A Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter 2026 The Crucified & Risen Christ returns to us with wounds in his hands, not a measuring stick! One of the most searing accusations Jesus makes against the religious leaders of his day is that: They place burdens on others and do not lift a finger to … Continue reading Manifesto: Enough of Enough!
Author: frjcoop
Fr. Jeff Cooper, CSC is a Roman Catholic Priest and a religious of the Congregation of Holy Cross (US Province). Fr. Jeff has spent most of his ministry in the work of formation and education. He holds a Ph.D. in Christian Spirituality. He currently serves as Director of Novices at the Holy Cross Novitiate in Colorado.
I Prepare a Place for You!
A Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter 2026 It is perhaps one of the most underappreciated of all the Easter miracles we hear about in the Acts of the Apostles this holy season, but we hear it today at the end of our first reading: "Even a large group of priests were becoming obedient … Continue reading I Prepare a Place for You!
I WILL Dance!
A Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy) If you know mercy then you now how to dance. During the Easter Octave it has been my practice to pray with the various Resurrection narratives we are given across the 4 gospels. But this past Easter Octave was different. I was recently reminded of … Continue reading I WILL Dance!
Be Made Visible
A Homily for Easter Sunday 2026 During the last 8 months or so I have been privileged to participate in a program called: Narrative Focused Trauma Care. The focus of this program is to help people address, through narrative, their own experiences of trauma with a view towards then assisting others along the same journey. … Continue reading Be Made Visible
Stay with Me
A Homily for Holy Thursday 2026 There's a voice rising. Can you discern its source? A voice making a simple, insistent plea: Stay with me. Remain here with me. Stay with me, and perhaps we'll wash each other's feet. Remain with me, and we'll tell each other our stories. Stay with me, and we'll gather … Continue reading Stay with Me
On the Live-Edge
A Homily for Palm Sunday 2026 The Cross is a centrifugal force! The Carthusians tell us: "The Cross stands firm while the world turns." Before the Cross the world was spun by a centripetal force. The world turned by a "center-seeking" force. Life energy moved toward an isolated, insulated, veiled, so-called sacred center. But with … Continue reading On the Live-Edge
Broken Frames/Holy Lives
A Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent 2026 We all have been framed! No, that isn't the start of a homily that's gonna take a deep dive down the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. It's simply a fact: We've all been framed. Framed by boundaries like heavy wood around a precious piece of art. … Continue reading Broken Frames/Holy Lives
Be a Blessing
A Homily for the 2nd Week of Lent 2026 What would you say is your preferred local anesthetic? What do you reach for when life becomes too much, when the feelings get too big? I refer to it here as a "local anesthetic" for two reasons. First, because it is something we can apply locally … Continue reading Be a Blessing
The Thing Itself
Thomas Merton once described the journey of conversion as: Coming to a deeper sense of who I am, who I am called to be, and an ever-sharpening awareness of the distance between the two. That really is at the heart of our annual call to conversion during the Season of Lent. We are invited to … Continue reading The Thing Itself
Occupy the Earthquake!
A Homily for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 2026 32 years ago I was a newly ordained priest serving in a parish in Los Angeles. It was January 17, 1994 at 4:31 am when the world literally shook. The 6.7 Northridge Earthquake, which struck that morning, was what some called a "sandbox" … Continue reading Occupy the Earthquake!
Chiaroscuro Spirituality 