Sunday Homilies

We finish our reflection on the meaning of hell.  We also consider the virtue of hospitality, acknowledging that activity (of whatever kind) can get in the way of our focus on why we engage in various activities.

Treatment of eschatology continues with a consideration of hell, where jokes fall flat.  There has been a lot of name-calling in state government lately; we must consider the fact that labeling people is a foolish excuse for not responding to people spontaneously with love.

Today is my fiftieth birthday.  It's a time somewhat like Dante's mezzo del cammin di nostra vita (the middle of the walk of our life) and it was then that he looked into the "last things" in writing The Divine Comedy.  Today I complete my look at Purgatorio.  We also consider the meaning of fulfillment in life.  -- Well, I found an English translation of yesterday's motu proprio of Pope Benedict XVI and I can tell you that I don't like it one bit.

Freedom is the opportunity to choose a direction for one's life.  Jesus knew that he was proceeding resolutely to Jerusalem and an appointment with a cross.  Our challenge is freely to embrace everything that comes with the path of holiness.

Zechariah was unable to speak.  That doesn't mean he was unable to hear.  So why are the good fellows around him communicating in some sort of sign language?  Self-consciousness in difficult social situations can lead us to to do strange things (may I say "dumb" things?).  We recognize the un-self-consciousness of John the Baptist, whose vocation was to point to Jesus, Messiah and Savior.

Finally we get to a post-death "destination" -- although it's not a final destination.  Purgatory is the antechamber to heaven, and the concept of this state of purification is difficult to understand.  More to the point are the words of Jesus to Simon the Pharisee and of Nathan the prophet to King David.  God is merciful.

In this time-bound existence of ours, we touch the timeless as we open our hearts to our God.  The Holy Eucharist proclaims to us that we are fed and nourished in Jesus' Paschal Mystery in ways which are not readily perceivable.  We remember that sacrament and mystery are equivalent terms.

How well developed is your sense of play and celebration?  Can you experience life with the enthusiasm of God the Creator?  He made us that we might in some way reflect the love shared among the persons of the Trinity.

The Holy Spirit is at work through the words of Sacred Scripture.  It is important for all of us to read the Bible in its entirety.  We also need to let Scripture guide our prayer.  Our liturgical experience of the proclamation of Scripture is a dramatic way in which we experience the Word of God being addressed to us in a way that responds to the drama of our life.

A lot was going on today.  We begin "Eschatology" with "Limbo."  What experiences do we have that give us a sense of the peace of "dwelling in the house of the Lord"?

Since, in my locality, the Ascension falls on the Seventh Sunday of Easter, we are permitted to use readings of that Seventh Sunday on this day.  I used the Gospel from next Sunday: "That all may be one."  How does the incident in the Acts of the Apostles demonstrate for us the manner in which we should seek communion among all believers?  How are we preparing to enter the New Jerusalem?

A different take on the same readings.  NOTE:  Next weekend I will again be away from the parish; therefore no homily for May 5-6.

You who are listening to the podcast know very well the concept of "multitasking."  Can people multitask and do justice to any of the work they do?  Jesus' attention was fixed on one matter alone.  His singleness of heart led to the salvation of all of us and each of us.

Recorded at Divernon on Saturday, April 14.  Personally I will always have esteem for Thomas in his unwillingness to be deceived -- though I grant that we can improve upon him and learn to appreciate the need to accept the testimony of witnesses.  -- NOTE: I was not in my parish April 21-22 and did not preach.

Resurrection allows us to accept our memories -- even the most bitter.  Our participation in Christian baptism means that we have accepted the invitation of Jesus to accept all the good that comes from his confrontation of the contradictions of human existence -- especially the contradiction called death.  We are grateful for the invitation we've been given -- the invitation to live fully.

As I attempted to record my homily for Holy Thursday, I discovered that the battery was dead.  Sorry.  You will note that my Triduum homilies are building upon the concept of memory.

Luke is my favorite Gospel, and likewise the Passion of Luke is my favorite of the narratives of the death of Jesus.  It seems to me that Luke has an eye on the universal implications of the sacrifice of the Word Made Flesh.  When he says to the one crucified alongside him, "This day you will be with me in Paradise," we understand that God in fact brings into the Kingdom those who seem to be irrevocably excluded.  Recorded at the 8:00 am Sunday Eucharist at Auburn.

Well, is this a stretch or not?  In the incident of the woman caught in adultery, can we see an element of class consciousness?  I will leave it to you to form your opinion.  Anyway, this passage from the Gospel of John is unfailingly powerful.

This is the Sunday 10:15 am Mass in Auburn.  Once again, we consider the parable of the Prodigal Son -- this time, without reference to etymology.

Is there a connection between the words prodigal and prodigy?  I said so in this homily, but without checking a dictionary.  Now that I have, I find I can't verify this.  At least I know that prodigal doesn't mean "repentant" but rather "wasteful."  And it is an open question how repentant the prodigal was.  Recorded Saturday evening in Divernon.