Category: HOMILIES

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HOMILIES

HORROR VACUI

 

This homily is based on John 20:1-9.

Two great mysteries bookend our Lord’s lives–and they feel so different from each other. At the beginning, of course, is the birth of our Lord, which we celebrate at Christmas, and in the end, we have his resurrection, which we commemorate today as Easter.

The Christmas narrative seems to happen in slow motion, as if unfolding to a peaceful Christmas carol. All the Easter stories, on the other hand, seem to be always on fast forward. There’s a lot of confusion and a lot of frantic running around.

 

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HOMILIES

“ARE YOU THE ONE?” Online Holy Week Retreat

 

Click HERE for our online Holy Week Retreat.

 

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HOMILIES

WELCOMING JESUS

Our Lord’s entry to Jerusalem has been usually called “triumphant.” How else, after all, to describe the throng of people waving palms, laying their cloaks on the road, and shouting “Hosanna”?

But when we think about it, it’s really triumphant only on the surface.

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HOMILIES

HITTING ROCK BOTTOM

This reflection is on John 11:1-45.

I was having brunch with a couple of good friends yesterday, and our conversation strayed into this business of “hitting rock bottom.” There are moments in our lives when, for different reasons, we find ourselves in the pits. Life feels like it’s in ruins; things have somehow fallen apart. Perhaps we’ve just experienced a major failure in our work; or maybe a valued relationship has just–in spite of our best efforts–ended. Or it’s possible we’re going through one of those major personal mid-life–or quarter-life–crises.

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HOMILIES

WHERE IS YOUR SILOAM?

This homily is on the healing of the blind man as recounted in John 9:1-41.

This healing miracle, unlike others, did not happen instantaneously. While the other healing of our Lord was achieved with almost just one word or a single touch, this one involved several steps–including the use of the bizarre mixture of saliva and spittle.

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But what struck me the most about this healing miracle was that after the Lord’s elaborate healing ritual, the man wasn’t healed yet! He had first to find the Pool of Siloam to wash his own eyes.

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