Homily – January 19th, 2025 – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily – January 19th, 2025 – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

We can spend a lot of time surmising about how the universe was created, about how old the cosmos is, and about the sheer awesomeness of God’s creative love. To think of creation, from our little perspective, is mind-blowing and humbling at the same time.  What I’m trying to spend more time with lately is “re-creation,” how God’s creative power—which is nothing less than the power of love—is still at work in the world. I don’t believe creation was a ...

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Fr Phil

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Homily – January 12th – Baptism of the Lord

Homily – January 12th – Baptism of the Lord

The gospel we just heard begs the questions: “Who is this Jesus being baptized?” And if he is the sinless one, then why is he undergoing a baptism that we traditionally believe was for the forgiveness of sins?” I think if we can answer the first question—who this Jesus is—we’ll also have the answer as to why he’s in these baptismal waters at all. Who Jesus is and why he’s being baptized have implications for our lives, otherwise, it’s just ...

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Fr Phil

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Homily – January 5th, 2025 – The Feast of the Epiphany

Homily – January 5th, 2025 – The Feast of the Epiphany

For the longest time I would get confused between the terms “astronomy” and “astrology.” I knew they both had to do with the stars, but after that the confusion set in. Astronomy is the scientific study of space, the universe, the cosmos. It’s based on math and science, and it’s goal is to help explain phenomena. Astrology, on the other hand, is not a science, but a pseudoscience that tries to explain human behavior based on the position of celestial ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – January 5th, 2025 – Feast of the Epiphany

Reflection – January 5th, 2025 – Feast of the Epiphany

Is It All About the Gifts?

On a social media post, I once read that if it had been three wise women instead of three wise men, the gifts offered at the birth of Jesus would have been far more practical.  Every year when we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, I think of that, and chuckle.  This year, however, I have been reflecting a lot on gifts in general: what they represent, how they are given, how they are received ...

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Ellen Bennett

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Homily – January 1st, 2025 – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Homily – January 1st, 2025 – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

This gospel story, from Luke, is the continuation of the story we heard on Christmas Eve. As you recall, on Christmas Eve, we heard how an Angel appeared to the shepherds and told them, “I bring you good news of great joy for all the people; to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Christ, the Lord.” The angel doesn’t force the shepherds to believe this, nor does the angel drag the ...

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Fr Phil

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Homily – December 29th, 2024 – Feast of the Holy Family

Homily – December 29th, 2024 – Feast of the Holy Family

A little caution as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family: Don’t dismiss Jesus, Mary and Joseph, too quickly, as the “model family” because you are convinced they look nothing like your family. All families are holy, no matter what they look like. There are a lot of families out there, like my own, that put the fun back into dysfunctional. If you read the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, and shake Jesus’ family tree that you find there, ...

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Fr Phil

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The Im/Perfect Family

The Im/Perfect Family

This weekend marks the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Like most lifelong Catholics, I am well familiar with the images of the Holy Family depicted in the nativity creche, the icons and other artistic works, or a diverse array of statues, big and small. At this time of year a visitor to my house will find a simple nativity creche set up (a gift from either my sister or Aunt Susan), usually illuminated by a ...

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Trevor Droesbeck

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Homily – December 24th, 2024 – Christmas Eve

Homily – December 24th, 2024 – Christmas Eve

I don’t know if you picked up on it or not, but all three readings–Isaiah, Paul’s letter to Titus, and Luke’s gospel—all spoke of rejoicing and good news. Isaiah says, “The darkness that once covered you is gone, for a light is shining upon you now, so rejoice like farmers rejoice at harvest time. Rejoice like one who once had a heavy burden, a bar across their shoulder, but now that weight is gone.” St. Paul says to Titus, “The ...

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Fr Phil

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Homily – December 22nd, 2024 – Fourth Sunday of Advent

Homily – December 22nd, 2024 – Fourth Sunday of Advent

Besides having the privilege of being in three of the four biggest museums in the world, I’ve also enjoyed the gems I’ve found in many smaller, local museums. Apparently, the most replicated image by far, hanging on the walls of the world’s museums, is the image of the Madonna and child, the mother and baby. I’ve also seen a ton of images of today’s gospel passage, what we traditionally call the Visitation, pregnant Mary visiting pregnant Elizabeth. Myself, I can’t ...

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Fr Phil

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Homily – December 15th, Third Sunday of Advent

Homily – December 15th, Third Sunday of Advent

Last weekend, you may recall, we had John the Baptist telling us to prepare the way of the Lord. He told us—in broad, general terms–to make the Lord’s path straight, fill in the valleys, and flatten the mountains. The scriptures are often deliberately left open-ended like that, encouraging us to determine concretely what filling in the valleys and flattening the mountains actually means in our particular lives and in the life of the world. This time, however, John the Baptist, ...

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Fr Phil

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