The Prophetic Body of Christ- Reflection for Mass of August 9, 2009

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: 1 Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 34:2-9; Ephesians 4:30- 5:2; John 6:41-51 
Prophecy is a difficult, even dangerous, undertaking. Elijah knew this well. He contended with the unprecedented depravity of King Ahab who, as Scripture recounts, had done “evil in the sight of the Lord more than any of his predecessors.” [...]

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Sacred Heart of Jesus- Reflection for Mass of June 19, 2009

Friday, June 19, 2009
Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
World Day of Prayer for Priests
Readings: Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9; Responsorial Canticle from Isaiah 12:2-6; Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19; John 19:31-37
Each time we gather for Mass, we celebrate the love of God that is the particular focus of today’s Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our Father [...]

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Prayer and Reconciliation- Reflection for Mass of March 6, 2009

Reconciliation- the restoration and building of relationship with God and with humankind- requires us to pray for one another. Today we mark the World Day of Prayer, observed by several Christian traditions on the first Friday in March, (8) to bring to mind our need to pray for an end to divisions between baptized followers of Jesus…

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Basilian Anniversary and Feast of the Presentation of Mary- Reflection for Mass of November 21, 2008

Vincent Duret, Joseph Lapierre, Augustin Payan, François Polly, Pierre Tourvieille, Julien Tracol, André Fayolle, Henri Martinesche, Jean-François Pagès, Jean-Antoine Vallon…
One hundred eighty-six years ago today, these ten men gathered in Annonay, France, to elect Jean Lapierre as the first Superior General of the Association of Priests of St. Basil. We celebrate the anniversary of our [...]

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Man of Clay

The Gospel Reading for the Fourth Sunday of Lent this year was the story of the man born blind, from the Gospel of John. (John 9:1-41) As is often the case in the Gospels, Jesus is said to have been simply “passing by” (John 9:1) a place when he encounters a person in need, in [...]

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Seers and Knowers

Nearly a month has passed since my arrival in Cali to serve in the Basilian house and in the parish, Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption), and to teach French in the high school of the same name. The students have been back in school for almost three weeks, and the [...]

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The Triduum (Were You There?)

A well-known African-American hymn opens with the verse:
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh!
Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
These words are quite appropriate, I believe, as we enter into the Triduum, the three days during which we celebrate [...]

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Lent

Remember man that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return.With these words, first spoken by God to Adam, the priest marks the foreheads of the faithful with the Sign of the Cross in ashes on Ash Wednesday as a sign of penitence and of the transience of our earthly lives. This verse, derived [...]

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God Is in the Silence

“He said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, [...]

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The Holy Family and Happy New Year

As we inch toward the end of 2006 and the dawning of 2007, firstly I wish all who read this a Happy New Year. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family, while tomorrow we mark the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and the World Day of Peace.
This morning’s homily, given by the [...]

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