Category Archives: Sunday Readings

Keep on Climbing – First Sunday of Advent-2022

Posted on by

“Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2).


A very long time ago, while I was in college, a group of my classmates decided to go up to the White Mountains, and climb one of them. Which one, I cannot remember, I want to believe it was one of the smaller ones. I was invited to join in this “adventure.” Now keep in mind, I was much heavier than I am now, and I was definitely out of shape. But I went anyway.


Now it was fall, the leaves on trees in New Hampshire were just coming into their peak color. We had rented a large cabin for the weekend, we slept on the floor in sleeping bags, and the next morning, we began our hike.


It did not take long for me to realize that this may not have been one of my brighter ideas. I was starting to have having problems; I told them to leave me, I was going to sit on some rocks by the trail, and I would join them on their way down. They were not having it. They literally dragged me up to the summit. And when we made it to the top; and I could catch my breath; I looked out over the mountain range. It was one of those rare days when everything was crisp and clear, and beautiful. The foliage was in full color; you could see the beauty of the mountain range for miles. And I thank God for getting me up there.


We are all at the beginning of another Advent season, the first of two penitential periods on the Church’s calendar. A time of preparation, a time of reflection, a time for penance, a time of renewal. We are all called to make that journey up to “the mountain of the Lord’s House.” To reach where God dwells. It is a journey, a climb that began the moment we were born; the moment we were baptized and confirmed. But how many of us take this journey seriously? Or have we come to believe that this journey is too much for us, that we will just stop here and “rest.” But Jesus is not willing to give up us, He continually calls us again and again, to go forward! He gives us His body and blood to refresh us, to strengthen us; and the Holy Spirit will continue to inspire us, show us the path we are called to travel, and give us that kick in the pants to get up, and get going. And the Father waits for us patiently, lovingly.

Now there are many paths up that mountain, and we each have our own unique journey to make. And Advent is a perfect time to reflect on how our journey, how our life of faith is going. And we can see if a course correction is needed; to and determine what might be holding us back, and what needs to be jettisoned. Advent is an opportunity to refresh our soul, and begin the journey again, reaching for the top, and experiencing the glory and love of God!


“So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

“Zacchaeus, Come Down…“ Homily – Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Church

“Tax collector; MA Dept. Of Revenue, Internal Revenue Service, Revenooer, IRS.” Feeling your tempers rising up just little bit right now?Nothing causes a New Englander’s blood pressure to rise than the subject of taxes, and those who collect them. We had this little thing called the “Revolutionary War,” over it. But why are we still feeling this animosity, because after all, folks, these departments are made up of public employees, people like you and me. And believe it or they serve the public welfare! They are the ones who collect and disperse the funds needed for our towns, cities, states and nation to function. When you come right down to it, they work for us. Now in the time of Jesus, the tax collectors served not the people, but the Empire of Rome. Funds raised locally were for Roman roads, to extend Rome’s power and authority, to pay for occupying Roman legions and officials; and enrich Rome itself. Little went to common folk of Palestine. Except of course, the tax collectors, who, once they reached the goals set for them, would claim the rest as their pay, some, like Zacchaeus, became quite wealthy.

This made them, him, very unpopular, I am sure. But I get the sense, of where Zaccheus was in this stage of his life; he was beginning to have second thoughts of where it going. He was questioning the course it was following. I would speculate that he was beginning to question his relationship with God. I would like to think that he was becoming a seeker, wishing to know what his life was really meant to be. I suspect that he may have started hearing reports about this man from the Galilee and what he was preaching. And when the opportunity arose, he went out to see what this Jesus was all about.

And you all know the rest of the story. He risked life and limb climbing a tree, in order to catch a glimpse of this man from Nazareth. And, Zacchaeus, had what our evangelical brethren would call a “come to Jesus” moment. Literally! And it changed his life forever!

Now, what about us? Have any of us experienced a “come to Jesus” moment? I would say that we all have, every time we gather together to celebrate Mass. When Father consecrates the bread and the wine, when it becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus; when we go up to receive Jesus in Holy Communion; it can be a transformative experience for all of us. Now the experience may be different for each of us, it may be intense, it may be ordinary. But each encounter with Christ, each experience we have, has the potential to make us different, like Zacchaeus! And the way we live the Gospel life, the way we put into practice the teachings of Jesus, can possibly help others experience their own “come to Jesus” experience!

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Posted on by

There are moments in history that take place near or on rivers. In ancient times, the Roman general Caesar, took his legions across the river Rubicon, challenging the authority of the Roman Senate; and won. The Roman Republic became eventually the Roman Empire! On December 25, 1776, General George Washington took his rag tag army across the Delaware River, and attacked the British Hessian force in Trenton, NJ, the following morning. His victory at that battle saved the Continental Army from falling apart, and laid the groundwork for ultimate victory. And then there is the River Jordan. In ancient times, twelve tribes, after wandering in the desert together, crossed the Jordan, and were transformed into a united people. And during the Roman occupation, there was John the Baptist, who on the shores of the Jordan River, was proclaiming that the hoped for Messiah was coming, that now was the time for repentance, a time for change. And the symbol for that was to be bathed in the River, to be washed clean. And there was a growing expectation that the Messiah was coming soon. And then one day, a man from Nazareth arrived on Jordan’s shore, and John recognized him, knew who he was; and John poured the waters of the Jordan over him. And Jesus, saw the Holy Spirit descending upon him, heard his Father voice acknowledging him, “You are my beloved Son.” And the journey began, the work of proclaiming the Good News began.


And the work of salvation continues, Jesus continues the work through us who have also been baptized. On the day of our own baptism, the wound we suffered from Original Sin was healed; we were given new life as adopted children of God; we were all joined together in the Body of Christ, we are all brothers and sisters, living together in a holy community that is the Church. We all share in it’s mission, given to us by Jesus, to proclaim the Good News, by our words, our actions; and by the example of our own lives; we are all called to give example to others what it means to be a follower of Christ, by the way we ourselves struggle with our faith; how we, as people of faith, relate to others; our families; friends and neighbors, to strangers, the homeless; the disenfranchised in our society; and to people that are not very nice.
When I read in Isaiah; when the Lord, through the prophet, declares “I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind,…” I feel that it is not just the physically blind we are called to open, but also those whose eyes are blinded by prejudice and hatred. To free those who prisoners of greed and selfishness. And to help those who live in the darkness of despair and hopelessness.


That is not to say to that there will not be times when we ourselves may be tempted to give into selfishness, anger, and despair. It is then we should turn to prayer, and the sacraments; namely confession, penance; and the Eucharist, where in we received Jesus Christ through Holy Communion, and are healed and strengthened by his Presence. It is by how we struggle with our own weaknesses and sins; and work to overcome them that we can be at our most prophetic.
Our own baptism is the beginning for each of our own journey of faith. That journey continues, for each of us, each with our own calling, our own approach, to living the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. May the Lord be with all of us on this journey.

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by

“Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.” We see Jesus taking an important step in his ministry in the Galilee. Up to now, it has been just him proclaiming the Good News; just him healing the sick; and those suffering from demons and evil spirits. Now, he was sending his twelve disciples out, to proclaim the glory, the mercy of God; sending them out drive out demons, and heal the sick. In a sense, he was sending them out as his front men, to get the word out to a wider audience, to give hope to more people of the Galilee. I would have loved to know what pairings of the Apostles were. Who was Judas paired with? How did that go? Some ago, a book came out, based on the TV mini-series; “Jesus of Nazareth;” a novelization of the mini-series. In the telling of this story, Peter, the rough, tough fisherman was paired with the Matthew, the tax collector! Not exactly a match made in heaven. The story goes on telling how Matthew worked at keeping Peter out of trouble because of his temper. All of the Apostles fulfilled the mission, given to them by Jesus. The groundwork had been done, that when Jesus went into greater Galilee, thousands of people came to see him, came to hear him, came to be healed by him.

We seemed to have turned the corner on this pandemic we are going through, though this variant has people worried. Our churches are fully opened, people are being invited back; yet, the mainstream press, secular and religious, are reporting a severe drop in the number of people attending church, a drop in the number of people who identify themselves as Catholic, or even Christian. Now, there could be many reasons for this, going to church is no longer a habit, people have found other things to fill their time, people have been put off by the division in the some areas of the Church, they felt alone, scared, and losing hope, and for whatever reason, they feel nobody is reaching out to them.

Now, there are programs and approaches to answer this growing situation , all coming under the umbrella of the “New Evangelization;” but in the light of today’s Gospel, I would suggest that each one of us are called to bearers of the Good News, to be evangelists. Now some may object, “I do not have training!” I would agree, we do need trained evangelists. But we also need people who have strived to live the Gospel, at home, on the job, with family, friends and strangers. Amos was not a trained prophet, he was shepherd, something of a gardener. The Apostles were mostly fisherman, who probably knew just enough Hebrew that they could read, barely, the Torah. Matthew was probably the most educated, he had to know some arithmetic, and enough Latin or Greek to communicate with his Roman overseers. But they were ordinary folks, like you and me, but they were inspired by the Gospel that Jesus preached; they were filled with the Holy Spirit.

We, who strive to live the Gospel, try to put into practice the commandments to love God with all our mind, with all our heart, with all our soul; and love our neighbors as ourselves, with all that it implies; have that same Spirit within us. And people will recognize that, recognize the authenticity of our lives, both with the struggles and joys. And they will be drawn to Christ, drawn to the God who loves us and cares for us.

I would remind us again what Saint Paul said to the Ephesians; “In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit;”. May the Holy Spirit guide us, inspire us to be evangelists for others, by the example of our lives, our lives of faith.

Homily for Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by

Leviticus 13: 1-2, 44-46; Corinthians 10: 31 – 11: 1; Mark 1: 40-45

Hearing the first reading for today’s liturgy, how many of us are thinking, “Gee, this sounds familiar!” Now, leprosy, as experienced by the Jews of Moses time, of even the time of Jesus, was and umbrella term, that covered a whole slew of skin diseases. There were people who might develop a severe skin rash or infection, that would be considered leprosy, but that the sufferer could recover from. We see in the Book of Leviticus, that there was a ritual that had to be followed for that recovered person to perform in order to be readmitted into the community. Unfortunately, there were a lot of people who developed actual leprosy, the disease we associate with Damian of Molokai and his people; with Mother Theresa of Kalkuta in India. It was back then an incurable disease, a living death sentence, a disease that made a sufferer an outcast from his or her community forever. We may be able to identify a little; maybe a lot, with the fear that might strike a family, a community, a people, when a deadly, unseen disease threatens our health, our lives.


And maybe, like the people of Jesus time, we raise our eyes up to heaven and cry out “Where is God, with all this fear, this illness, with all this death! I am no theologian, who can give a deep thought that explain all this. What I can say is this; God is with us! His Spirit is with the scientists, who are finding and developing the vaccines to keep us safe. Jesus Christ is with the doctors, the nurses, the hospital staff, who care for our loved ones who may be ill, putting their own lives at risk. And the Spirit is within each one us, inspiring us to comfort a person going through hard times, to give of our time, talents, and treasure, to help those out of work, struggling with to keep a roof over their heads. And Jesus is with anyone who reaches out us, when we feel this pandemic weighing down on us.


I have a story to tell. One of my favorite saints is Francis of Assisi, there is a story of him and an encounter with a leper. Francis was dedicated to caring for lepers, as his brother friars shared that same dedication. In this shelter they had for housing local lepers, they would feed them, wash them, make them as comfortable as possible. Now, there was this one leper who did not appreciate the quality of care they were trying to provide them. He would swear at the friars, calling them incompetents, and some other words that should be mentioned in public. Francis heard about this, and went to meet with the leper. When he entered the room he was in, he gave his usual greeting; “Peace be with you! “ “Peace?” The leper snarled, “How can I know peace when you send me brothers who cannot help!” “Well” Francis replied, “I am here now, How may I serve you?” The leper said “I stink! I need to be bathed!” So, Francis ordered a tub of warm water be prepared; with fragrant herbs added. He lowered the leper into the water and to began to wash him. And wherever his hand touched the leper’s skin, the leprosy disappeared! The leper was so moved by the miracle, he went to the friars, and begged their forgiveness for the way he treated them. He was said to have lead a very holy life from that time on!

In myriad of ways, Jesus reaches out to touch us, to comfort us, to heal us in whatever way we need it. He, in turn, expects us to share that grace with anyone else in need that may cross our path. God is with us, in many mysterious ways! Rejoice, and be at peace!

Gaudete Sunday, “Rejoice!”

Posted on by

Today is called “Gaudete Sunday;” it comes in the middle of Advent. “Gaudete” which is a Latin the that translates into “Rejoice.” The penitential season of Advent is almost over! So, Gaudete! Rejoice!


But I can almost hear the thoughts, the whispers, the outraged complaints! “Rejoice? Are you kidding me? We are in a world wide pandemic! Cases of COVID are surging again! Millions have gotten sick world wide! Over a million have died! Businesses have in this country, have closed, people have been laid off. The economy is suffering! Rejoice? There is turmoil in our government, our politics. The country is sharply divided, people cannot agree to disagree civilly; the word “secession” has been voiced! In the land of Jesus and John the Baptist, the Children of Abraham are each other’s throats! Even in our churches, there is fierce disagreements over liturgy, doctrine, pastoral approaches! How can we rejoice!?!

To which the Church responds, in the words of St. Paul; “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks,…”. Because God has been fulfilled His promises to His people. He has sent His Son, the Messiah, Jesus Christ; who showed us how we are live as children of God. By His death and resurrection, he has broken the chains of sin and death, and freed all of us. We are all now children of God, brothers and sisters, members of the Body of Christ. What the prophet Isaiah proclaimed in the first reading “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners,…!” It is a mission call for all of us, guided by the Holy Spirit!


So rejoice, because we have been given new life in Christ! Rejoice, because Christ is still with us, as the Word, in the Good News we read and hear proclaimed. Rejoice, because Christ is with us in the Eucharist. Rejoice, because Christ is with each us here and now, during these troubled times; that are in our world, and also within us, as we try come to terms with the stresses of life during a pandemic! And above all, rejoice, because Jesus has promised to come again, to bring all us into the Kingdom of his Father. So I say again, Rejoice!,

Homily – Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on by

A long time ago, when I was in college, a group of us decided to go on a trip to climb one of the White Mountains. We rented a cabin and got an early start in the morning. I soon learned that I was not in shape for mountain climbing! I soon learned that I was not in shape for mountain climbing! I sat down on a rock outcropping, and told my companions to go own ahead, I would wait for them when they came back down. My classmates were not going to allow it. They literally dragged me up to the summit! And what a view awaited us, the beauty of the White Mountains range, it was breathtaking, it was a spiritual experience.

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah is revealing a special mountain, the mountain of the Lord of the hosts. He calls on the people to climb the mountain, to reach the summit, and experience the joy of the Lord. There is promise of healing, the promise of a feast! Something like the feast Jesus described in his parable about the king and the wedding feast. He tells of a powerful king who is having a wedding feast for his son. He invites the important people of his kingdom to come, but they “diss” the king, they insult him by not coming. The king makes those people pay for their insults. And he then calls the common folk to come to the feast.

Many writers of the spiritual life use the metaphor of one climbing the mountain of the Lord, striving reach the summit. Climbing a mountain can be hard, very hard some. The same with striving to live the Gospel, it can be hard, full of challenges spiritually! Some of us may not bother, just stay where we are, live where we are. But if we open our hearts to the Holy Spirit, we can feel the pull to move on, we will have Jesus walking besides us helping us forward. Every moment we take the time to read and reflect on Scripture; every moment we enter into prayer, every time we come here to worship, to receive the Eucharist and experience intimately the presence of the Lord; we continue the journey upward, towards the summit. There have been those who gone before us, some living, some deceased, who have recorded the experience of their own climb, who can teach, but mostly inspire us onward. Jesus Christ, the King, calls out to us, “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, everything is ready, come to the feast!”

“So They Went Off And Preached Repentance” – 15th Sunday In Ordinary Time

Posted on by

Jesus sends out the TwelveAmos 7: 12-15

Ephesians 1: 3-14

Mark 6: 7-13

“Jesus summoned the Twelve, and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.”  (Mark 6: 7)

So began a different role for the followers of Jesus of Nazareth.  He sent them out to proclaim that a new day was dawning.  They went throughout the countryside, calling people to repent, to prepare for the coming of the Kingdom of God.  And they healed the sick, and freed many from the demons that possessed them; signs that the power of God was at work in the land.

In today’s Church, we need to recognize that Jesus Christ is calling us to likewise be proclaimers of the Good News. By our words, by our actions, by the example of our very lives; we reveal the love of God at work in our world. When we share how God has healed us, comforted us, guided us along the right path; we proclaim his goodness. When others witness how we care for friend and stranger alike; they see the love of God at work in the world.

This requires that we be continually open to the love of God ourselves. We must continually seek his guidance, his help, especially during times we falter. We are at our best as evangelizers, when we show our struggles, as well as our successes.

So we go forward, as spreaders of the Good News of Jesus Christ. May we bring back a bountiful harvest.

Source of Life

Posted on by

In the Scriptures for this past Sunday, we read from the Book of Wisdom, that God creates life, only life. He meant for humanity to be immortal. It is only because humanity allowed evil into its hearts, that death came in.

In the reading from the Gospel of Mark; we see Jesus as the source of healing and life. A woman needed only to touch his cloak, and she was healed of her illness. Jesus restores a little child to life. And he will, by his death and resurrection, will free all from the power of death.

But death can take many forms. There is physical death, and then is the slow death of one’s spirit, one’s soul. Sometimes, the harsh circumstances of life can grind us down. So much so, that we begin to to feel dead inside to the beauty of creation; the love of others; the love of God.

It is in moments like this, that we need to turn to Jesus, through Word and Sacrament; through prayer and meditation. In encountering Jesus Christ, we encounter the healer, both of body and soul. Now this does may not mean an instantaneous healing. But if we remain open to the Spirit of Christ, working within us; we may feel a little more peace, a little more hope. And a new dawn will break open for us.