the fear of death. We see love, giving of ourselves to others. We see hope even in the most difficult of times.

The first half of today’s gospel leans heavily on traditional language and ideas of the Old Testament.  In the passage immediately before today’s gospel, Jesus spoke about the fall and destruction of Jerusalem. We can’t imagine the impact of Jesus’ words on the Israelites.  For them Jerusalem and its Temple was the very dwelling place of God.  It was also a significant event for the early Church as well. As you recall, in the early Church, Christians assembled in private homes to share the Eucharist. It is a good reminder that Christ is to be found in the people and not in a building.

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33rd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

Today we celebrate Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, a “type” if you will, of the poor, one in solidarity with widows, orphans, and the needy, and a perfect high priest, pure and selfless, humble and simple yet very extraordinary! Jesus, the most trusting in our Heavenly Father, even while nailed to a cross. We also see this humility, this trust in God especially in our scripture readings today.

We heard of two widows, models of discipleship, of selfless giving. One is the widow of Zarephath, a port city on the Phoenician Coast, who generously fed God’s prophet Elijah as we heard in our first reading from Kings. The action of Elijah to seek out this widow for refuge from the drought, instructed by God to do so, had some reservations about this widow.

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32nd Sunday of Ordinary TimeRead More »

What are your “Be-attitudes?” I recall that the Army once used the slogan, “Be all you can be.” The slogan was often interpreted to mean, “be strong, be independent, be successful, and be perfect.”

That message encouraged recruits to be positive about themselves; but, anyone who adopts this attitude could encounter trouble sooner or later because it could also suggest we don’t need anyone else, not even God. But in fact we do need God and one another.

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All SaintsRead More »