Ascension 2023
At His Ascension, Jesus does not abandon us. Rather, He gives us the strength to flourish as mature disciples. This Sunday as we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord, we are inspired by Jesus' commission to “make disciples of all nations” and are comforted by His words “I am with you always, to the end of the age”.
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Happy Mother's Day!
Today's Gospel (Jn 14:15-21) comes from Jesus' farewell discourse, His last will and testament to his followers. In this, He gives his disciples hope, summarizes the core of His teaching and speaks of His success, the Holy Spirit. In a special way, Jesus entrusts us with the mission of loving others as Jesus loved us. This sacrificial love is epitomized for so many of us by the love of our mothers. As Rudyard Kipling wrote "God could not be everywhere, so he gave us mothers".
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4th Sunday of Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday - John 10:1-10
This Sunday, Good Shepherd Sunday, we celebrate the sacrificial love that Christ has for us. The image of Christ as the gate (Jn 10:1-10) shows us that we are called to participate in this gift of salvation. On this Day of Prayer for Vocations, we remember that we do this by responding generously to our own vocation.
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On the Road to Emmaus (Lk 24), two disciples had their sorrow transformed into joy when they finally recognized the Risen Jesus who was in their midst the whole time. This story not only tells us about a past encounter. It also teaches us who live long after the Ascension how we can recognize the Risen Christ who is present to us in the scripture, the Eucharist, community, and charity.
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We can learn a lot from the example of "doubting Thomas" we read about in the Gospel (Jn 20:19-31). Like him, we should be open with God about what we need so that Divine Mercy can transform our lives.
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Easter fills us with hope. Just as the rising sun at dawn bring the promise of a new day, so the Resurrection ensures that the Light of Christ will conquer all the darkness of sin and death. When we renew our baptismal creed at Easter, we recommit ourselves to being people of the dawn, bringing the light of Christ to those around us.
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During the Easter Vigil, we have the opportunity to hear the highlights of the story of God's interaction with humanity. In the Gospel, we hear the end of the story, the triumph of love and life over sin and death. At our baptism, we enter into this story. Knowing that our story ends in life transforms us here and now. As the candles that we light as the Vigil from the Pasqual Candle light up the Church, so we spread the light of and love of Christ around us.
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Good Friday, 2023
Good Friday reveals to us that we received mercy from a God who loves us rather than strict justice. This mercy cannot end on the Cross. We receive this mercy as a gift we share with others.
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Holy Thursday, 2023
The theme of remembering runs through the readings for Holy Thursday. The Passover is a remembrance of the Exodus. The Lord's Supper or Eucharist is in remembrance of the Last Supper. The remembrance that the Jesus speaks about at the Last Supper is meant to transform us to become servant like Him, treating all with dignity and love.
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The two Gospel we hear on Palm or Passion Sunday show diverse reactions to Jesus. While there are some who stand by Jesus through His Passion, many abandon Him. Why? The answer can be found in the palms they waved. Jesus was an unexpected Messiah.
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The story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (Jn 11:1-45), speaks to us of three tombs, the tombs of Lazarus, Jesus, and our own. This story shows up the compassion Jesus has for those who mourn and the life Jesus gives us, now and for eternity.
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Homily for 4 Sunday Lent, year A
The Gospel this Sunday (Jn 9:1-41) tells the story of Jesus giving sight to the blind man. It is rich in symbolism. The Gospel teaches us how Jesus is the light of the world. Just as the pillar of fire led the people of Israel through the wilderness, so Jesus is the light that guides us. Further, the Gospel challenges us to consider how we respond to Jesus, the light of the world. Do we reject Jesus as his opponents did? Are we hesitant in our faith like the parents of the blind man? Or, do we allow Jesus to deepen our faith as the blind man did?
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2 Sunday Lent, year A (Matthew 17:1-9)
Just before His journey to Calvary, the Transfiguration of Jesus gave hope to his followers by giving them a preview to the end of Christ's story: the Resurrection (Mt 17:1-9). In our lives, God gives us mini-transfiguration moments which give us hope in the midst of our challenges
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1 Sunday Lent, Matthew 4:1-11
Similar to how the song of Orpheus conquered the Siren's song, so Christ points us towards our true good and away from temptations which can never fulfil us.
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7 Sunday of Ordinary Time
When we think of someone who we may consider an enemy, Jesus teaching to love that person can seem impossible (Mt 5:38-48). Part of the problem can be that we misunderstand what Jesus means by "love". Ultimately Jesus teaches us that non-violent resistance and forgiveness is the path that brings lasting peace.
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In the Gospel this Sunday (Matthew 5:17-37), Jesus tells us that He came to fulfill and not abolish the Law or the prophets. What does this mean? From the examples Jesus gives, we learn that He emphasizes our interior motivations for following the commandments. Jesus wants us to follow the commandments of course, but our living relationship with God is what is most important. As Benedict XVI wrote in Deus Caritas Est,
“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”
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In the Gospel today Jesus (Mt 5:13-16), Jesus teaches us a lesson we all probably learned in Kindergarten: we are called to transform those around us by being salt and light. We do this by letting the light of Christ, which we received at our baptism, shine through us to those around us.
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4 Sunday OT (Mt 5:1-12)
Social media if full of influencers who try offering advice to people, telling them what it means to live a good life. Those who create this content want to get the maximum number of people watching them - they want to go viral. If Jesus had a social media platform in which he offered His teaching, would He go viral? When we hear the Beatitudes in today's Gospel (Mt 5:1-12), it seems that such teaching would not gain traction online because it does not seem logical. How can those who mourn or are persecuted by "blessed"? Who would want that? The truth of the Beatitudes, however, is realized only when we live them out.
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3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
In the Gospel today, Jesus choses his initial followers, the first members of His team (Mt 4:12-23). Sometimes we might fear we don't have what it takes to be chosen by Christ. In reality, He calls all of us. We are all necessary and important members of the community.
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2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
John the Baptist was like a commercial for Christ. By his words and actions he drew people to Jesus (Jn 1:29-34). In our baptism, we are called to imitate John the Baptist, being signposts directing people to the goodness of Jesus.
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The story of the Magi (Matthew 2) is more than just a nice story to tell at Christmas. The stages of their journey to encounter Christ parallels our own experience as we follow Jesus. Their story is our story.
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We may want to imitate one practice of Mary as a New Year's resolution. The Gospel today (Lk 2:16-21) shows us the ability of Our Lady to "ponder" the wonders God was working around her. By taking some time in silence each day, we too can ponder the ways God blesses us and be strengthened and filled with hope.
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Merry Christmas!
When we listen to the Christmas story, we hear about many characters (Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, Magi) whose lives were changed when they chose to play a role in the story of Jesus. This Christmas, let us not only hear the story of Jesus' birth, but participate in it and be transformed.
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For each of us, our name is so important. Our parents selected our name with care. Our names mean something. The same goes for Jesus. The Gospel today (Matthew 1:18-24) shows us what the name of Jesus - Emmanuel - indicates about who He is.
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Like John the Baptist, we too can be confused about the identity of Jesus. What kind of Saviour is he? In the Gospel (Matthew 11:2-11), Jesus teaches us that he always brings us life and joy. Let us invite others this Christmas to experience this joy.
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2nd Sunday Advent, A
The Christmas tree is an important symbol during this time of year. In the Mass for the Second Sunday of Advent, we find trees beings used as images in both the first reading and the Gospel (Isa 11:1-10; Mat 3:1-12). This "tree imagery" communicates the way that God brings new life from seemingly helpless situations as well as how we sometimes need pruning before God's goodness can flourish.
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| Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons |
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1st Sunday Advent, year A | Mt 24:37-44
God is always present in our lives, blessing us. However, we sometimes miss God's presence. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches us that his arrival in our lives is similar to the time of Noah. Advent is a time to train our "spiritual eyes" to recognize the presence of God in our lives.
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33 Sunday OT, Year C
Luke 21:5-19
It is strange to hear Jesus speak about the end of the world in the Gospel today (Luke 21:5-19). Although foreign to us, this "apocalyptic" way of speaking is meant to challenge as well as console us. The world as we know it is ending, but Jesus is bringing a better one into existence.
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| James Tissot (French, 1836-1902). Jerusalem Jerusalem |
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32 Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C
2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14 | Lk 20:27-38
Just after Halloween, with days getting darker, we tend to focus on spookier things like our own mortality. In the Church, we pray for the faithful departed during November. This is a time to consider our death, but always through the lens of our hope in the resurrection.
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| Holger Motzkau 2010, Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons (cc-by-sa-3.0), CC BY-SA 3.0 |
31 Sunday OT, year C
In Jesus' encounter with Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1-10) we seek that Jesus will not prevent anything from coming in the way of people encountering His goodness. As a Church we are called to imitate Jesus' example, making space for everyone to meet Christ and be transformed.
God's grace and mercy are freely available to all. When we think we do not need God, however, God cannot help us. When we behave like this, we can often be judgmental and unmerciful towards others. In the Gospel (Luke 18:9-14), Jesus calls us to imitate the tax collector. Because he recognized his need for God, he was blessed.
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29 Sunday Ordinary Time, C
Prayer is a tricky business. Sometimes we don't get what we ask for in prayer. We can feel like giving up with prayer altogether. In the Gospel (Lk 18:1-8) Jesus encourages us to persevere in prayer. God the Father will give us what is best for us. The first reading (Ex 17:8-13) hints at the idea that we can help one another to persevere in prayer.
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Happy Thanksgiving! The Gospel today (Lk 17:11-19) teaches us about the power of gratitude. Gratitude is able to cut through the darkness caused by suffering and helps us to recognize the many ways God blesses us daily. Gratitude leads to joy.
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