2024 Sep 29 SUN: TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Nm 11: 25-29/ Ps 19: 8. 10. 12-13. 14 (9a)/ Jas 5: 1-6/ Mk 9: 38-43. 45. 47-48 Very briefly I want to talk about some things in the second half of this Gospel and in the second reading. We know that Jesus is not calling us literally to maim ourselves. He is making a point that it is better to en…

You may have been aware that the priests of the diocese were taking part in our annual convocation this past week. In addition, I attended a meeting of the Diocesan Pastoral Council in Springfield yesterday. And some months ago, there was a group of priests set up to study what you might call the use of priest energy in the 28 counties of our dioce…

As I think of a word by which to sum up all of the scriptures today, I believe that word is denial. Denial is a very common aspect of our consciousness. We decide that there are many, many things in life we would prefer to avoid. And so we exercise denial over them. One example is in the letter of James. We have here the image of a brother or siste…

Well, here we are, gathered together in one place. Someone once said that the church could be described as "Here comes everybody." Because we understand this assembly is for everyone. We think in territorial terms, and we say that the people in a particular territory who are Catholic Christians come to this particular assembly or church, because th…

Have you ever had the experience of someone telling you a joke and you had to think about it for a little while before you got it? I'm thinking about something which I would say is not strictly a joke; it was an exchange between me and a student at a school I ran. This was about 30 years ago. And I asked a student, "What is a defibrillator?" And th…

I hope that everyone has read the cover story of the latest issue of our diocesan magazine Catholic Times. It has to do with a person who was addicted to pornography, and this person is very, very forthright in describing the things which go on in the minds and in the feelings of all of us. And we realize that this is one example of the way in whic…

I believe many of you know, because I've spoken about this at times, that I have been helped greatly by the sciences of psychology and psychiatry. And we recognize that these disciplines are addressing the human person in our complexity. And we are the most complex creatures of God. And I bring this up because our readings today mention wisdom. And…

Jesus ratchets up the tension as he makes declarations which are hard for most of his listeners to accept.

"I am the bread of life." Some notes on how to receive Holy Communion.

We will get to "the bread of life" next week. Today, I call on a teddy bear to help us focus on "bearing with" each other (Ephesians).

Ephesians, on the "assembly," fits in well with the other readings' emphasis on shepherding.

Five minutes of music at the beginning of a Mass at the Cathedral of the Apostolic Vicariate of Izabal, Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. The entire country was celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first Mass in Guatemalan territory.

First Sunday homily with, perhaps, better audio quality. On standoffishness and its opposite.

Using a new app for recording MP3 files.

Heaven will be beyond our imagining ... and also very familiar.

Our faith does depend upon the testimony of witnesses.

Understanding is superior to seeing.

The consciousness of Jesus and his self-emptying.

"Christ learned obedience from what he suffered." This statement from Hebrews may be hard to accept. But Jesus' experience of suffering allows us to bear our own.

Anger and love can and, very often, do go together.

Anger.

Fasting from words.

Peace is one of the gifts of the season of Lent.

There are many indications in Mark's Gospel of an aspect of Jesus' personality: that he is eager for solitude and quiet.

Each of us is more than what we do. The same goes for Jesus.

The deacon preached on January 21. -- Can we appreciate the peace and calm arising from being freed from mental illness?

The touching call of Samuel gives all of us hope that we will hear the call of God, even if many times we mishear it.

Ephesians: The nations beyond the Chosen People inherit the Good News of Jesus' death and resurrection.

On the Fourth Sunday of Advent, I left the recording device behind, and when I remembered it, I said to myself that I would be mad to run home for it on this absolutely crazy weekend, with Christmas on Monday. -- We'd like to see around the bend, beyond our capacities. But we remember: "Lord, your words have been fulfilled."…

We make many decisions about who we think is impressive and attractive. We might want to re-think our criteria.

I remember why December 3 did not get recorded. My recording device had a dead battery. -- Where are we to find comfort and joy?

"The least" is not Jesus' concept. It is something we have devised so we can tell ourselves to whom to pay attention. Jesus confounds our strategies.

I cannot recall why I did not record November 12. -- There is more to life than being industrious.

A focus on today's psalm, 131, about the peace which all profess to desire.

We must heed St. Paul's words: "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind."

Peter professes faith in Jesus ... having no idea what his adherence to Jesus will mean.

I cannot recall why I have no recording for August 13. -- I reflect on a discussion of the nature of interfaith friendship. These words seem quite prescient as we consider the agony in Gaza/West Bank and Israel.

We consider the feelings of Peter, James and John as they behold their Master transfigured.

It appears that I recorded myself twice this Sunday.

I regret that next Sunday's feast of the Transfiguration keeps us from hearing "What can separate us?" (Romans 8.) So I have included what we otherwise would have heard the following Sunday!

Do you often rebuke temerity? Are you frustrated by a lack of explanation of Jesus' parables? Why does prayer seem to be so much like groaning?

I was on vacation on July 9. -- We must open ourselves to the gift of insight, a way of seeing more deeply the meaning of life.

My best guess is that the deacon preached on June 25. -- A return to Romans 6 and the core teaching on baptism.

We read from Romans that our salvation is sheer gift.

Reflections on the Eucharist in light of the death of a man who built an altar.

Even the First Letter of Peter contains imagery of sheep and shepherding.

The First Letter of Peter thinks about Jesus' death and resurrection as our "ransom" from eternal death.

We must take note of the First Letter of Peter, our second reading for the Sundays of Easter this year. There are many statements of encouragement which make us feel more alive.

Are we, in fact, ready for the gift of resurrection?

The ninth chapter of John's Gospel causes us to ask: Who is really blind?