Tag: Prophet

Instant messaging

A homily for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 7, 2024

Ez 2:2-5, 2 Cor 12:7-10, Mk 6:1-6

“That’s amazing.”

We’ve all probably seen the Consumer Cellular ad in which the lady in the kitchen is talking with the sales rep while the gentleman is jumping into a pool, doing little tricks.

Yet what amazes her, according to the ad, is not the man’s Olympic wannabe diving prowess but the mobile phone’s features and the company’s service.

Apparently proving, once again, that we 21st-century Americans love our high-tech flashy-sparkly-shiny things.

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Holy Utility Belt…

A homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 30, 2024

Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24, 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15, Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43

When I searched Google for the phrase “God helps those who help themselves,” the search engine yielded about 71,600,000 results in 0.37 seconds. Which, among other things, suggests to me that God helps those who look things up on search engines.

Furthermore, I read in a few citations that, despite the popular belief that this is a biblical quotation, the phrase originated from English politician-philosopher Algernon Sydney in 1698 in an article titled “Discourses Concerning Government.” Never heard of him. Oh, well.

OK, so it’s not in the Bible. Nonetheless, does God help those who help themselves?

Continue reading Holy Utility Belt…

Suspenders

A homily for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 16, 2024

Ez 17:22-24, 2 Cor 5:6-10, Mk 4:26-34

Years ago, to help a friend produce her dance school students’ recital, I agreed to appear onstage as a magician — “The Great Badini.” Emphasis on “bad,” as in stumblebum. She sent me to a shop where the proprietor set me up with a few basic tricks and props, tricks even I couldn’t foul up.

I didn’t pull any rabbits out of my hat, but I did learn to pass a massive needle and thread completely and safely through a balloon before intentionally popping it.  And there was this gizmo I held behind my teeth so I could pull yards upon yards of colored handkerchiefs out of my mouth.

As “The Great Badini,” I learned the secrets of making people believe the otherwise unbelievable. And I can still do those tricks.

These days, lots of people can. Make people suspend disbelief, I mean.

Unfortunately, these days it’s more a case of fooling people than persuading people to believe in what’s true and right and good.

Continue reading Suspenders

Akin

A homily for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 9, 2024

Gn 3:9-15, 2 Cor 4:13—5:1, Mk 3:20-35

The first time I saw someone talking on a cellphone wearing wireless earbuds, I thought the person was … uh … possibly mentally ill. You see, they weren’t merely having what looked like a conversation with their self; they were arguing.

Loudly. Passionately. Did I mention loudly?

With vigorous hand gestures to no one in sight, some of them NSFW.

As were many of the loud words.

The earbuds were so small that I didn’t spot them right away.

Continue reading Akin

Trio

A homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, May 26, 2024

Dt 4:32-34, 39-40, Rom 8:14-17, Mt 28:16-20

When I was in the seventh grade at St. Leo’s in Lincroft, I had it all figured out.

No, not the meaning of life, or how to avoid taxes, or even how to win the lottery.

Continue reading Trio

Unblocked

A homily for Pentecost, May 19, 2024

Mass During the Day: Acts 2:1-11, 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13, Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15

I suffer from writer’s block about as often as I suffer from allergies. Sometimes the attacks of either are stay-in-bed level; other times, I can power through. But like most of us, I do not relish either.

I have eye drops and antihistamine pills for my allergies, so their flare-ups qualify as annoyances and inconveniences.

But there’s no pill I can pop or lotion I can drop to cure writer’s block, especially when I’m dealing with a religious or spiritual or scriptural topic. And I consider that far more than an annoyance or an inconvenience. Especially as Sunday approaches.

Continue reading Unblocked

Here and now

A homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, May 12, 2024

Acts 1:1-11, Eph 1:17-23, Mk 16:15-20

Souvenez vous que nous sommes dans le sancte présence de Dieu.

A Christian meme made its way around social media recently, depicting Jesus ascending to Heaven on a cloud, with the caption “Ascension Thursday: When Jesus Christ started working from home.”

I have it on good authority he has great bandwidth at his place.

But even as we acknowledge through this holy day that the Son is where he belongs — on his throne at the right hand of the Father — we also must recognize that God is not far, never far from us.

Continue reading Here and now

Vantage

A (brief) homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, April 21, 2024

Acts 4:8-12, 1 Jn 3:1-2, Jn 10:11-18

Thank you for bearing with me while I’m out of town on personal business this weekend. A fuller homily — which I will preach at all Masses next weekend — will be here as usual.

A few years ago, I started having trouble with glare while driving at night. Headlights, streetlights, traffic lights: I saw them as stars, or as beams with rays shooting out in several directions.

The experience was jarring.

Continue reading Vantage

Reset

A homily for The Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), March 31, 2024

Acts 10:34a, 37-43, Col 3:1-4, Jn 20:1-9

It’s been more than 30 years since videogame systems went from curiosities to must-have additions to nearly every household, at least here in America.

Children and parents alike learned about levels and bosses and cheat codes, especially how left-left-down-A-A-C-up-B-C could give a player extra lives.

Extra lives.

Before cheat codes and game-reset buttons, the only notion of extra lives revolved around cats and their supposed nine of them.

Continue reading Reset

What if…

A homily for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Scrutinies), March 17, 2024

Ez 37:12-14, Rom 8:8-11, Jn 11:1-45

Mom died in the hospital on Easter morning 1987 in the middle of telling her roommate a joke. The roommate said Mom headed to Heaven right before she delivered the punchline. 

Yeah, telling jokes was more my father’s thing.

Julia Marie McCosker Zapcic was a month shy of her 58th birthday. She left behind a husband, six sons and several (forgive me; I forget how many at that time) daughters-in-law. She never met some of my brothers’ wives, nor did she get to play with 12 of her 14 grandchildren. Mom knew only my two now-grown offspring.

Our family often wondered what else she never had the chance to do.

Continue reading What if…