Homily
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The best advocate in the chaos
There are times when we need an Advocate. We need someone to advance our cause, to put into words what we’re feeling, and to speak truth to the powers holding us back. The best Advocate of all is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father has sent in the name of Jesus. The gospel is part of Jesus's going away speech to his disciples. He makes this speech the night before he died. It is fitting that the church places this reading toward the end of Easter, in between the resurrection and Pentecost. He said, “I am going away and I will come back to you.” He continues, “The Advocate, the…
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How to keep the gift of divine mercy flowing
In scripture, there are two different images of the disciples. In the gospel (Jn 20:20), they're behind locked doors. They are afraid. At least one is filled with doubts. In Acts (5:12-16), they’re doing signs and wonders in the name of Jesus and drawing great crowds. What made the difference? Which image best describes your discipleship? Are you behind locked doors of your faith? Are you a little afraid of the threatening world? Do you doubt that God is doing anything about it? Or are you boldly proclaiming Jesus in the marketplace with your words and actions? Do signs and wonders accompany your life? Do you draw people from all…
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This is what Jesus said you should also do…
In the gospel, Jesus gives a command. “As I have done for you, you should also do.” What did he do? A disgusting, humiliating task assigned to the lowest of slaves. He washed the dirty feet of the disciples. He said to them, and he says to me and you. “As I have done, you should also do.” You should give your life over to another out of love, even if that means performing the lowest, most humiliating task. You should become washers of dirty feet.
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The most important part of a Lenten pilgrimage
Two questions: What are your prayer intentions for Lent? How is God answering these intentions? I ask this because I just finished a pilgrimage to the shrines of Mexico. The leader, Fr. Marcel Amadi, said before we started that each pilgrim should have some specific intentions. I chose three. Each day during the pilgrimage, we had at least two opportunities to pray for these intentions: one was during Mass, and the other was during the Novena we recited to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Lent is like a pilgrimage.
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How to Interpret the Upside Down Beatitudes
Jesus is turning what we value upside down. Blessed are the poor?!? Woe to the rich?!? Blessed are those who cry?!? Woe to those who laugh?!? Is he serious? I think we need to let the shock of what he’s saying sink in, and then figure out what we should do about it.
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How to cope when the wine of life runs dry
In the presence of the divine groom, the waters in the jugs can’t help but be transformed into the wine of God, flowing in abundance, drowning the world in love, joy, peace, happiness. But we don’t always feel it. What do you do when the wine runs out?
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Christmas is God’s way of saying, “Excuse me!”
If one ordinary child can change the community in the plane, think about how the birth of the son of God can change the human family. Christmas is our celebration of the God of the universe breaking into our world of selfishness, loneliness, sadness, and pain and saying, “Excuse me!”
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A Word Only Found in the Desert
“The word of God came to John in the desert.” (Lk 3:1-6) These are words of great hope, not only for the people of John’s time but also for you and me. Just as the word of God came to John, the word of God can come to Scott. The Word of God can come to you. Advent is a season where we invite the word of God into our hearts. Why is it important to hear the Word of God? It is the only word that could make sense of the sorrow, oppression, helplessness, confusion, and pain. It’s the only word that can repair this broken world. Let’s learn…
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What do you need to leave behind?
Homily for the 30th Sunday: Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mk 10:46-52) That’s quite a question from Jesus: What do you want me to do for you? The blind Bartimaeus answered, “I want to see.” If Jesus were to ask you the same question, how would you answer: What do you want me to do for you? Think about that answer for a minute or two while I talk about the question. The question reveals a few things about how Jesus relates to us. First of all, the question…
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Don’t succumb to the eyes of envy
Homily for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Envy is not a pretty word. It is a deadly word. Out of the seven deadly sins, envy is number two. Number one is our other ‘frenemy’, pride. Saint James says it is the source of all wars and conflicts. “Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? You covet but do not possess. You… envy but you cannot obtain. (James 4:1-2) He continues to say: “Where [there is] jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is [also] disorder and every foul practice. With such scathing comments, what is envy, and what can we do about it? Envy…
