Sunday Homilies

When he speaks of throwing the food of the children to the dogs, Jesus lays bare a nativism which we carefully hide from ourselves. The fact of a child's illness breaks through the barriers we erect so we can create for ourselves that "comfort zone" we so frequently refer to. The human need for health -- for salvation -- is universal. May our self-imposed barriers crumble beneath God's outstretched arm (Alternate Opening Prayer).

I love the Olympics. I always have to see the opening ceremony. Friday night, in addition to the spectacle, we saw a little boy with the towering Yao Ming. I find a connection with Elijah in the cave and Peter trying to walk to his master on water.

Our duty to foster communion and dialogue; our assurance that nothing can separate us from God -- these are a few parts of the great variety of thoughts presented to us through the Scriptures.

What is your heart's desire?  It becomes obvious to any Christian that we must keep revising our idea of that heart's desire as it comes to embrace nothing less than the Kingdom of God.

Rely not upon the "explanation" of the parable of the weeds in the wheat. Let the parable itself carry you to a consideration of the patience of God.

You need an explanation of the parables of Jesus ... if you want to make them safe and domesticated and toothless. Jesus probably did not provide explanations; somebody in the early Church considered this necessary. Jesus intended his parables to have teeth -- to keep gnawing at us as we consider how we enter into the kingdom of God.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

You need to decide whether the homilist is conscious. After a week spent at Catholic HEART Workcamp, I was suffering from severe sleep deprivation. I seem to recall talking about CREATURELINESS. Believe me, I was feeling like a creature, not a creator.

This was the homily given on the occasion of my silver jubilee.  This homily is unusual because I am interrupted by people explaining to me how funny it was for me to say "You don't know one another ... and it's a good thing."  They didn't let me complete my thought -- it's a good thing (for me, at least) that all these people from across nearly 51 years can come together for something very meaningful.  It was especially good for me.

Since Easter was the earliest we'll ever see it, we have before us twenty-six weeks of Ordinary Time, and that means six months of a more or less continuous reading from the Gospel of Matthew.  Today's passage is the conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.  Does the exhortation to "build your house on rock" contradict St. Paul's teaching that salvation is a free gift?

We were baptized into "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."  The  communitarian being of God Himself helps us to understand why it is absolutely necessary for us to live our lives in relationship.

See the Vigil of Pentecost for references to harrowing experiences (does even St. Paul have the right to be the one talking about "labor pains" on the weekend of Mother's Day?).  Going through crises may perhaps purify our sense of what really matters in life.  We may be more responsive to the Holy Spirit.

This one features yours truly trying to talk about four different things; the third part is the homily proper.  Jesus commands the Eleven to "go and make disciples" -- in other words, bring people around so that they are as excited about their faith as anyone devoted to a particular teacher.

The essence of God is sharing.  Now that's something to think about.

I can't remember what I preached about.

The resurrection of Jesus, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, create community.  The first letter of Peter proclaims our new birth in baptism.  Birth means we belong to someone.  We eagerly claim our relationship to the crucified and risen one.

Resurrection is real; we just have a hard time perceiving it.  Resurrection, in fact, is a challenge held out to us.  Do we accept the challenge?  Do we submit to the dying that is necessary if we are to rise?