Sunday Homilies

I preached on these readings only once today.  The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent have two sets of readings in Years B and C (this year is C) when the scrutinies are celebrated for people preparing for baptism at Easter.  There is a richness to the Gospel of Jesus and the Samaritan woman which could lead to a very long homily.  Mine is rather brief.

This has nothing to do with the homily; I merely present this as a public service.  -- People apparently are up in arms about "In God We Trust" not being on the new dollar coins.  Think again.  "E Pluribus Unum," "In God We Trust," and the minting year are on the rim of the coin (I remember this sort of thing being done on one-pound coins in the UK).  So all you people who love to be sanctimonious: find something else to be sanctimonious about.

Jesus underwent temptation just as we do.  But he never sinned.  So how much like us is he, really?  Can we relate to him?  Can his fidelity to his Father be attributed to superhuman powers?  These are vital questions which we must answer if we are to make our way through Lent to the celebration of the Easter Mystery.  Recorded Saturday evening, February 24, in Auburn.

How do we view people?  Can we expand our vision so we can see people more in the way that God sees us?  It is possible, and we can develop an appreciation for human beings which is a step toward the vision of Jesus in his challenging command to love our enemies.

We're back, thanks to Brian Noe's expertise.  For this first attempt with a new recording device, I'm a little bit self-conscious wearing the thing on my wrist.  We cast aside all distracting thoughts and extend our roots so we will always be one with the source of life.

Don't you get angry when people tell you how to feel?  I thought so.  It seems that Ezra is doing this very thing in the first reading.  Jesus, on the other hand, does not try to manipulate us.

Marriage is a process of embracing the ordinary.  Our God calls us to discover how wonderful the ordinary is.

I'm still sick, as you can hear.  Considering the word "epiphany" as meaning coming to a new insight or an "aha" moment.

I have been sick for over a week -- hence the late upload.  The gist of my thoughts for the Holy Family is that we as a Church thought we had all the answers to what families are supposed to be.  We have been proven wrong. 

I waited till my last Mass to make a recording.  It turns out that that Mass was the one where I had the stiffest "competition."  The Scriptures for the Mass of Christmas Day have us considering messengers and messages and our need to distinguish between them.

Do you enjoy being visited?  Mary and Elizabeth visit each other in order to proclaim that God has visited his people.

How do we find joy in being reminded over and over that we are merely human beings?  PRECISELY in embracing our identity as human beings.

Sorry, the first upload was the wrong format.

This year we observe the briefest Advent possible.  Seize the moment and consider what a coating of ice and snow has to say to us about God, our beginnings, and our fulfillments.

This is relatively lengthy, starting as it does with an issue I'm going to be talking about for several weeks: dismal weekend Mass attendance. -- My time in London helped me to consider the matter of kingship; I think I have some helpful insights.

I was sick and this homily was very brief.  I believe that this was the Gospel of "the widow's mite."

"Love God with all your heart" -- this is the first and greatest commandment.  But it is certainly not the first commandment of which we have a practical grasp.  Let us consider how we learn to love.

Those of us who use computers must be impressed with the visual nature of the interaction between ourselves and these devices.  We equate seeing with understanding.  The word of God today encourages us in our understanding.  As Hebrews declares today, God understands us, not because he is standing by and looking on from a distance, but because in Jesus he experienced the effects of living in the obscurity of a sinful world.

After an uneventful air trip, I am in London where I worked as a deacon in the summer of 1982.  I arrived at the parish for the 9:00 am Mass with three minutes to spare.  I have located an internet cafe, from which I am sending this message.  I am walking around the old neighborhood.  Both of the hospitals where I worked have undergone great changes.  The parish church has a completely remodeled interior, in keeping with guidelines on providing for baptism of adults by immersion.  I will write some more after I have done some more.

Powerful readings: Isaiah 50, the third Suffering Servant Song; from James, the "faith-works" controversy; from Mark, "Get behind me, Satan!"