Homily – December 10th, 2020 – Reconciliation Preparation

We are all familiar with the story of Moses receiving the 10 Commandment either by reading our own Bibles or maybe by watching the classic movie of the same title: “The 10 Commandments.” These commandments are still central to our lives as we try to live in relationship to God, neighbour, and self. Some theologians say that the 10 Commandments had a reincarnation, of sorts, when Jesus gave us the Beatitudes. I personally don’t think we ought to ditch the ...

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Homily – December 6th, 2020 – 2nd Sunday of Advent

I said last weekend that meerkats, much like Timon the meerkat in the Lion King, were going to be my guides this Advent. I am still holding to that. I said that because the meerkat is a symbol of alertness, of attentiveness, of being awake. On my better/holier days, I try to be alert, attentive and awake to what God is doing in my life and what God is doing in the life of the world. And then, hopefully, responding ...

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Reflection – But the Great of These is Love

The recent increase in COVID restrictions has added a whole new level of stress to an already stressful time of year for many. News that a vaccine may be available in the “near future” does little to alleviate the frustration of not being able to be with family and friends, or to ease the worries of financial insecurities. Our ability to be compassionate and tolerant with one another is being stretched to its limits.

I found unexpected comfort in today’s readings ...

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Homily – November 29th, 2020 – 1st Sunday of Advent

Who is up to learning a few words in Swahili? Actually, you already know these words if you ever watched the movie or saw the musical The Lion King. The main character is Simba. Simba is the Swahili word for “lion.” Another character in The Lion King is a wisecracking meerkat named Timon. The meerkat is the image that is staying with me this Advent. Timon sings a song called Hakuna Matata which is Swahili for “no worries” or “no ...

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Reflection – A New Beginning

The first Sunday of Advent is also the first day of a new Liturgical year.  Since the 2021 Sunday missal was not yet available, I opened the New Testament and read the beginning:  “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Mt 1.1)  My mother-in-law once told me that in her lifetime she read the Bible, all the way through, three times.  “Except,” she admitted, “for the begats.  I skipped over them.”  ...

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Homily – November 22nd, 2020 – Christ the King

I am going to start this morning by getting you all to think back to the time when you were preparing for your first reconciliation.  For some of us , it will be quite a while ago, and for others, perhaps it is fairly recently.  I know for me, it was so long ago that it wasn’t even called Reconciliation.  It was the Sacrament of Penance or Confession.

I remember being so nervous; also a little embarrassed to be telling the ...

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Reflection – Living as a King

Christ the King Sunday, and Matthew provides us a description of king: one who looks after ‘the least of these brothers and sisters’ when they are hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, imprisoned, strangers.  Or one who may himself be experiencing some of that.  Hard for us to reconcile our image of kingship with the image Matthew offers … no signs of palaces, crowns, riches in these images. 

Through Baptism, we become part of the Body of Christ, “anointed priest, prophet and king” ...

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Homily – November 15th, 2020 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Once again, there is a connection between the first reading (Proverbs) about the “capable wife” and the gospel about the slaves left in charge of their master’s money. For me, the invitation in both passages is to be a risk taker. I find that challenging, because my nature is not to be a risk taker. For the most part, being cautious has served me well. I always look before I leap. But other times, being overly cautious has meant that ...

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Reflection – Whatsoever Things Are True

When preparing young people to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation we often speak to them of gifts. We speak of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and wonder & awe) as well as the Fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.)  The idea being that when we graciously receive the fits God bestows upon each of us and work at strengthening them, we are rewarded with ...

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Homily – November 8th – Feast of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity

As our liturgical year is drawing to an end, and we are on the cusp of beginning a new liturgical year in just a few weeks with Advent, our Scripture stories are more and more about the end times, or if you prefer the fancy, theological term “eschatology.” One thing I sense in these readings is that we are not to become obsessed with the questions of: “When will the Lord will return in glory?” nor with the question: “What ...

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