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The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17 John 2:13-22 November 9, 2014 Today we celebrate the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. There are not many days that take precedence…
Read MoreAll Souls’ Day Wisdom 3:1-9 Romans 6:3-9 John 6:37-40 November 2, 2014 Yesterday morning we celebrated the Solemnity of All Saints, venerating those who have already passed into the Kingdom of Heaven. Today we celebrate the Commemoration of the All…
Read More30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Exodus 22:20-26 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10 Matthew 22:34-40 October 26, 2014 As Christians we generally think in terms of ten commandments. God first offers these commandments in chapter 20 of the Book of…
Read More29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b Matthew 22:15-21 October 19, 2014 Once again some of the Pharisees try to entrap Jesus. This time come to him acting like they believe him, praising…
Read More28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 25:6-10a Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20 Matthew 22:1-14 October 12, 2014 Isaiah speaks of how God will provide “a feast of rich food and choice wines.” This feast comes at the end of…
Read More27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 5:1-7 Philippians 4:6-9 Matthew 21:33-43 October 5, 2014 Isaiah speaks of his “friend” who worked diligently to create the perfect vineyard. He did everything one would expect, he spaded it, cleared…
Read More26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Ezekiel 18:25-28 Philippians 2:1-11 Matthew 21:28-32 September 28, 2014 What does the word “Church” mean to you? We call the buildings we worship in “churches” but is “church” just a building? Without a…
Read More25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 55:6-9 Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a Matthew 20:1-16a September 21, 2014 The landowner goes out and hires workers for the day and agrees to pay them the “usual daily wage”. There is nothing usual…
Read MoreExaltation of the Holy Cross Numbers 21:4b-9 Philippians 2:6-11 John 3:13-17 September 14, 2014 Today we take a step away from what would normally be the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time for this feast of the Exaltation of the…
Read MoreToday I did something that I haven’t had to do in seven years of priesthood and I would have preferred if I never needed to do it. In a little over seven years I have probably done over 180 funerals…
Read More23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Ezekiel 33:7-9 Romans 13:8-10 Matthew 18:15-20 September 7, 2014 Ezekiel serves the Lord as a prophet. Part of his duties as a prophet is to be a “watchman”. A watchman stands on…
Read More22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Jeremiah 20:7-9 Romans 12:`01 Matthew 16:21-27 August 31, 2014 Jeremiah wonders if he has been duped in his role as a prophet. He is proclaiming God’s Word and he suffers derision and reproach…
Read MoreYesterday I was privileged to have a conversation with a young woman whose faith is very important to her. It is inspiring to me to see such faith in young people. She is currently doing an internship and we were…
Read More21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 22:19-23 Romans 11:33-36 Matthew 16:13-20 August 24, 2014 Eliakim is offered the key to the House of David. Jesus gives Peter the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven. What is the significance…
Read MoreThose of you who are longtime readings of this blog know I used to write articles at least weekly here on various topics and events. It’s been at least several months since I have posted anything on a regular basis…
Read More20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15:21-28 August 17, 2014 Jesus finds time to withdraw to the region of Tyre and Sidon. One might expect this to be a place where Jesus…
Read MoreNormally I would be posting my Sunday homily about now but for the first time in a couple of years I did not preach this weekend. Each summer we welcome a person from a diocese, religious community, or official Catholic…
Read More18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 55:1-3 Romans 8:35, 37-39 Matthew 14:13-21 August 3, 2014 When Jesus got off the boat he was immediately greeted by a vast crowd. He had gone off to be by himself…
Read More17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 Romans 8:28-30 Matthew 13:44-52 July 27, 2014 How valuable is the Kingdom of Heaven to us? Does the word “treasure” fit? How much a treasure is it? Jesus talks…
Read More16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 Romans 8:26-27 Matthew 13:24-43 July 20, 2014 Our God is all-knowing and all-powerful. There is nothing God cannot do. God can choose to do whatever he wants. What does God…
Read MoreWhat follows is a piece I wrote for next week’s bulletin. How We React to “Stuff” Just about a month ago I was driving back to Ithaca. I was near Mecklenburg when a coy dog walked out in front on…
Read More15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isaiah 55:10-11 Romans 8:18-23 Matthew 13:1-23 July 13, 2014 Jesus drew large crowds whenever he arrived in a town. Why? People must have known about him. The only way they could have…
Read More14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Zechariah 9:9-10 Romans 8:9, 11-13 Matthew 11:25-30 July 6, 2014 Why are you here? This might seem like a simple question with an obvious answer but I think it is a question that…
Read MoreToday is June 30th and the Memorial of the First Roman Martyrs. While this memorial is an optional memorial, for the last seven years, it has held a particular significance for me. Before I get into why this memorial is…
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