Our Lenten journey began with the words: Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. The third Luminous mystery of the rosary sums it up well by saying Jesus came proclaiming the Good News and the conversion of life. Lenten is often referred to as the retreat of Read more…
Ash Wednesday Homily, 2023 Once again, another Lenten Season begins with the invitation to return to the Lord. (Joel 2:12-18). The Greek word for conversion is metanoia which places this invitation to return to the Lord in stark relief. Metanoia means to turn completely around. This is the kind of conversion we seek. We Read more…
I was reminded of something this week I already knew. Then, it was reinforced again in today’s Gospel. On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:“Let us cross to the other side.”Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.And Read more…
Dear friends, Advent is a time for reflecting on basic realities, such as the existence of God and his divine goodness that created all things. The scriptures recall the many different encounters people have with God or Christ and the immediate reaction is one of unworthiness, of one’s sinfulness in Read more…
The Word of God for this weekend continues to ‘cleanse’ us for true worship – worship in Spirit and Truth. (John 4:23) Jesus cleanses the temple of money changers and the animals used for making sacrifice, is a good ‘symbol’ for what is taking place each Lent, as Jesus is Read more…
We continue to turn to God’s Word for instruction in this time of Lent. Joseph in the Old Testament reading from the Book of Genesis is the ‘beloved son’ of Israel, and hated by his other brothers. Joseph ‘pre-figures’ Christ as the Savior: ‘beloved son’, thrown into a cistern, sold Read more…
The Prophet Isaiah in today’s readings again renews the call of Lent: “Let us set things right.” The readings today give us three perspectives for self-examination. The towns of Sodom and Gomorrah were notorious for the sinful practices so prevalent in their day. Thus, the first point for our consideration Read more…
As a part of his sermon on the mount, Jesus teaches: “love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Heavenly Father”. (See Matthew 5:43-48) This is indeed a Word of Truth and Wisdom for a world fractured with so much division. Read more…
Today’s readings for Mass continue the call of Lent to ‘return to the Lord.’ The call today is for us to recognize our sin in the face of the righteousness of God. The Prophet Ezekiel speaks of ‘wicked men’ and the need to turn away from sin. Do we Read more…
Today’s readings continue the call to conversion of this Advent season. As the Prophet Zephaniah proclaims, we must confess our own ‘rebellious, polluted and tyrannical’ ways that ignore God. Now is the time to admit we no longer hear God’s voice or accept correction, and have failed to place our Read more…