Author: Deacon Gary

Homily for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A Isn’t that what many parents have said to our children as they grew up?Make Good Choices.. Our readings today … if fact, ALL of the readings at Mass today are centered around the theme of making wise, good choices. Sirach —- I love Sirach – […]

In Father Efren’s homily last week, he mentioned something that, quite frankly, touched me so deeply that I found it hard to focus on the rest of his homily. In the course of his reflection, he talked about our need to stretch our minds and hearts and learn to love again. To stretch our minds and hearts […]

The whole world before you, O Lord, is like a speck that tips the scales, and like a drop of morning dew that falls to the ground. But you are merciful to all, for you can do all things, and you overlook people’s sins, so that they may repent. Lord, you love all things that […]

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’  The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you. Like you, I have heard this Gospel many many times. Its about faith and mustard seeds. […]

Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property.  So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be […]

Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them,  “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.  When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and […]

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread.  And forgive us […]

homily [C] 13OT Its comfortable here at the pulpit, at this time in the Mass.  You know what is about to happen …. the Gospel has been read, the Homily is next, you hope its good and pray its short. Maybe some of you have even tried to guess the topic. Its comfortable for Me […]

Third Sunday of Easter [C]. John 21.1-19 John always has deeper spiritual meanings in his Gospel writings.  Written almost 70 years after the resurrection, John had seen the impact of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection over a number of generations …. and hence his insights are rich and profound. This is particularly true of today’s readings …. so lets take […]

It was a dark night in April back in 1973.  The Vietnam War was just coming to an end. Richard Nixon said “I am not a crook” and the Watergate scandal was just beginning – as was the construction work on the CN tower.  Trudeau was the Prime Minister.  The Old one -not the kid. OPEC was just […]

At this 10am Mass today, we celebrate with those preparing to enter our church, our community, in what is called the First Scrutiny. It means that the readings at this Mass are a little different than the readings at the other Masses this weekend. In the Gospel reading at this Mass, we have a fascinating dialogue between […]

Life Happens. What an interesting sequence of readings we have had over the past few weeks.  Two weeks ago, when Lent started, we heard about how the Devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness.  The message from that was to discover how important it is to take time away to reflect, to fast from all that can get in the […]

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells us to love our enemies, and the word he used for love had nothing to do with sentimentality, but rather it means “to want what is best for the other person.” To want the best for our enemy is a difficult, disturbing and uncomfortable message.  It is a message […]

Something happened to you some years back.  You probably forgot it. In fact, it is very likely that you don’t remember it at all. Which is strange, because it fundamentally changed your life… It let you know what it is you were going to grow up to be.  It answered the question of why you are here, and […]

If we but open our eyes, we see echoes of the Nativity Story all around us. We have just passed through the Feast of Christmas.  For many of us, it has been a time of Joy.  A time to take a break from work, and to spend time with people we love, with family and friends.  […]

The third Sunday of Advent, like each of the Sundays in Advent, has a traditional theme. This week, it is Joy.  And as we get closer and closer to Christmas, Joy seems to surround us.  It’s there in our Christmas carols, and on our cards and decorations.  Who doesn’t like to hear about joy this time of […]

This weekend we mark the end of Church’s year, the Feast of Christ the King.  Often, at the end of the calendar year we often reflect back on our life over the past year, its events and activities, the things we started the year wanting to achieve (remember all those New Year’s Resolutions!) and how […]