A Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Lent "I look to the mountains from where shall come my hope!" Now, if you are familiar with the first line of Psalm 121, you know it actually reads: "I look to the mountains from where shall come my help." But I want to talk about HOPE this … Continue reading On This Mountain
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.
Lenten Detox
A Homily for the 1st Sunday of Lent 2025 "It is easier to throw stones than to search one's own soul." That quote, I think, gets at a fundamental human conundrum with which, I would imagine, we are all familiar. I believe it gets at our own human experiences of alienation and shame that might … Continue reading Lenten Detox
Who Cares?
A Homily for the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time I have a bit of a penchant for hyperbole. Something in me loves to make the outlandish statement, the bold assertion, the near ridiculous claim. Now, if I only liked hyperbole because I enjoy being provocative, or because I take pleasure in stirring the pot just … Continue reading Who Cares?
If for This Life Only
A Homily for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time What is at the heart of the 4 blessings and 4 curses Jesus offers us in our gospel passage from Luke today? I think St. Paul can enlighten us on this question. Actually, I think St. Paul hits the answer right on the nose when he … Continue reading If for This Life Only
Just This
A Homily for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time I would like to be so bold this morning as to redefine "church." I suggest that church is the "Home of the Abnormally Born!" St. Paul, in our 2nd reading today, identifies himself as "one abnormally born" as a means to indicate how his call to … Continue reading Just This
Manifestations
A Homily for the Baptism of the Lord 2025 There are, what I would call, three classic manifestations of the Divine that we celebrate each Christmas season. The first manifestation is radical inclusivity which is at the heart of the Incarnation. The second is belovedness, which we celebrate today on the Feast of the Lord's … Continue reading Manifestations
Lights a Lovely Mile
A Homily for the Epiphany of the Lord 2025 The Priest-Poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, in his poem: "My Own Heart Let Me More Have Pity On," attempts to express the unbidden, unforeseen, unexpectedness of God's light. Near the conclusion of the poem he writes: "...leave comfort root-room; let joy size/at God knows when to God … Continue reading Lights a Lovely Mile
I Believe in You
A Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family 2024 I fell in love this Christmas... but not with a person! Rather, I fell in love with a song. There is a contemporary Christmas carol entitled: "The Carol of Joseph." This song caught my eye, or rather my ear, first, because there are so few … Continue reading I Believe in You
Hail Space for the Uncontained God
A Homily for Christmas Day 2024 In a late essay, reflecting on Luke chapter 2, verse 7: "...because there was no room for them in the inn," Thomas Merton wrote: "Those that lament the fact that there is no room for God must also be called to account for this. Have they perhaps added to … Continue reading Hail Space for the Uncontained God
The Ordinary Unexpected Joy
A Homily for Gaudete Sunday (The 3rd Sunday of Advent) Today is Gaudete Sunday and we are kindly invited to "Rejoice!" But what exactly is this "joy" we are called to make manifest? The prophet Zephaniah exclaims: "Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!" The prophet Isaiah encourages us to: "Cry out with joy and gladness." … Continue reading The Ordinary Unexpected Joy
Chiaroscuro Spirituality 