Category: HOMILIES

WATCH

This homily , based on Mark 13:33-37, has been written for the First Sunday of Advent, as well as the Feast of St. Francis Xavier (03 December 2017).

Yesterday I found myself wandering through a familiar street in a foreign country. The familiarity was comforting, but it was also wrapped in some sort of nostalgia. You see, I was sauntering through one of the alleys of Taipei’s famous Zhongxiao Dunhua shopping area, and the place felt quite familiar because I had spent two years here, nearly thirty years ago, as a Jesuit scholastic training in media production.

The old Kuangchi Program Service (光啟社) building, where I trained in media production.

Tags Mark 13:33-37

HOMILIES QUESTIONS

SO MUCH FOR CHRIST THE KING

Post author By jcgosj
Post date November 26, 2017
6 Comments on SO MUCH FOR CHRIST THE KING

This homily was delivered on the Solemnity of Christ the King.

Sculpture of the Homeless Christ (Regis School of Theology, Toronto)

Back in 2004, I visited the Jesuit school for the disabled in Cambodia. From the moment I stepped out of the airport in Phnom Penh, I noticed that every major road and every other street corner displayed the picture of one man. My companions informed me that a week before, Cambodia had just crowned a new king, Sihamoni, to succeed his father. To celebrate the occasion and to show their acceptance of the new king, all of Cambodia put up his pictures everywhere, from medium-sized photographs to gigantic billboards. As a result, no tourist—and certainly no Cambodian—had any excuse to claim that he does not recognize the new king.

HOMILIES

PLAYING IT SAFE

This homily is based on Matthew 25:14-30.

The Lord’s parable today leaves us with more questions than answers–as usual. You could say it’s a “questionable” parable.

The master of the house has three servants, and before he leaves for a long journey, he decides to entrust to each one of them a large amount of money. To the first, he hands five talents; to the next one he gives two talents, and the last servant, one talent. A conservative estimate is that a talent is equivalent to US$1000 today, so if we do the math, that’s a total of US$8000 he just handed to his servants.

2810

Tags Matthew 25:14-30

HOMILIES

RUNNING ON EMPTY

Today’s homily is based on Matthew 25:1-13.

Do you feel like you’ve been running on empty? “Running on empty” is a phrase we use to refer to people on the brink of exhaustion–be it physical or emotional. It’s a reference to automobiles running so dangerously low on fuel that it might just stop running any moment now. It basically means you’re on the verge of a breakdown or burnout.

Untitled

Tags Matthew 25:1-13

HOMILIES

PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH

Post author By [email protected]
Post date November 5, 2017
10 Comments on PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH

This homily is based on Matthew 23:1-12.

In today’s Gospel our Lord criticizes the excesses and shortcomings of the Pharisees, but virtually tells us to practice what they preach. It’s surprising advice since it’s a subversion of the usual adage that we should “practice what we preach.”

practice-what-you-preach

Tags Matthew 23:1-12