A homily for Pentecost, June 5, 2022
Acts 2:1-11, 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13, Jn 20:19-23
Inhale.
Exhale.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Take a deep breath.
Let it out slowly.
The process is called respiration.
Respiration keeps us alive.
Tag: Catholic
So far away
A homily for the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, May 29, 2022
Acts 1:1-11, Heb 9:24-28; 10:19-23, Lk 24:46-53
Years ago, in an episode of St. Elsewhere, the doctor played by Howie Mandel dies on the operating table and opens his eyes in Heaven, where he sees former patients celebrating in a beautiful countryside.
He asks one of the patients when he would see God, and then Howie Mandel taps Howie Mandel on the shoulder, introducing himself as The Almighty.
“Everyone sees me differently,” God explains, “because I created each of you in my image and likeness, and to you, I look like you.”
Fascinating interpretation, yes?
Then, back on Earth, the surgeons at St. Eligius Hospital revive Howie’s character and he leaves Heaven. For the time being.
Omni
A homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 22, 2022
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29, Rev 21:10-14, 22-23, Jn 14:23-29
Souvenez-vous que nous sommes dans la sainte présence de Dieu.
What does “omnipresent” really mean?
When we assert that God is everywhere, what are we saying?
Teamwork
A homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, May 15, 2022
Acts 14:21-27, Rev 21:1-5a, Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
Professional athletes have a lot of privileges and advantages that we regular people don’t, but maybe the biggest advantage they have over us is: They get to have a preseason.
Before they start their annual campaigns toward winning a league title or a world championship, athletes spend weeks or even months training to get better at their sport.
And then they get to scrimmage or play preseason games under real rules and typical conditions, with scores that are zeroed out when the real season starts.
Wouldn’t it be great if we all had preseasons anytime we started a new endeavor?
For joy
A (brief) homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, May 8, 2022
Acts 13:14, 43-52, Rev 7:9, 14b-17, Jn 10:27-30
The Apostles headed out to spread the Good News, traveling mostly by foot from town to town, telling people they met about everything they had heard and seen during their days with Jesus of Nazareth.
Some people listened and followed. Some people heard but turned away. Some people ignored them completely.
Some people ran them out of town.
No problem.
The Apostles shook the dust off their feet and moved on.
(I love that image, knowing that the dust they were shaking off contained all sorts of mean, nasty, ugly stuff. Much more powerful than rude hand gestures.)
Busted
A homily for the Third Sunday of Easter, May 1, 2022
Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41, Rev 5:11-14, Jn 21:1-19
After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Kremlin ordered steep fines and lengthy prison terms for anyone caught protesting against the so-called “special military operation.”
Thousands took to the streets in cities all over Russia, in defiance of the order.
After it became clear that the U.S. military presence in Vietnam was ill-advised and that there was growing discontent among citizens, especially young people, cities ordered curfews and demanded that groups apply for permits before exercising their First Amendment rights.
Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities all over America, in defiance of the orders.
After it became painfully obvious that skin color was being used as a reason to deny Americans their God-given inalienable rights, and that disenfranchised people planned to demonstrate and defy Jim Crow laws, states ordered lockdowns and warned of massive legal and extra-legal punishments.
Millions took to the streets in cities all over America, in defiance of the orders and threats.
Just as a handful of believers did in the First Century.
Forward march
A homily for the Second Sunday of Easter, April 24, 2022
Acts 5:12-16, Rev 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19, Jn 20:19-31
Why do we follow someone?
Why do we pay attention to politicians, movie stars, athletes, religious leaders or cult leaders?
Is it what they say? Is it what they do?
Is it because their words or actions — or both — make the world better? Better for humankind? Better for all of God’s Creation?
Is it because they have that je ne sais quoi quality about them?
That “It” quality…
That charisma…
Alive again
A homily for Easter Sunday, The Resurrection of the Lord, April 17, 2022
Acts 10:34a, 37-43, Col 3:1-4, Jn 20:1-9
It’s appropriate that Easter is the crowning jewel of springtime.
Both Easter and palpable spring come after a long period of waiting. We had 40 days of Lent; we had (was it only?) three months of winter.
Both trigger some housecleaning. One brought about spiritual housecleaning; the other involved scrub brushes and elbow grease.
Both give us extreme joy. Both give us a sense of relief.
Both renew our faith in resurrection.
Do I want to know?
A homily for Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, April 10, 2022
Lk 19:28-40, Is 50:4-7, Phil 2:6-11, Lk 22:14—23:56
They’re a pair of questions posed in movies, in literature, and in deep conversations over coffee, tea or something stronger:
Would you want to know when you’re going to die? Would you want to know how?
And then, the follow-up:
If you did know, what would you do with the time you have left?
Cleanup on Aisle 3
A homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Cycle C, April 3, 2022
Is 43:16-21, Phil 3:8-14, Jn 8:1-11
We remember Alexander Pope’s most famous quote:
To err is human; to forgive, divine
And in this Lenten season of repentance and the seeking of forgiveness, we admit that we err occasionally. Or more than occasionally.
And we take comfort in knowing that our loving God forgives us and welcomes us home every time.
But there’s another quotation from this 18th Century writer that relates to all three of our passages from Scripture this weekend: