Homilies For This Week
Homily Archive
Friday of
Week 23 in Ordinary Time1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-27 & Lk. 6:39-42
Saint Paul’s conversion to Christianity was, as we know, sudden and dramatic. From that moment he found the Gospel so exciting that he felt impelled to spend the rest of his life sharing it with...
By Their Fruits You Will Know Them
Cycle II
Saturday of
Week 23 in Ordinary Time1 Cor. 10:14-22 & Lk. 6:43-49
What does the Eucharist really mean to us? Do we truly believe, as Saint Paul says, that the blessing cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ, that the bread we break is a communion with His...
The Value Of Conflict
Cycle II
Monday of
Week 24 in Ordinary Time1 Cor. 11:17-26 & Lk. 7:1-10
Saint Paul was greatly concerned to preserve the unity of the church at Corinth. He believed like many of us do that doctrinal and liturgical divisions among Christians are an embarrassment if not a...
The Compassionate Christ
Cycle II
Tuesday of
Week 24 in Ordinary Time1 Cor. 12:12-14, 27-31 & Lk. 7:11-17
One of the great images of the Church as a body is given by Saint Paul in today's first reading. Just as a body has many parts, so does the Church. The body for its best functioning needs all the...
Jesus' Way Is The Only Way
Cycle II
Wednesday of
Week 24 in Ordinary Time1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 & Luke 7:31-35
What is real love? Saint Paul gives us the criteria. Real love is patient and kind, not jealous nor snobbish. Real love does not put on airs and is never rude. It is not selfish and resentful. There...
Thursday of
Week 24 in Ordinary Time1 Tim. 4:12-16 & Lk. 7:36-50
Hard-headed rationalists boast that they only believe what they are able to discover for themselves. That kind of boast may impress people who aspire to become independent thinkers. But the only...
Recognising Our Spiritual Poverty
Cycle II
Friday of
Week 24 in Ordinary Time1 Cor. 15:12-20 & Lk. 8:1-3
The Corinthian Christians believed in Christ's Resurrection but not in the resurrection of the body. Greek philosophy saw the body as a prison for the soul. At death, the soul was set free and...
Saturday of
Week 24 in Ordinary Time1 Tim. 6:13-16 & Lk. 8:4-15
The Christians in the church at Corinth were worried about the life to come. Most of them came from a Greek background that believed the soul would live forever once it was freed from the 'prison...
Monday of
Week 25 in Ordinary TimeEzra 1:1-6 & Lk. 8:16-18
A man’s car broke down on a busy street. He raised the bonnet and began a fruitless search for the problem. Motorists swerved around him, some hurling verbal abuse at him. More than 100 must have...
The Ties That Bind
Cycle II
Tuesday of
Week 25 in Ordinary TimeEzra 6:7-8 & 12, 14-20 & Lk. 8:19-21
Sometimes a wife complains to her husband that he never says he loves her any more. The husband replies, 'You know I love you. I work hard at my job for you and the children. Surely that shows that I...
Carrying On The Work Of Christ
Cycle II
Wednesday of
Week 25 in Ordinary TimeProverbs 30:5-9 & Lk. 9:1-6
“God is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” These are comforting words from the book of Proverbs in the First Reading today. Many Christians take those words to mean that God will let no...
We Are More Than A Mere Breath
Cycle II
Thursday of
Week 25 in Ordinary TimeEcclesiastes 1:2-11 & Luke 9:7-9
You could claim that today's First Reading is the bleakest and most pessimistic passage in the entire Bible. Although the author believed in God, he was of the view that it is impossible to make much...
Do Not Be Afraid - I Am With You
Cycle II
Friday of
Week 25 in Ordinary TimeEcclesiastes 3:1-11 & Luke 9:18-22
There is an appointed time for everything, as today's First Reading tells us. It describes the events in every life and their place in every life. This is the way God has planned it. Each of these is...
There Is Meaning To Our Life
Cycle II
Saturday of
Week 25 in Ordinary TimeEcclesiastes 11:9-12:8 & Luke 9:43-45
The author of the book of Ecclesiastes does not sound optimistic. The reason is that despite his belief in God, he lived in an era when there was no clear understanding of the afterlife. The notion...
Jesus, The God-Man
Year A
Sunday of
Week 21 in Ordinary TimeMt. 16:13-21
We who are cradle Catholics have always believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and Saviour of the world. When Jesus first called His Apostles to follow Him they could not say this of...
Why Do We Follow Christ?
Year A
Sunday of
Week 22 in Ordinary TimeJeremiah 20:7-9 & Mt. 16:21-27
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” What an incredible invitation from Jesus in today's Gospel – usually if someone wants...
Sunday of
Week 23 in Ordinary TimeEz. 33:7-9 & Mt. 18:15-20
There is something I find hard to do - and I wonder if you feel the same. It is pointing out to others the wrong they are doing. I feel I should mind my own business yet in today’s Gospel Jesus...
Sunday of
Week 24 in Ordinary TimeMt. 18:21-35
We have much for which we should thank Saint Peter – even his quick tongue! Again and again he rushed into speech and his impetuosity drew from Jesus teaching that is immortal.
On the occasion...
Sunday of
Week 25 in Ordinary TimeMt. 20:1-16
We can all feel for the men in today's Gospel who had worked hard the whole day and found themselves being paid the same as those who had only worked one hour. Yes, it was true that they had agreed...
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
Ordinary TimeLk. 1:39-56
15th August has always been a memorable day in my life. It was the day, when at the age of 10, I arrived with my family at Tilbury Docks after a four week cruise through the Suez canal from India. My...
Suffering Is Part Of God's Plan
Cycle II
Monday of
Week 26 in Ordinary TimeJob 1:6-22 & Lk. 9:46-50
Suffering is one of the most perplexing of human experiences. If only evil people suffered as a punishment for their wickedness and if good people were rewarded ln this life for their goodness, there...
The Beginning Of Ecumenism
Cycle II
Tuesday of
Week 26 in Ordinary TimeJob 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 & Lk. 9:51-56
Job was so miserable in his misfortunes that he wished he had never been born. He was near despair because he could not see any reason or purpose for his sufferings. It was only through a desperate...
Being True To Your Word
Cycle II
Wednesday of
Week 26 in Ordinary TimeJob 9:1-12, 14-16 & Lk. 9:57-62
In the midst of his sufferings Job could have thought that with the kind of friends he had who needs enemies? Three of his friends came to console him, but gradually consolation turned to accusation....
Lambs In The Midst Of Wolves
Cycle II
Thursday of
Week 26 in Ordinary TimeJob 19:21-27 & Lk. 10:1-12
Probably one of the most depressing of all human experiences is to feel all alone. I refer to a situation in which there seems to be no one who understands and cares about us. Three friends came to...
Friday of
Week 26 in Ordinary TimeJob 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 & Lk. 10:13-16
Modern experts advise parents always to give their children explanations for the rules and regulations they make at home. Children should be given, so far as they can understand them, the reasons why...
