THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

Lk 2:22-40  Dear Friends. “Silent Night” before Christmas is very different from after Christmas. As a society we are wired for the emotional high of Christmas. I like to think that there are two “Silent Nights”. One is the commercial version. This is central to the Christmas that is the mixture...

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FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

CHRISTMAS REFLECTION  Putting Christ back into Christmas is surely the desire of most Christians. The intensity of the “Black Fridays” and “Cypher Mondays” and the rest is so intense, it is truly difficult to break through the message to “shop till you drop.” On a personal level, a great number...

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THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11First Thessalonians 5:16-24John 1:6-8, 19-28    Dear Friends. Isaiah is the book of Advent. Its history spans several different historical periods but its message is rich and fulfilling: the Lord is coming and the Lord is ever mindful of His people. It is a proclamation...

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SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Mark 1:1-8.  Dear Friends, The Season of Advent is a time of hope. We long for the coming of the Lord. In the first three weeks, we put the focus on Jesus coming for us personally and coming to bring the final victory in the battle of good and evil, to deliver us from the consequences of a truly...

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THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Mark 13:33-37 Dear Friends, Advent has us look backwards so we can look forward. Both views call us to live more intensely in the present. We look backwards through the prophet Isaiah. His message of hope is a central element of the Advent message. We look forward to the coming of Jesus. In the...

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THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

MATTHEW 2 25:34-46 Dear Friends, This feast of Christ the King is a bridge between the year that is ending and the year that is coming. It is more related to our life in a passing world where the tyranny of the clock gives way to the hope of a future that will transcend our mortality. These Sundays...

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THE THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

MATTHEW 25:14-30. Dear Friends. The message for us in today’s Gospel is clear: to realize that God is calling us to use our time, talent and treasure to increase the kingdom of God. Our call is to create and support life in all of its various manifestations. We are invited to enter into and embrace...

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THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 25:1-13 Dear Parishioners, In today’s Gospel story the Sadducees challenges Jesus with a simplistic and absurd story about seven brothers marrying the same woman. Jesus turns the story into a profound truth that we profess in the Apostles’ Creed: the resurrection of the body. But before the...

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THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 23:1-12 Dear Friends, In my second or third year as a young priest, at the end of the Second Vatican Council, I began to tell people to drop the Father and just call me Tracy. Very shortly one of the wise leaders of the parish pulled me aside to tell me a simple truth: It was not about me! She...

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THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 22:34-40 Dear Friends. Today’s Gospel selection is the third of four conflict stories in chapter twenty two in which the leaders try to entrap Jesus. Each time Jesus turns the challenge around to give a deeper a deeper insight into His Gospel message. In fact, today’s lesson is about as close...

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THE TWENTY NINTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 22: 15-21 Dear Friends. Today’s Gospel is the first in a series of different groups that try to entrap Jesus and thus endanger his life. In each case, Jesus turns the issue into a teaching opportunity. Today’s message is not the separation of church and state. It is a clear mandate on the...

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THE TWENTY EIGHTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

St. Matthew 22:1-14 Dear Friends, In today’s Gospel reading, Matthew has multiple messages. I want to delve into two points. We have received an invitation to the wedding feast and that has consequences for us. In the Bible, the theme of the invitation or call is repeated often. Abraham is the first...

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THE TWENTY SEVENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 21:33-43 Dear Friends,We are quickly approaching the end of the Church year with our journey in the Gospel of Matthew. The next several Sundays have selections that highlight two things: Jesus’ conflict with the Jewish leaders and His call to make a decision on His message. Down through Church...

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THE TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 21:28-32 Dear Friends, Today’s Gospel message has a context. It was after Jesus’s’ glorious entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. He then cleansed the temple. The escalation of these events led to even deeper conflict with the religious leaders. With today’s parable of the two sons...

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TWENTY FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 20:1-16 Dear Friends, Each Sunday the Gospel message invites us into a new world, a world where the values of Jesus call and challenge us to change. In this world, we are told that the last shall be first, the leader is to be the servant of all. The response to violence is not revenge...

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THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 18:21-35 Dear Friends. Once again, Jesus uses the misinformed good will of Peter to lead us deeper into the mystery of God’s love. To understand today’s message, there are several background points that are helpful. First, Peter’s suggestion of seven was quite generous in contrast to the...

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TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 18:15-21 Dear Friends, Today’s message of forgiveness and reconciliation is where the Gospel becomes concrete, where the rubber hits the road. This message is part of a special section (Mt 18:1-35) on the church as a community. The Christian community is made up of flawed human beings who...

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THE TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 16: 21-27   Dear Friends, From time to time, when I am frustrated working with people, especially in the Church, I say Jesus made only one mistake. He chose to let people to do His work. Of course, this is basically no different than what Peter told Jesus in today’s Gospel. In the beginning...

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THE TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Matthew 16:13-20  Dear Friends. Peter had quite a journey from the time Jesus asked him to leave his boat and nets and follow “Who do you say I am?” (Mt 16:15)  Him. He saw it all: the blind seeing, the lame walking, the devils cast out, the loaves and the fish and, of course, his short,...

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HOW MANY TIMES MUST I FORGIVE?

Matthew 18: 21-35  Dear Friends, Today’s Gospel continues Jesus’ teaching on the Church as a Christian community. Peter asks the question that set the scene. In the question of how many times we must forgive, Peter reveals a tremendous amount of growth. Remember all his life Peter was a faithful...

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