Reflection – Gifted Stumblers

In the Pentecost narrative, we hear of Jesus’ post-resurrection visit to his 12 BFFs, how they were infused with the Holy Spirit, and the instructions Jesus left them (and us) for sharing the Good News with the world.  Jesus would have known his Apostles well enough to gauge their strengths and weaknesses and he would have understood how differently each of them would confront the task set out before them.  I suspect the same was true then as now:  We ...

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Homily – The Ascension of the Lord – May 16th, 2021

It is hard to talk about the Feast of the Ascension (that great departure of Jesus in his physical form) without also talking about next Sunday’s Feast of Pentecost (that great return of Jesus in his spiritual form). Let’s just stay with today’s feast, Ascension, because if we do Ascension well, Pentecost almost takes care of itself.

When I think of Ascension, I can’t help but think of words we often hear the priest pray during a funeral mass: “Life is ...

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Reflection – The Ascension of Our Lord

This week’s readings are, in short, about the Ascension of our Lord to heaven where he takes his place at the right hand of our Father.  As big as the event is, I feel like the most important part is what happens right before Jesus ascends.  In all three readings, Jesus leaves his apostles with an especially important task, that of going out and spreading the good word and his love.

We are, and have been entrusted to be, Jesus’s hands, ...

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Holy Family Church Fundraiser!

We have music, movies, books, and children’s books, puzzles and toys!

How Does it Work?

  1. Go to www.setmoncton.com and click on the ‘Holy Family Fundraiser’ button. ?
  2. Choose what you want by category and number and email us at [email protected] and we will have it ready for pickup.
  3.  On Saturday, May 22nd, we will have two rooms prepared at Holy Family Church (52 Falkland St, Moncton) for pickup – one room dedicated to children, the other to movies books, movies ...
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Homily – 6th Sunday of Easter – May 9th, 2021

Every spring, bar none, I spend a good amount of time pulling out lots of seedlings from my garden and flower beds. They sprout up from the thousands of maple seeds that fell last fall from the maple trees on the church property. They are everywhere, and they require so little to get started. They are under the leaf litter. They are found in the smallest cracks. They are against the rectory foundation. And they are growing against the greatest ...

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Reflection – Back to Basics

Whenever a coach feels his/her team is not living up to their potential, he/she will always say something typical like, “We’ve got to get back to basics.”  Without demoting anyone to the minor leagues, let’s look at some of the basics of liturgy that we would do well to return to.  I’ll call them my seven deadly liturgical “sins”.  The first four “sins” we have little control over due to COVID; the next three we are totally in control of. ...

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Homily – 5th Sunday of Easter – May 2nd, 2021

Faith is a very precarious thing isn’t it? The moment you think you have it, something will happen this very day to make you doubt that you had it at all. But don’t get discouraged because these scripture readings are telling you that you probably have more faith than you know and moreover, you never lose it entirely. Like learning how to ride a bicycle, you never lose it. Your faith will by tried and tested, no doubt. It will ...

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Reflection – We are all branches on the same vine

“Whoever abides in me and I in them bears much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.”
(John 15: 5); we hear these words from Jesus in our Gospel reading this week.  This is a lesson that is taking me a lifetime to learn, and in fact, is still a work in progress.  More the second part of the statement than the first, as I don’t think there is much to debate in the first part.  Having said that, ...

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Homily – 4th Sunday of Easter – April 25th, 2021

As you probably already know, the Bible is more like a mini library than a single book. I say that because the Bible is composed of many books written by many authors over hundreds of years. When it was put together in its final form, the form we have, one of the books included was the book entitled, The Acts of the Apostles. We hear from the Acts of the Apostles as our first reading each Sunday throughout the 50 ...

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Reflection – The Good Shepherd

Today, the 4th Sunday of Easter, is the familiar parable of the Good Shepherd.  Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.  I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”

Growing up in a solid Catholic family and benefiting from Catholic schooling, I always had an image of shepherds as being kind, loving, patient, strong and self-sacrificing.  And I also ...

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