4th Sunday Advent B: Christmas Approaches

Christmas is a time of year when we are bombarded with material things. We see, smell, taste and hear this festive time of year and are reminded of the infant birth with Christmas cards, songs, nativity sets, and decorations. The gifts that we exchange with friends, family and colleagues are symbolic of the gifts given … [Read more…]

3rd Sunday of Advent B: I Am Not can bring us Joy

St John’s Gospel is very clear about the divine identity of Jesus. The prologue to the Gospel today speaks of Him as the Word which was in the beginning with God and is God. Jesus Himself repeatedly uses the phrase ‘I am’, echoing the divine name revealed to Moses in the burning bush.  There is … [Read more…]

Solemnity of Christ the King: The Majesty of Christ Crucified

By Father John O’Conner Thinking of this Sunday’s gospel reading, that of the Final Judgment, and of the Gospel readings for the Solemnity of Christ the Universal King on other years, is reminiscent of a scene from Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables, in which Jean Valjean, the principal character of the book, encounters the saintly … [Read more…]

32nd Sunday A: Don’t Just Hang Around

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear of ten virgins, five foolish and five wise. The five wise ones have flasks of oil with their lamps. The foolish do not. Now, why couldn’t the five who had thought of it simply share some of their oil with the others? Why did they have to make it … [Read more…]

Solemnity of All Saints Homily 2020

During the ordination rite of a priest, the bishop says to the newly ordained: “Know what you are doing; model your life on the mystery of the Lord’s Cross.” Knowing what you are doing presupposes knowing who you are.  In small matters, not knowing what we are doing might be comical or annoying, but in more … [Read more…]