We’re off to see the Wizard … literally. My family and I are taking a quick jaunt as Christmas and New Year’s gifts to each other.
May 2026 bring peace, respect, prosperity, equality, health and truth to every child of God everywhere.
Yes, we can do it all.
A homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, December 28, 2025
Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14, Colossians 3:12-17, Mt 2:13-15, 19-23
When we were little, we were told, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names — or words — will never hurt me.” And as well-meaning as the saying was, we all know it was wrong, because names and words have power.
Our feast today in this Season of Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, involves some incredibly powerful names and words, so let’s take a minute or two to think about them. And how they guide our lives.
A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 21, 2025
Isaiah 7:10-14, Romans 1:1-7, Matthew 1:18-24
We imperfect humans ask a lot of questions about our perfect Deity.
Many of them compare God’s persons and unlimited … everything … to our own limitations.
Nope; God is unnnnn-limited
A revisited homily for the Third Sunday of Advent, Dec. 14, 2025
Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11
As of this belated writing, medium-size snowflakes are falling steadily but gently here at the Jersey Shore, piling up on cars and railings and bannisters and tree branches so heavily that mourning doves can’t grab the wood with their pink feet. It’s Nature’s insistence that we pause and rest.
And, today, to rejoice.
The other night, spending time with eighth-graders prepping for their Confirmation, I introduced the vast majority of them to the notion of Gaudete. And I remembered this homily from 2020, which I republish with some tiny updating and an apology to folks who don’t fancy reruns.
A homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, December 7, 2025
Isaiah 11:1-10, Romans 15:4-9, Matthew 3:1-12
Dictionary.com recently made a lot of people shake their heads in disbelief when the organization chose a number as the Word of the Year for 2025. Not even a number, really; it’s more of a number phrase, because it’s not pronounced in the familiar way it appears.
