Author: [email protected]

WAILING AND WHINING

This homily, based on Numbers 11:4-5 and Matthew 14:13-21, was delivered on 05 August 2013.

Our First Reading is all about wailing and whining. First, we have the Israelites, fresh from their escape from Egypt, wailing and whining about their menu in the desert. “If only we had meat to eat!” they cried out, reciting a litany of the food they missed and singing the praises of Egyptian cuisine. Of course they grew sick of their daily diet of heaven-sent manna, which, we’re told by the way, tasted like “cakes baked with oil.”

But that’s not all: Even their prophet Moses, hearing their complaints, joined the bandwagon and did his own wailing and whining too, complaining to God about how the people burdened him so much. “I’m not their mother!” he basically told God. And he must have felt really bad because he ended by declaring: “If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once!”

Tags complaint, Job, Jonah, Matthew 14:13-21, Moses, Multiplication of Loaves, Numbers 11:4-5, Wailing Wall

HOMILIES QUOTES

GOD WITH SKIN ON (The Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola)

Post author By [email protected]
Post date July 31, 2013
No Comments on GOD WITH SKIN ON (The Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola)

This homily, based on Exodus 34:29-35 and Matthew 13:44-46, was delivered on the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola (July 31, 2013).

In today’s Gospel, our Lord likens the Kingdom of God to a hidden treasure and a pearl so valuable that it should make all the difference in one’s life. These two parables remind me of one of the most important lessons I’ve learned from St. Ignatius of Loyola, whose feast we celebrate today. This lesson is captured in a slogan that he’s known for: “Finding God in all things.”

I know, today it sounds almost like a cliché: We all believe God is present everywhere, don’t we? But we should note that Ignatius’ invitation is not simply to believe that God in all things, but to find Him and actually look for Him in all things. It’s like our Lord’s parables today telling us not just to believe that the Kingdom of God is here, but also to go and search for it, be it buried in some field or hidden in the deep seas.

Tags Exodus 34:29-35, Finding God in all things, Ignatian, Ignatian Spirituality, Ignatius of Loyola, Incarnation, Jesuit, love, Matthew 13:44-46

HOMILIES

WHAT IT TAKES TO TURN ASIDE

Post author By [email protected]
Post date July 18, 2013
2 Comments on WHAT IT TAKES TO TURN ASIDE

This homily was delivered on 17 July 2013 based on the readings for the day (Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12 and Matthew 11:25-27)

I think I had my first religious experience at the age of ten, and it came courtesy of Moses–or more precisely, Charlton Heston in the Cecil de Mille movie “The Ten Commandments.” I still remember the film’s most dramatic scene: Moses, towering over the Israelites, faces the Red Sea, spreads his arms before it, and as the most rousing soundtrack blares, the sky rushes into the waters and before you know it, the waters part, forming a wall on each side and a virtual highway for the fleeing Israelites. Remember this was before the era of Computer Generated Images.

Tags Exodus 3:1-12, Matthew 11:25-27

Xavier School

GRIT

This homily was delivered at the Grade 8 Thanksgiving Mass on 20 March 2013.

This is my third graduation homily in a row, so I’m in serious danger of boring myself, so I thought I’d start today by playing a little game with all of you. It’s called “Stand if it’s you. Sit if it’s not.” In other words: If the statement applies to you, stand up. If it doesn’t, remain seated.

Tags Ang Lee, Angela Duckworth, graduation, Grit Scale

Xavier School

PLUCK + GRIT+ HEART

This homily was delivered at the Thanksgiving Mass for the Grade 7 students on 19 March 2013.

St. Joseph, whose feast we celebrate today, was a man of few words. For such an important person, we have no idea what he actually said. He left no writing, and the two gospel authors who mention him–Matthew and Luke–do not quote him at all. As a result, we know very little about him besides his trade, his family tree, and of course, his relationship to Mary and Jesus.

But if we ever found ourselves in the situations he found himself in, I think we would have more than a mouthful! Just think:

He found Mary to be with child, and he was sure the child did not belong to him. And then an angel asked him in a dream to marry her anyway. When they went to Bethlehem and it was time for Mary to give birth to the so-called Son of the Most High, they couldn’t even find any decent room!

Tags Ernest Hemingway, graduation, Larry Smith