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

Easter, Fr. Phil, god, Holy Thursday, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus, last supper, Maundy, Phil Mulligan, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, Washing

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

catholic, Crucifixion, Easter, Fr. Phil, god, Good Friday, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Lent, Phil Mulligan, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Homily for Sunday, March 22, 2026

I’m beginning to appreciate the importance of the gospel stories we’ve had over the last three Sundays. Like I mentioned last weekend, in the Early Church, a person could not be baptized unless they were familiar with the story of the Samaritan Woman at the Well (two Sundays ago), the story of the Man Born Blind (last Sunday), and today’s story of the Raising of Lazarus from the Dead. With each story we get a little bit closer to the ...

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Fr Phil

5th Sunday, Fr. Phil, god, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus, Lent, Phil Mulligan, Samaritan, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Prophet: The Much-Needed Archetype (part 3)

In the unsettling times we live in, I recognize the absolute need for prophetic voices to help me (us) see that creation is still good, that God is still in charge, and that God’s life-giving plan will ultimately be victorious. These prophets, however, don’t just fall from the sky like treats from a vending machine. Prophets are born out of painful calls of the suffering earth, its people, and from the persistent nudging from God. While I’ve known of prophets ...

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Fr Phil

Fr. Phil, god, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus, Lent, Phil Mulligan, Prophet, Reflection, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

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

Archetype, Easter, Fr. Phil, god, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Phil Mulligan, Prophet, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Homily for Sunday, March 1, 2026

Once again, the opening line of the gospel is very telling and points us beyond the story itself. It starts off by telling us that Jesus led Peter, James and John up a mountain to be by themselves. You’ll recall that this will be the same trio who, later on, will be with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion. Peter, James and John, who witness his glory on the mountain peak, will soon afterwards observe ...

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Fr Phil

Fr. Phil, god, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Lent, Phil Mulligan, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Homily for Sunday, February 22, 2026

I have no real problem calling this gospel passage of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert by what Christians have called it for a very long time–“the temptations of Christ.” The devil, whatever you image that to be, is portrayed as the culprit, the one who enticed Jesus into sin then and the one who entices us into sin now. It’s much like the snake in the Genesis story we just heard. The snake is the antagonist who lured Adam ...

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Fr Phil

1st Sunday, first sunday, Fr. Phil, god, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus, Lent, Phil Mulligan, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Homily for Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Each of us will live these 40 days of Lent in the unique way that God has called us to. As long as we are drawn closer to God and each other by the end of it then one person’s journey during Lent will be just as valid and just as good as another person’s journey. If we hear and respond to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth, then we can be sure the Kingdom ...

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Fr Phil

Ash Wednesday, Fr. Phil, god, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Lent, Phil Mulligan, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Homily for Sunday, February 15, 2026

One day a very successful lawyer headed out the door for work. In his path was his three-year-old son playing with blocks. The man patted the boy on the head, stepped over him, open the door, and went outside to get to his car. Halfway down the walk a guilt bomb exploded within him. “What am I doing?” he thought to himself. “I’m ignoring my son. I never play with him. He’ll be old before I know it.” In the ...

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Fr Phil

Fr. Phil, god, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus, Phil Mulligan, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Reflection for February 1st, 2026

Well, that’s Good News. No matter what label anyone puts on you, Jesus calls you blessed.

This Gospel passage always reminds me of something the late Fr. Herb Grattan said in a homily he delivered in the late 1970’s at Immaculate Heart of Mary church. He said that when you are 20 years old you are worried about what everyone thinks about you. When you are 40 years old, you don’t care what anyone thinks about you. And when you are ...

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Mark Mahoney

Blessed, god, Holy, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Jesus, Marc Mahoney, Mark Mahoney, Mark Mahony, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity

Posts Tagged 'god'