A homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 27, 2021
Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24, 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15, Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43
Ever since video games evolved beyond Pong and Space Invaders, they’ve had a feature that every player has counted on:
The reset button.
Bang-bang! You’re dead.
Game over?
No, just hit the reset button and you get a new life.
Wow. Talk about a statement chock-full of theological, philosophical, psychological and practical significance!
A homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 20, 2021
Jb 38:1, 8-11, 2 Cor 5:14-17, Mk 4:35-41
This is a great time of the year to be awed by God.
And it’s so easy.
After the sun goes down, lean back wherever you are and look at the starry sky. If you’re privileged to live near a body of water or, better yet, the ocean, spread out your blanket on the shoreline and gaze at the splendor of the constellations while listening to the water gently lapping or crashing in waves.
God created it. All of it. The stars. The breeze. The relentless seas. The life-giving water.
God gave it to us.
Thank you, God!
A homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 6, 2021
Ex 24:3-8, Heb 9:11-15, Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
Today’s solemn feast — and yes, “solemn” is right there in its name — is as joyous an occasion as it is a serious one.
Today we venerate the gift to humanity of the Holy Eucharist, body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus the Christ, who commanded all of God’s children to “do this in remembrance of me.”
In his holy name and through his divine power, the substance of bread and wine transforms into the real presence of Emmanuel.
So today’s solemnity, then, indeed is powerful, heavy, heady. Mysterious.
But we also celebrate, because Our Lord and Savior is with us physically, tangibly, and we are reminded of all of his gifts that nourish us and sustain us spiritually.
