Category Archives: Ordinary Time

Homily for Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2024

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Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Carver MA

“He began to ask them, “‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.” (Mark 9: 30).


Every time I have read that sentence from the Gospel of Mark, I find myself wishing I could change a small part of that sentence. I have to believe that they were not “discussing” anything …..they were arguing about who amongst them was the greatest. And no matter how quiet they may have tried to be, eventually they caught Jesus’ attention. It was then that He brought them to the side of the road; had them sit down; and told them flat out what it means to be first of His followers. And it was by being last of all. It meant being a servant of all. It meant being last of all those he or she may encounter, seeing to the other’s needs; before their own.


Now if this is what it means to follow Christ; can you imagine the reaction of some of our families and friends; our neighbors and the strangers we meet. In today’s society, in parts of our country and elsewhere; the goal is to be number one, numero uno, whether because of wealth; intelligence or power. And there are many who are loathed to give that up.


However, if Jesus is calling us to become the servants of all; we must take that call seriously, and open our hearts to whatever inspiration the Holy Spirit may give us. Whether we are called to small or great deeds, we do so with the help of Christ. Whatever challenges lays before us.


Jesus said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and and whoever receives me, receive not me but the One who sent me.”

A Homily for Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 25th, 2024

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Saint Thomas Aquinas Church, Bridgewater MA

“He performed these great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore, we also will serve the Lord for He is our God.” (Joshua 24)

In this chapter from the Book of Joshua, we see the children of Israel, the ones who fled from Egypt, and their children, make a promise to obey God, follow His teachings, and live according to His commandments.

As we read through the Old Testament stories, we see how they struggled to be faithful to that initial promise they made to God. They were not always successful.


In today’s Gospel reading, we also see the inability for many of the people who had originally committed themselves to Jesus ; only to find that they could not accept His teaching and went back to their old ways. Only the Twelve remained; and even they could not fully understand, at first, what Jesus was trying to teach them. But they knew something wonderful was happening; they believed in Jesus.


The question that is before us this day is how strong is our belief in, of our acceptance of the Good News that was proclaimed by Jesus. I read in the newspapers, watch on television, see on my laptop, the news of the decline in church attendance. We hear of the lack of interest in practicing the faith. It pains me to see how few young people are not coming to church, to experince the love and joy one gets from encountering Christ in the Eucharist.


So what are we going to do? First of all is that we must not lose hope. Hold onto the Jesus, embrace Him and His teaching. Open our hearts and let the grace of the Spirit flood in; guiding us on how to live the Good News in today’s fractured world. Each of us, in our own unique ways, can help make Christ present and active in our homes, our communities. Where we socialize or where we work; we can become living examples of Jesus Christ’s teachings; living examples of what it means to live the Gospel, here and now.


“Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’ Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Master to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”


May Simon Peter’s response be our own, as we go into the world around us.

Homily – Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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A long, loooong time ago, my father and uncle bought a motor boat. Back then these boats were all wood, not fiberglass, with wooden benches, instead of cushioned seats. Our families used it for water skiing, and for fishing, fresh water or ocean. One Saturday, my father and uncle took me, my brother and a cousin out into the sea, off of Lynn Harbor, for some fishing.

We were having an enjoyable day, when suddenly a storm came down on us. The waves were huge, the boat was bouncing up and down. The bench we were seating on suddenly collapsed; to say we were scared would be an understatement. We did finally reach the safety of Nahant harbor; but that was an experience.


Needless to say, I think I can empathize with what the disciples were going through, on their own boat. Still, these were veteran fishermen, who should have known how to sail through rough seas. One can understand Jesus being peeved with them.


Still there is a lesson to be learned. I think that all of us need to reflect on our own responses might be, when the world tosses challenges at us, especially challenges to our faith, to what we believe; to what actions we are being asked to take, in the name of the Gospel; which we are called to proclaim by word and deed.
In the world, out there, we see new challenges; challenges to world peace, challenges to peace and harmony in our nation, in our communities; some would say even in our Church. There are storms a brewing out there, storms that threaten to swamp us.

How do we respond? By first of all, by having faith. To believe firmly that God is with us. Yes, it is a challenge, and there may be times when we may not meet that challenge. Yet, Christ is with us, encouraging us to strive to live the Gospel, to proclaim the Good News. The Holy Spirit is with us, to calm our fears, to inspire us to push on, in living the Gospel. And Father is there to embrace us all, to be a comfort to us all, no matter what trials we face.


“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Third Sunday Ordinary Time – Homily

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Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Carver, MA

“Moses spoke to all the people, saying ‘A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, will raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen.”


The Hebrew people were about to enter the promised land, Moses would not be entering the land with them. Up to that moment, it was he who passed on the words that God spoke for them, because the people could not bear hearing the voice of God. Now Moses declared that the Lord would raise up prophets who will speak to them, and share the word of the Lord. The Old Testament speaks of these prophets, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others who faithfully proclaimed the word of God to the people.


Then, the time came, when God wished to speak directly to His people, and to the all persons on earth. It is now that Jesus, the living “Word” of God, makes His appearance. He brought the Word of God directly to the people, changing the relationship humanity had with the Father. By his death and Resurrection, he freed us from the hold sin and death had over us, he showed us how we can draw closer to the Father, to share in the joy and peace such an encounter with our living God can provide.

Through Jesus, we have a closer relationship with the Father, in that relationship, we find ourselves encouraged to change, to be converted into more loving persons, to be drawn closer together as brothers and sisters in Christ. In our experience of God’s love for us, we are all also being called to share in the work of Christ, to proclaim the Good News, to work towards a world that can be transformed into a more loving and peaceful place for all people. We do this by both our words and our deeds. Together or individually, we reach out to the poor, the wounded, the isolated, the desolate. It can be through our acts of charity, large or small. Or it can be by just giving a smile to a stranger, a warm handshake, a gentle embrace. There are so many ways that we can share with the world the joy we all have felt when we experience the love of God.


I would like to close with these words I came across in my reading. It is a quote from the writings of St. Oscar Romero, assassinated Archbishop of San Salvador:


“To know Christ is to know God. Christ is the homily that keeps explaining to continually that God is love, that God is power, that the Spirit of the Lord is upon Jesus Christ, that he is the divine Word, God’s presence among us.”