A homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 24, 2022
Gn 18:20-32, Col 2:12-14, Lk 11:1-13
Can we talk?
Can we take a minute or three to talk about talking? Because there’s a lot to say.
Tag: Holy Spirit
Not to be missed
A homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 17, 2022
Gn 18:1-10a, Col 1:24-28, Lk 10:38-42
This is not a rant about people (especially motorists) whose faces are buried in their phones and digital devices nonstop (although it could be).
This is more of an observation about what they’re missing.
Bask in love
A homily for The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, June 12, 2022
Prv 8:22-31, Rom 5:1-5, Jn 16:12-15
Everything.
Everything for everyone, everywhere.
All around, always
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.
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.
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…
Empty nests
A homily for the Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare), Cycle C, March 27, 2022
Jos 5:9a, 10-12, 2 Cor 5:17-21, Lk 15:1-3, 11-32
The well-known parable of the Prodigal Son is a story of gifts, but not necessarily the ones we’re fully conversant in.
There’s the fattened calf (I prefer the old-school “fatted calf,” but this is the current translation, sigh) and the welcome-home party for the repentant son, plus the ring on his finger and the hug from his father, who greets this ne’er-do-well as if he had risen from the grave.
And we recognize the gift of God’s eternal mercy toward everyone who repents, as echoed by the actions of the young man’s father. That, in fact, is the traditional and simplest Occam’s Razor interpretation of this sizable passage from Luke’s Gospel. And it’s a totally valid understanding of the passage: Jesus intended the forgiving father in the parable to represent The Forgiving Father of All Creation.
But wait, there’s more:
Outlook
A homily for the Third Sunday of Lent, March 20, 2022, Cycle C
Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15, 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12, Lk 13:1-9
If patience is a virtue, then a whole lotta Americans are far from virtuous. Especially New Jerseyans.
We proudly list the dozens — hundreds, even — of things we jam into every day, and at the (actual) end of the day, we mourn what we didn’t do rather than celebrate what we did.
Yeah, we’re a little warped that way.
Yin and yang
A homily for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 13, 2022
Jer 17:5-8, 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20, Lk 6:17, 20-26
When we think back to a banquet or an awards dinner or a wedding, what do we remember right off the bat?
Probably the dessert.
And there’s a scientific reason why we remember the wedding cake. Psychologists call it the serial position effect.
Infamy
A homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 30, 2022
Jer 1:4-5, 17-19, 1 Cor 12:31—13:13, Lk 4:21-30
The Rock and Roll and Country Music halls of fame. New Jersey Hall of Fame. Halls of fame for every sport imaginable, at every level conceivable: pro, college, amateur and more.
In fact, there probably are halls of fame for every endeavor in which more than three people participate.
And if an inductee is somebody local, then every family member and every neighbor and every teacher and preacher and the mayor and fire chief and three marching bands parade down Main Street to hail the Hometown Hero.
So why did Jesus have to slip away from his home village to avoid being run out of town on a rail?
Didn’t he qualify as a Hometown Hero?