Category: HOMILIES

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.

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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.

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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

HOMILIES

FALLING SHORT OF THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

Post author By jcgosj
Post date October 29, 2017
5 Comments on FALLING SHORT OF THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

This homily is based on Matthew 22:34-40.

Singer/songwriter Howie Day has a couple of great lines in his 2003 hit, “Collide”:

Even the best fall down sometimes.
Even the wrong words seem to rhyme.

Never mind the rest of the song–which, of course, is a love song–but I think those two lines capture something pretty basic in our lives: Sometimes even the best of us can screw things up!