22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AJeremiah 20:7-9Psalm 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 (2b)Romans 12:1-2Matthew 16:21-27August 30, 2020 Last week Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”. Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter gave a great answer.  He gave the right answer.  Good for him.  …

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Seeking the Lord’s Help in Suffering

I recently read a book about Franciscan Spirituality relating to our care for the environment. I am not going to focus on that topic today but I mention the book (Care for Creation by Delio, Warner, and Word, Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press. 2008) because it included a particular quote from St. Francis that I …

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21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 22:19-23Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8 (8bc)Romans 11:33-36Matthew 16:13-20August 23, 2020 Jesus asks the question, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  I pose a slightly different question, why do you think He asks. Jesus is not running for election.  So, He’s not checking the polls …

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More Shootings, More Stress

It’s hard to know but it seems like I have heard of increasing numbers of acts of violence (mainly shootings). I currently serve in a parish about thirty minutes outside of Rochester, NY. Last weekend, Rochester had three separate shootings in 24 hours. I grew up in the Southern Tier area of New York State. …

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How Do We Experience Church?

The question for this article is how do we experience Church? As we explore this question, please note that I capitalized the word “Church”. This is because, ultimately, it is a transcendent “Church” that we are called to belong to. The Church founded by Jesus Christ is more than physical buildings and hierarchical institutions. The …

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20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year AIsaiah 56:1, 6-7Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8 (4)Romans 11:13-15, 29-32Matthew 15:21-28August 16, 2020 A Canaanite woman came to Jesus seeking help for her daughter who was “tormented by a demon.” Many people came to Jesus for healing and exorcising demons.  What’s one more?  What was Jesus’ response?  “Jesus did …

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Threat and Opportunity

The Coronavirus shutdown our Masses for three months. It continues to impact attendance as people stay home to protect themselves. For those who do come in person, attendance hovers about 30-40% of normal. There are others who continue to watch our Mass streaming on our new parish YouTube channel. From this, we can consider the …

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19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – Homily

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13aPsalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13-14, (8)Romans 9:1-5Matthew 14:22-33August 9, 2020 After sending his disciples on their way, Jesus “went up on the mountain by himself to pray.”  There He encountered God his Father.  As much as Jesus needed to do this in prayer, we need to …

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