Reflection – December 3, 2023 – First Sunday of Advent

Reflection – December 3, 2023 – First Sunday of Advent

LET US OFFER EACH OTHER A SIGN OF PEACE

Offering each other the “sign of peace” is something you have done countless times, if you are a regular participant at Mass (unfortunately, this gesture is non-existent in the French-speaking churches in our diocese). Just prior to reaching our hand out for the hands of our neighbours at Mass, we hear the priest say this: Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you”; ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – November 26th, 2023 – Christ the King Sunday

Reflection – November 26th, 2023 – Christ the King Sunday

Fear or Love – What is our Starting Point?

As I sit to write this reflection I am just back in the office after one week’s holidays.  While it is always nice to have some time to relax and re-energize, the one thing a week’s holiday makes crystal clear to me is that I am nowhere near ready for retirement.  While my birth certificate is telling me that I am coming to a time in my life where that will be ...

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Mark Mahoney

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Homily – November 19th, 2023 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily – November 19th, 2023 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Once again Jesus gives us a parable that does not tie things up in a neat package with a bow around it. Parables are meant to stretch us, to take us out of our small worlds, our small kingdoms and invite us to consider what the Kingdom of God is like. We will only let go of our little kingdom if we are convinced we are getting a bigger kingdom in exchange. But letting go has never been our strong ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – November 19th, 2023 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection – November 19th, 2023 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

My reflections for this week’s readings and gospel are focused on the First Reading from the book of Proverbs. The first reading talks about a woman who is valuable in many ways. She’s trustworthy, hardworking, and caring. This isn’t just about being a good wife, but also about being a strong individual. Her skills are practical; she can work “with wool and flax” and she helps the less fortunate. This paints a picture of a person who is balanced both ...

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Cathy Keirstead

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Reflection – November 12th, 2023 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection – November 12th, 2023 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wisdom and Choice

There are three prayers that I have known for as long as I can remember. “Now I lay me down to sleep …” “Our Father …” and … the Serenity prayer. My grandmother had a plaque hanging by her kitchen sink, that I liked to ask people to read: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Today’s readings made ...

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Pam Driedger

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Homily – Sunday, November 12th, 2023 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily – Sunday, November 12th, 2023 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As is the case with so many of our Sunday Scripture readings, there is a common theme, an overlap, between the first reading and the Gospel passage. Both deal with “wisdom.” In the first reading, from the Book of Wisdom itself, the author presents wisdom as a strikingly attractive woman. Wisdom in the gospel, however, is preparedness and not alertness. All 10 bridesmaids fall asleep. None of them remain alert, but five were considered wise because they were prepared.

Is anyone ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – November 5th, 2023 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection – November 5th, 2023 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

On Consulting the Faithful

In his “Apologia Pro Vita Sua” John Henry (Cardinal) Newman explained that he converted to Catholicism because he recognized that the Catholic Church was the closest to that of St. Athanasius.  I was inspired by Newman’s sentiment and chose “The Logos in the Theology of Athanasius” to be the topic of my PhD dissertation.  Life got in the way and I never completed it.

However, I also learned that after his conversion Newman narrowly missed being excommunicated for ...

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Agnes Beirne

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Homily – November 5th, 2023 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily – November 5th, 2023 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are a couple of warning shots fire over our heads in the readings today. They warn us against hypocrisy. The first shot is taken by the prophet Malachi. Even though Malachi lived about 500 years before Jesus, notice how his words are similar to Jesus’ words. Malachi says, “O priests, this command is for you. Your hearts don’t give me glory. You’ve corrupted the covenant of Levi, and you cause many to stumble by your instructions.” Jesus, 500 years ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – October 28th-29th – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection – October 28th-29th – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Love is the Greatest Commandment

¯Love, love, love … all you need is love. ¯

The multitudes of songs and poems which talk about love is endless.  As a reader, I can attest that it is also a common theme in many books, a universal concept, understood and lived out in a variety of ways.  Love really does appear to make the world go round, as someone once said.  We are a society which is consumed by various interpretations of love, the ...

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Ellen Bennett

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Homily – October 28th-29th – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily – October 28th-29th – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The very first thing I ever remember watching on our black and white television, back in the late 1960s, was fighting in the Middle East. I was shocked at what I was seeing and wondered, as a three or four-year-old, “Why are they fighting and not loving one another? Why doesn’t someone, from the adult world, just step in and stop this?” Of course, I didn’t know anything about the complexities of human behavior; I still don’t know much. I ...

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Fr Phil

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