Fulfilled in your Hearing

In Mark’s gospel, we hear a lesson from Jesus as he and his listeners observe a widow putting a few small coins into the treasury amidst the large sums being put in by others. Ever since I was a kid, the interpretation that I’ve most often...

Bartimeus, a blind beggar, likely begged from a great variety of people each day – priests, Levites, Pharisees, Sadducees, Jews, Romans, people of many other nationalities, rich, poor, men and women. Except for a few “regulars” he probably had no clue about the identity of...

Twenty-third Sunday of Ordinary Time In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells us to let our light shine so that people may see what we do and give glory to God. But this week, in the Gospel of Mark (7:31-37), as Jesus heals a man who is...

Sunday, April 14, 2024 (Luke 24:35-48) Ok, so does anyone else get a kick out of the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Easter? No? Just me? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not being irreverent or disrespectful. I legitimately love it because it is just so real that it...

For as much trouble as I tend to have with John the evangelist as a writer (for heaven’s sake, man, use a period once in awhile!) I will grant him this much: he knew how to write an elevator pitch. And really, that’s pretty forward-thinking...

One of my personal little ‘life rules’ is don’t ask the question if you don’t want to know the answer. (It ranks right up there with it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission, and proceed until apprehended.) I have...

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) defines reconciliation as an ongoing process of establishing and maintaining respectful relationships. Today’s Gospel reading talks about the duty to correct an erring brother or sister. Jesus says, “if your brother or sister does something wrong, go and have...

In the Scripture passages for this Sunday, both Jeremiah and Peter are unhappy with the circumstances in which they find themselves. Jeremiah rails against God: “You seduced me, and I allowed myself to be seduced”. And yet, in the midst of his complaining, Jeremiah recognizes...

When it comes to the story of Jesus walking on water (Mt 14:22-33), and reflecting upon it in the context of vocations, it would be easy to draw a straight line and conclude that without sufficient trust in Jesus, the potential for failure at our...

Today’s first reading and the Gospel stress the importance of hospitality shown to the bearers of God’s word and in particular to strangers. Hospitality is the hallmark of every Christian. How strange all of our homes are always open to receive sunshine, fresh air but...

Sometimes we need to adjust our focus. As we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, our immediate focus might be on forgiveness of our sins. However, God’s mercy doesn’t focus on sin, but on action, especially on behalf of others. God’s mercy is revealed to us in many...

Here we are again. Passion Sunday. I’ve heard the story so, so many times. I know it by heart, literally and figuratively. Yet, no matter how many times I’ve heard it, read it, studied it… every year, I’ve found that there has always been something new...

Our God is a God of surprises. Imagine the folks gathered in Bethlehem when Samuel announces that David is the Lord’s anointed. In a society where the firstborn son had pre-eminence, where a warrior leader was idolized, it would be inconceivable that a boy, the youngest...

If. Such an insignificant little word, it would seem. But there’s nothing trivial about "if", really. It’s full of potential. Despite being only two letters in length, it’s actually quite powerful. And the devil knows how to use it. In this Sunday’s gospel (Mt 4:1-11) Jesus is...

Two injunctions are repeated in Leviticus and Mathew’s Gospel this weekend: “Be holy (perfect) as God is holy (perfect)” and “Love your neighbour as yourself”. Both readings challenge us to reflect on relationships and the quality of our relationships. In the first instance, we are challenged...

When I was a young adult, I worked at a summer camp in Northern Saskatchewan. As Assistant Camp Director, one of my jobs was to do rounds after ‘lights out’ and make sure that all of the campers were in their own tenting areas. Sneaking...

Full disclosure: sometimes I have a really hard time relating to Mary and Joseph. That may be alarming for you to hear. You might even find it a bit irreverent. (Or, who knows? Maybe you’re relieved to hear someone else say what you’ve secretly been thinking,...

The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour; really, is he? What may be coming is an unexpected life event, like that of the flood. We know Matthew frames his gospel through the lens of fulfillment of the Old Testament. Our task now,...

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’” Luke 16:29 As we listen to the Gospel this weekend, we can hear that unspoken painful regret, “If only I had listened.” The rich man hadn’t listened to Moses and the prophets, and...

Banquets. Who doesn’t like them? Banquets are often occasions of joy and celebration: weddings, anniversaries, reunions, Christmas, Easter, etc. In this weekend’s Gospel, Jesus is invited to a dinner and then uses a parable of a wedding banquet to challenge his listeners to go beyond...

“The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few”. As a seminarian, one question I hear quite often surrounds the apparent lack of vocations and the shortage of priests in the church. “Where are all the vocations? Isn’t God calling people to serve him anymore?”,...

Law and tradition are good things. As demonstrated in the first reading from Deuteronomy, the Law, as given by Moses, was to help the people of Israel maintain their relationship with God. They had finally completed their 40-year journey through the desert and were about...

“Sir, give us this bread always.”  John 6: 34 We continue the Bread of Life cycle of readings and today’s passages from Exodus and the Gospel of John illustrate our best and our most tragic potential. Rather than rejoicing in their freedom from slavery and looking ahead...

As students of theology, we were sent to different ministries for experience during our summer vacation. We used to call it a summer exposure program. As oblate scholastics, we had the opportunity to explore a different kind of ministries like prison ministry, HIV and AIDS...

"The Lord heals the broken-hearted, and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3 The Psalm used in this weekend’s liturgy praises God for the compassion, tenderness and care God shows Israel. It also expresses, in the poetic language of the Psalms, what we see of Jesus’ ministry in...

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’” (Mark 1:3) Trailblazers are known as the people who make a new track through a wild country. This task requires lots of practical skills, but also lots...

As Peter experiences Jesus transfigured in the presence of Moses and Elijah, he longs to preserve the glory. The first temple of the Israelites was a rectangular tent about forty-five feet by fifteen feet surrounded by much larger rectangular open air tent.  In this enclosure incense...

The parable of the rich master and the dishonest steward helps us appreciate the relationship between the soul and ego in our own lives and how important discerning the roles of each are in vocation discernment. Everyone has an ego just like everyone has a stomach...

While Jesus takes steps towards Jerusalem someone asks how many will be saved. Jesus doesn’t answer the question but addresses how to approach salvation.  “Strive to enter through the narrow door.” With athletic determination commit yourself totally to God and your vocation, God’s plan for your...

"Through his bodily ascension to the Father the physical connection between the risen Jesus and the infant church is dramatically changed. The cord is cut." Forty is the Bible’s way of saying “that’s how long it took for something to happen.” Forty points to fulfillment and...

There is an astonishing parallel between this Sunday’s Gospel and the giving of the Ten Commandments.  After Israel’s liberation from slavery Moses met God on Mount Sinai. Then he descended and proclaimed to Israel the terms of God’s covenant which they accepted. When God finished speaking...