Homily – 27th Sunday Ordinary Time

We are with Jesus on the way to Jerusalem. And what happens is there in the area of the Transjordan, which would be the lower end of the Galilee region, an area that was under the control of Herod? And so the Pharisees come and again, they’re looking for an excuse, some reason, to have Jesus condemn. And because they want him out of the way.

And so what they do is they pose this question to him to test him. And they do it very deliberately because they know that they’re in the area of hatred. And because of that, they know that Herod is the one who had John the Baptist killed, because John kept telling him that it was wrong for him to be married to Herodias, the wife of his brother.

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Homily – 26th Sunday Ordinary Time

As you know, I believe that each and every one of us has a superpower given to us by God. Now, as many different people as are gathered here today, that’s the number of superpowers we have in the congregation. And it is very important for us to listen to the Holy Spirit so that we know which gift is ours to use for the building up of the Kingdom of God.

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Homily – 25th Sunday Ordinary Time

If I were to ask you, and I am about to, who has heard of Saint Damien of Molokai? Who has heard of Saint Damien? Raise your hands, please. Damien of Molokai. Okay. Some of you know the great missionary saint of the Hawaiian Islands, who ministered to the lepers, at the lepers and lepers are those members of the community who have Hansen’s disease.

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Homily – 25th Sunday Ordinary Time

We continue with the selections from the gospel of Mark, and one of the things that we note in Mark’s Gospel is that there is always a tension, and it is a tension between Jesus and who he is. And the disciples. You saw that last week when Jesus first announces or shares with them what is going to happen as they continue on the way and ultimately will end in Jerusalem?

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Homily – 24th Sunday Ordinary Time

Several months ago, I shared with you my superpower. Who remembers what my superpower is?

Okay. Wow. My superpower is that I can sleep anywhere, at any time. I am a great sleeper. So in light of today’s gospel, I thought I would share my other superpower. And that is, I can pick the wrong line just standing in any department store, supermarket or drug store. I will always be in the wrong line. I’ve even moved from a line that was moving quicker to get into a line that slowed down.

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Homily – 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time

We listen to the Scripture for this 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, and the scriptures are all very well connected. Today, the first reading from the prophet talks to a people who are in exile, and it speaks to them that God has not forgotten them, but that God will be bringing about a new day for them, and that new day will be signified by the actions of the one who will restore sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to those who are speechless.

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Homily – 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time

How many of us right now are suffering from seasonal allergies? And some days are worse than other days. Right. So the other day I was on the subway going to the chancellery, and I had to sneeze. That when I sneeze, everybody knows I am one of those very loud sneezes. And this woman looked at me like I had just contaminated the whole train.

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