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HOMILIES

SUNDAY CHRISTIANS, CAFETERIA CATHOLICS, ETC.

This homily is based on Matthew 22:15-21.

In today’s Gospel reading, our Lord utters his famous line:  “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and repay to God what belongs to God.”  At first glance, the Lord seems to be proposing a division between our usual lives and our so-called spiritual lives.  Sort of like Sunday Christianity, when people act like Christians only when they go to Sunday services.  As for the rest of the week, they act “normally”–that is, not in any particularly religious or even moral way.

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Categories
HOMILIES

HOW I ALMOST FLUNKED MY ORAL EXAM BECAUSE OF TODAY’S PARABLE

This homily is based on Matthew 20:1-16.

Many years ago I was a student in a class called “Homiletics.” Maybe you can’t tell, but people training to be priests take a class to learn how to  preach.

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HOMILIES

THE TWO THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FORGIVENESS

This homily is based on Matthew 18:21-35.

Today’s Sunday Gospel is about forgiveness: Peter, on the one hand, monitoring his quota on forgiveness, and our Lord, on the other, tossing all that accounting out the window by reminding us that by the way, we all of us are recipients of the Father’s boundless mercy, remember?

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HOMILIES

EMPTY CHAIR

This reflection is based on Matthew 16:21-27.

Sting sang a little-known, but heartbreaking song at the Oscars last February. The song is called “Empty Chair,” from the film, “Jim,” which is about the journalist James Foley, who had been beheaded by the Islamic State three years ago.

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Categories
HOMILIES

CAREFUL THE CHRIST YOU CHOOSE

This homily is based on Matthew 16:13-20.

Here are two images that created some controversy a few years ago: The first, of course, is the poster for the movie “Da Vinci Code,” based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel.

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