Let’s try to get a little bit of context in order to discern what God might be saying to us in these bizarre readings we have today. The first reading comes from the Prophet Habakkuk. This reading reminds me of the Acadian Deportation of 1755 when the British deported the Acadians from this region to places as far away as Louisiana. As you know, if we don’t learn our history, we are doomed to repeat it. In Habakkuk’s time, the ...
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Last weekend’s gospel parable, if you recall, was about a dishonest manager who considered three different strategies because he was about to be fired and would have no place to live. He was desperate for someone to show him mercy. The first strategy of blaming someone else was not going to work. The second strategy of playing the “poor-me-I’m-the-real-victim-in-all-of-this” card wasn’t going to work either. So, he opted for the third strategy, which did work. He gave mercy away to ...
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Once again, we hear a parable from the lips of Jesus, and we leave scratching our heads. That’s what’s supposed to happen with parables. Parables are meant to be puzzled in our minds until they change our minds. Spiritual conversion—which we all need until we draw our dying breath—comes from the Greek word “metanoia” meaning “to change one’s mind.” Easier said than done. Maybe that’s why the most common addiction, worldwide, is our addiction to our own thoughts. We falsely ...
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In the first reading God instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and to put it high on a pole for everyone to see. The gospel makes reference to this event by saying, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” What are we to make of all this lifting up business and the snake? Personally, when I see a snake, I run in the opposite direction. These scripture ...
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This may be overly simplistic, but I think there are three different ways of approaching and applying the Scriptures to our lives.
The first approach is to look at somebody’s attitude, behavior, or lifestyle and say, point blank to them, “You need to change.” This usually is a stance of superiority over and against someone who we deem as needing to “shape up!” Often times, what we’re saying underneath our breath is, “Your upsetting the status quo in my life. I ...
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Alongside the four seasons in nature the Church also, as you know, marks time with seasons such as Lent, Easter, Ordinary Time, Advent, and Christmas. Not as well known is the Season of Creation celebrated annually and ecumenically from September 1st to October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. The first Season of Creation was celebrated starting from September 1, 1989, when Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios l proclaimed it as the Orthodox Day of Prayer for Creation. It has ...
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I had the privilege twice of visiting the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This church building is the scholars’ and archeologists’ best guess marking where they suspect Jesus was born. I was a little shocked on my first visit, as I entered Manger’s Square, the outside courtyard leading to the church, that the front door to the church wasn’t obvious. In fact, had the tour guide not pointed out where the door was, I don’t think I would have ...
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Jesus said, “I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already kindled.” We better not tell that to the people of Miramichi or Irishtown or the many other places in our country alone threatened by wildfires that this is Jesus’ intention. Jesus continues with equally contentious and provocative words when he said, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”
What are we ...
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A few weeks ago, I was home, back in the Ottawa Valley, staying up late and swapping stories with my siblings about our childhood. While we were fortunate to have the parents we had and the upbringing we had, we also grew up quite poor looking back. How poor you ask?
We were so poor our Christmas tree was a piece of broccoli. We were so poor the tooth fairy left us I.O.U.’s. We were so poor we used to ...
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These Scripture stories, if we spend even the shortest amount of time with them, will always name what’s going on in our personal lives or in the life of the world at large. For instance, as I approach my 60th birthday in November, I’m debating whether or not to start collecting my C.P.P. (Canadian Pension Plan) at 60 or postpone it a little longer. (I’m sure I’ll get all kinds of advice from you as soon as Mass is over!).
In ...
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