Posts Tagged 'St. Elizabeth of the Trinity'

Homily – December 29th, 2024 – Feast of the Holy Family

A little caution as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family: Don’t dismiss Jesus, Mary and Joseph, too quickly, as the “model family” because you are convinced they look nothing like your family. All families are holy, no matter what they look like. There are a lot of families out there, like my own, that put the fun back into dysfunctional. If you read the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, and shake Jesus’ family tree that you find there, ...

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The Im/Perfect Family

This weekend marks the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Like most lifelong Catholics, I am well familiar with the images of the Holy Family depicted in the nativity creche, the icons and other artistic works, or a diverse array of statues, big and small. At this time of year a visitor to my house will find a simple nativity creche set up (a gift from either my sister or Aunt Susan), usually illuminated by a ...

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Homily – December 24th, 2024 – Christmas Eve

I don’t know if you picked up on it or not, but all three readings–Isaiah, Paul’s letter to Titus, and Luke’s gospel—all spoke of rejoicing and good news. Isaiah says, “The darkness that once covered you is gone, for a light is shining upon you now, so rejoice like farmers rejoice at harvest time. Rejoice like one who once had a heavy burden, a bar across their shoulder, but now that weight is gone.” St. Paul says to Titus, “The ...

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Homily – December 15th, Third Sunday of Advent

Last weekend, you may recall, we had John the Baptist telling us to prepare the way of the Lord. He told us—in broad, general terms–to make the Lord’s path straight, fill in the valleys, and flatten the mountains. The scriptures are often deliberately left open-ended like that, encouraging us to determine concretely what filling in the valleys and flattening the mountains actually means in our particular lives and in the life of the world. This time, however, John the Baptist, ...

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Reflection – December 15th, 2024 – Third Sunday of Advent

On this 3rd Sunday of Advent we are invited to rejoice and be at peace. As we prepare for Christmas let’s remember to find joy and peace in our relationship with God and share that joy with others. The 3rd Sunday of Advent is also called Gaudette Sunday. Gaudette is a Latin word that means “rejoice”. There is a pink or rose candle instead of a purple one on the Advent wreath. It is a reminder that the Advent season is a ...

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Homily – December 8th, 2024 – Second Sunday of Advent

Between 1962 and 1965, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and Pope John XXIII, the Church underwent its greatest reform. We call it the Second Vatican Council. Even though it was the Roman Catholic bishops of the world who voted on final outcomes, it nonetheless sought out the opinion of other scholars and various experts, thereby making it an “ecumenical” council. Because it is 60 years in the rearview mirror, we tend to forget what a big deal Vatican ...

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Reflection – December 1st – First Sunday of Advent

What Advent Offers Us

We blinked, and it happened.  The year has ended, and a new one begun, because for the Church, the arrival of the season of Advent marks the beginning of the new liturgical year.  The Church asks that we live Advent in anticipation of and preparation for the arrival of the Christ child, born again as the Child in the Manger, even as we know Christ is with us now, even as we continue to await Christ’s second ...

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Homily – November 24th – Christ the King

On this last Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Solemnity of Christ, King of the Universe, we have a couple of readings that are as bizarre as last Sunday’s readings. The first reading from the Book of Daniel and the second reading from the Book of Revelation fall under the category of “apocalyptic” readings. You may have heard the word “apocalypse”; it means revelations. Some truth, hidden until now, is about to be revealed. The word “epiphany”, one of ...

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Homily ~ November 17, 2024 ~ 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

I don’t know about you, but I find the Scripture readings we just heard obscure and cryptic, very hard to get my head into. They’re not the typical stories that I can easily place myself in the middle of. Readings about the end time tend to be that way.

It reminds me of a “Peanuts” cartoon. Many of us grew up as kids reading only the cartoon section of the newspaper. In this one episode, Charlie Brown is laying back on ...

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Reflection – November 10th, 2024 – 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

November – Depressing or Uplifting?

When I was young and thought time just seemed to be dragging on, my mother used to tell me that once you get out of school, time will fly.  And the older you get, the quicker it will seem to go.  Along with many other things she told me, this has certainly proven to be true.  It seems like summer just finished, yet here we are heading for the middle of November already.  I have heard ...

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