A Homily for the 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time He only needed to say "yes." But sometimes saying "yes" can be the hardest thing to do. Jesus looked at him and loved him and that look of love is the safest place any of us could ever hope to find ourselves, but even in the … Continue reading “Yes”

A Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time "Old men ought to be explorers Here and there does not matter We must be still and still moving Into another intensity For a further union, a deeper communion. Through the dark cold and the empty desolation: The wave cry, the wind cry, the vast waters … Continue reading Fare Forward, Voyagers

A Homily for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time The world is more than happy to step in and tell you who you are; define you by it's own limited vision. Your parents, partners and friends, your employers, your coworkers, your teachers and mentors. And some of what they say will hit the target but … Continue reading A Praise of God’s Glory

A Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time The Christian path is neither a path of Domination nor a path of Subordination, but rather a path of Homnification. Today, in our second reading from Ephesians, we hear, what you might call, the infamous scripture passage instructing wives to be subordinate to their husbands. No … Continue reading Homnification

A Homily for the 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time I'm exhausted! How's that for an inspirational way to begin a homily? But it's true: I'm exhausted! Some of you may know I am the novice director of our Holy Cross Novitiate just down the street from here. Last Saturday we had our most recent class … Continue reading Blessed Exhaustion

A homily for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time When Jesus says to his disciples, and to each on of us: "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile." He isn't inviting us to some nostalgic summer holiday on the coast, at the lake house or in the mountain cottage, but he … Continue reading The “Rest” of Our Lives

A Homily for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time In sending out his disciples, Jesus gives a very practical instruction: "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave." This phrase is so practical and so straightforward we might be tempted to overlook it. But I suggest to you today that this instruction from … Continue reading Stay! (Until You Leave)

A Homily for the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time They expected too little of him and too little from him is what they got in return. As one spiritual writer puts it: "We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are." So, the question this morning is a deceptively simple one: … Continue reading They Expected Too Little

A Homily for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time "And the creatures of the world are wholesome." First, I would like to draw your attention to the beauty and the truth of that simple phrase which we just heard in our first reading from the Book of Wisdom. We can too easily forget, especially in … Continue reading Whole/Some

A Homily for Pentecost 2024 "It's the same difference." That phrase often greeted me whenever I attempted to correct my mother. She might say something like: "That's a nice red car." And I would respond, "That car's maroon!" Then she would reply, almost automatically, "Same difference!" Which meant she knew her statement wasn't completely true … Continue reading Same-Difference