ponderings on life and faith
Here is where I have posted some of the homilies and reflections given over the years. Some also have an audio track …… I hope you find them helpful. Enjoy!
When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus said to Peter, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” How human it is for us to compare ourselves to others and to want to tell their stories as if we knew their minds….. In […]
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. (John 16.27) There is a profound message for you and me in today’s scripture. It is the core truth of our faith, and it is this, simply this …… the Father loves me. It’s the kind of […]
Jesus said to his disciples, “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. […]
This Sunday’s readings are all about shepherds. I am reminded of a Lenten retreat I gave in 2015 in Newmarket and in 2018 in Toronto, which focused on that theme. In particular, it reflected on the words of Marty Haugens hymn “Shepherd me O God” which begins…. Shepherd me, O God, Beyond my wants, Beyond my fears, […]
How fitting that the Gospel this weekend comes precisely while we are entombing ourselves – not as an act of burial, but as an act of love so that we might slow down the spread of the covid-19 virus and help save the lives of those most susceptible to becoming seriously ill. And since I […]
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. […]
