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Many people read or listen to these gospel stories as simply stories from the past. When we do that, we easily dismiss them by convincing ourselves that the context of 2000 years ago was so different than our context today, these stories couldn’t possibly have anything to tell us, even if they are the words of Jesus. But I would say, the majority of you, since you come back week after week, are willing to go deeper. Without always …

Children, for the third Sunday in a row, play a prominent role in Jesus’ teaching. Two weeks ago, we heard Jesus say, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Last weekend Jesus warned us not to put a stumbling block before these little ones. And, today’s gospel ends with Jesus gathering children to himself and blessing them after the disciples tried to shoo them away. Children’s ability to be spiritual guides perhaps has something to do with their …

We were once told–during our seminary formation years–95% of all the problems that will come across our desks as future priests (if we were ordained) would stem from two fundamental sources: peoples’ false image of God and peoples’ false image of self. These false images live in all of us, priests included. However, I’m convinced the number is not 95%, but 99.99%. Equally convincing to me is that the false image of God and the false image of self are inherently connected. …

For most of my life I used the terms “soul” and “spirit” interchangeably, as if they meant the same thing.  I have since learned there is a difference.  Our souls refer to the depth dimension of ourselves, a reality that can only be accessed by some kind of descent (going down).  In your soul, you are absolutely unique, a one-of-a-kind creation never to be replicated.  If you listen to your soul, you will discover God’s plan for your life, a plan that nobody else is entrusted with …

Although the Son of Man is guided by the hand of God, he will be killed by human hands. Jesus has come to terms with that; the disciples clearly have not. The problem, with the way the disciples are thinking, is the same problem with the way the disciples were thinking in last Sunday’s gospel when Jesus said, “Get behind me. For you are thinking not as God does, but as humans do.” I always thought we were humans and, therefore, …

Back in the mid-1980s, I had a part-time job to help pay my way through university. (Now you need 12 part-time jobs just to pay for one semester, but that’s another story). My boss, at the time, occasionally dropped a pearl of wisdom on my lap. One day he said something so profound that I’m still pondering it 35 years later. Ready? Here it comes. He said, “Every day, I have to shave.” That’s it. Why would I remember …

Geography plays an important role in Gospel stories. It’s a little late for some of you who should have paid more attention in geography class back in high school. Don’t feel so bad. In the official high school transcript, my grade in the last semester of high school geography, was a zero. I actually scored 100%, but the column where they registered the grades could only take two digits, so they decided to give me the last two digits. …

I suppose if we were like many Protestant churches and had a sign outside advertising the title of this Sunday’s sermon, it would probably read: Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. That is a direct quote from the second reading, from the Letter of St. James. The deception, James is referring to, is that we deceive ourselves into thinking that we can live the Christian life without any inner conversion. If we hear the word of God, and think that’s …

I think the three greatest gifts God ever gave us are: the gift of our very own lives, the gift of God’s life in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, and the gift of free will (the ability to make choices, good or bad. We are not robots programmed by God; we are autonomous beings). I would like to focus a bit on this third gift, our freedom in making choices, because it seems to be the focus of …

Once again, the first reading is rich in meaning but needs to be put into context if we are to draw that meaning out and apply it to our lives here and now. Elijah, the main character, is a prophet of God who lived about 800 years before the birth of Jesus. At that time, the Jewish king, Ahab, had married a pagan woman named Jezebel. (That should have been the first indication that there was going to be …