Posts Tagged 'Easter'

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Homily for Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026

Homily for Holy Thursday, April 2, 2026

That first reading from the Book of Exodus speaks about the central feast of our Jewish brothers and sisters down to this very day—the great feast of Passover. What I didn’t realize, until recently, is that the entire passage is a monologue spoke by God. It’s God speaking instructions about how to prepare the Passover meal and what to do with the lamb’s blood afterward. It ends with a command to do this ritual, that is, observe Passover as a ...

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Fr Phil

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Homily for April 3, 2006 (Good Friday)

Homily for April 3, 2006 (Good Friday)

In that Passion account we just heard, within just a few hours, Pontius Pilate asked Jesus 11 questions. Nobody in the entire Bible (Old Testament or New Testament) asks as many questions as he does. It becomes clear that Pilate really doesn’t want to know the answer to any of these questions. When Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, says that he came into this world to testify to the truth, Pilate asks him a question, ...

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Fr Phil

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Homily for Sunday, March 8, 2026

Homily for Sunday, March 8, 2026

I mentioned in last weekend’s homily how I believed that while Jesus was transfigured, on Mount Tabor, it was the apostles who were ultimately transformed. Transformation isn’t cosmetic;  it makes a deep claim on you and changes you forever. There is a definite “before” and a definite “after.” You were one person before the experience, and you were clearly another person after. The Samaritan woman at the well is a classic story of transformation. Before, she was a woman who ...

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Fr Phil

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Prophet: The Much-Needed Archetype (Part II)

Prophet: The Much-Needed Archetype (Part II)

I ended the last article by describing how the prophet, one of the archetypes within each of us, is never satisfied with the status quo. Prophetic people feel disloyal to themselves and to their higher calling whenever they have to succumb to “the way things are” especially when “the way things are” are unjust and cause unnecessary suffering. They feel for the “little guy,” the “underdog” and are attentive to peoples’ grief before it becomes a statistic. The homeless one, ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – June 8th, 2025 – Pentecost

Reflection – June 8th, 2025 – Pentecost

Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday – the day considered to be the Church’s birthday. The readings focus on the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, sent by the Father to empower believers to be witnesses of Christ. The focus is on the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance in the lives of the apostles and, by extension, in the lives of all Christians. People from different nations were able to hear the apostles speaking in their own language. The Holy ...

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Cathy Keirstead

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Homily – June 1st, 2025 – The Ascension

Homily – June 1st, 2025 – The Ascension

I’ve always felt that today’s feast, the Ascension, only makes sense in the light of next Sunday’s feast, Pentecost. If Ascension is about the great leaving of Jesus, then Pentecost is about the great return of Jesus. Or, as Jesus said in last Sunday’s gospel passage, “I am going away, and I am coming to you” (Jn. 14:28). To which I always want to ask, “Jesus, are you coming or are you going? Because this kind of talk is very ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – June 1st, 2025 – Ascension Sunday

Reflection – June 1st, 2025 – Ascension Sunday

How Hopeful are We About Heaven?

As we enter the month of June, many things in church world are slowing down, getting ready for the summer break.  Parish councils are having their last meetings, diocesan committees are wrapping up another pastoral year and even faith development gatherings such as catechism and R.C.I.A. are taking a break.  I am blessed to serve as part of the team that are facilitating the sessions entitled “Dying With Christ, Living With Hope”, and we are ...

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Mark Mahoney

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Homily – May 25th, 2025 – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Homily – May 25th, 2025 – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I realize that, for you people in the pews, it’s more difficult to recall anything you heard in the first or second reading. What’s a lot easier to remember is the Gospel reading only because it was the last reading you heard, and the “Jesus stories” seem to be simpler to get into. Personally, I’ve always preferred the gospel stories about Jesus over the stories in the Book of Revelation about dragons with seven heads and ten horns.

Having said that, ...

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Fr Phil

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Reflection – May 25th, 2025 – 6th Sunday of Easter

Reflection – May 25th, 2025 – 6th Sunday of Easter

Rules, Rules, Everywhere a Rule

We are a world of rules: we can’t enter another country without a passport; when driving, motorcycling or biking, we must stop at a red light; should we desire something, we must provide compensation before we can take ownership of it. We are a country of rules: we are expected to file our income tax on time each year; we need to register the births of our children and the deaths of our loved ones; one ...

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Ellen Bennett

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Homily – May 11th, 2025 – 4th Sunday of Easter

Homily – May 11th, 2025 – 4th Sunday of Easter

If you were ever having a bad day, a bad week, a bad month, or even a bad year, read this gospel passage that we just heard, and meditate on it. It’s not long, but it offers one of the most comforting messages in the entire Bible. Jesus says that we, the sheep, will never perish. Nor will we, the sheep, ever be snatched out of his hand. And if that isn’t comforting enough, the very next line goes even ...

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Fr Phil

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