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!
Gospel – Second Sunday of Easter (John 20.19-31) Seeing is Believing ….. How often have we heard that phrase “Seeing is believing”? When we think about it, it seems that concept is woven into our everyday life. If we visit the bank – they need to see proof we have an account. If we go to a hospital or […]
I wasn’t a cradle-Catholic. I discovered God when I was a teenager. Back in the 1960’s, when I was a long haired hippie motorcyclist. I had an old Volkswagen Beetle too. It was purple with flowers painted all over it. Ahh, the sixties. And to be honest, I didn’t really discover God – it was more like I […]
God has a bigger picture, a bigger future, for you. The Transfiguration gives the disciples a glimpse of what lay beyond. A glimpse of a bigger picture. God’s bigger picture. A glimpse of a bigger future. God’s bigger future. It was an experience beyond words and understanding. These three men knew nothing about the planets […]
Homily for the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle (A) Matthew 5.38-48 : On the mountain, Jesus continued to teach his disciples. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the […]
We live in interesting times. Some might say that in some ways these are more callous, more uncaring times. We are seeing the rise of power and control as a key dynamic within civilizations and peoples. We are seeing a greater spread between the haves and the have-nots. We seem to be living in a world, […]
January 1, 2017. The Feast of Mary, Mother of God Today marks the beginning of a new calendar year,and this is a time where most of us think about the year gone by, and look forward to the year ahead.Maybe even make some plans. Some “2017 Resolutions” You probably had a few items on your […]
[Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent, cycle A] Do you remember when you we a child, how exciting these last few days before Christmas were!! The day was filled with whispered conversations about the gifts under the tree, and already some of your braver siblings had snuck in to give the presents a shake and predict […]
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted ….. Coming to this place tonight may seem anything BUT comforting. Being here tonight brings with it a burden, one I am sure you feel right now, right here in your heart. A heavy sinking feeling. A weight. Death is like that. And we find our losses and […]
Homily – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C Two men looked out from prison bars –One saw mud. The other …… Stars! (bet you are wondering how that fits into todays readings !!) Before we go there, lets explore in a bit more depth the words of the gospel for today. You gotta love […]
Ascension is not about where Jesus went, but about what he asks of us as His disciples.There are two times in the Gospels when we get glimpses of God’s creation, that is so much bigger than we can imagine – glimpses of God, who is so much bigger than we can imagine – that it defies our […]
Have you ever wondered why it is that on this night that commemorates the institution of both the priesthood and the Eucharist, our Gospel is about foot washing? We would expect perhaps to have a passage from Matthew, Mark or Luke related to the bread and wine of the Last Supper. Instead, we’re given the […]
In early 2016, I had the opportunity to preach about Mercy over a number of Sundays. This post combines those reflections, with the intent of exploring how Mercy can be a powerful theme as we enter Lent in this Extraordinary Year of Mercy, But, before we can start to look at Mercy as a Lenten […]
Many of us have been touched by the words of the 23rd Psalm ….The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shall want …. When my Father died, and again many decades later when my Mother died, I took great comfort from those words. And I suspect many of you find comfort from those words. Marty […]
I get a tremendous pleasure from being involved in welcoming new members to our faith in the Sacrament of Baptism. A few seconds before this picture was taken, this young lad and I were looking into each other’s eyes, each of us grinning widely. I know not what was on his mind – but I do […]
Jesus opened their mind to understand the scriptures The disciples had seen the hebrew scripture, read it, heard it preached in the synagogues, and the temple. They thought they understood it, and had used their understanding to define what the Messiah would be and do. Well, It didn’t happen that way, did it! Jesus opened their […]
Today is the Third Sunday of Advent – also known as Gaudete Sunday. (Gaudete is a Latin word meaning “rejoice.”) The vestments for this Sunday are pink – a very joyful colour! It is a Sunday where we think about joy ….… not a word we use that often anymore. It seems to me that […]
Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30 At that time Jesus said, ‘I thank* you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and […]
In our Gospel reading for this fifth Sunday of Lent, Jesus’ friend Lazarus heard the voice of God and was transformed from death into life. Do you hear the voice of God? because he is talking to you – right now, right here. Do you hear him? No? The problem is not that God has […]
As we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, I am drawn to ask “What does it really mean to be Baptised?” Most of us were very young when it happened, and so we can be forgiven for not remembering much about the ceremony. So, I would like to go back to that day […]
We are a life surrounded by God. In our first reading today, we heard Isaiah prophesy that the Messiah would be named “Immanu el – God is with us”.And our Psalmist told us that “The earth is the Lords and all that is in it “…that everything belongs to God, the whole kit and caboodle […]
