On this Word of God Sunday, what a gift to hear the first proclamation of the Gospel by the Word of God in person: “The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom is near. Repent and believe in the Gospel.” These words sum up the entire preaching of Jesus. “The time...
The first and second Sundays of Ordinary Time tell us about two beginnings which are related to each other. Last Sunday was the baptism of Jesus, the beginning of his public ministry. This Sunday is about our beginning, our call to discipleship seen both in the call of Samuel, who...
At Christmas, the Son of God took on our very flesh so as to be one with us through that flesh. At his Baptism in the Jordan, he takes on the sins of our souls so as to be one with us in our souls. Ever since man left...
1] Joy and Adoration Joy and adoration. The Gospel says that the Magi were “filled with delight” when they saw the star. The original actually says that the Magi “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” That kind of joy could only come from a great love for the one they...
At creation , God conceived humanity in family: creates man, then woman and commands that they fill the earth. Sadly, sin, the choice of self-will over God-will, came before children. Cain a murderer. At redemption, God did “take two”: this time he chose first a woman, then a...
I remember once, when I was a little boy, walking with my family to Christmas Midnight Mass at St. Peter-in-Chains church in Ardrossan. We used to go to the church over the “canon hill” in Ardrossan which was a rather dark thoroughfare at that time. It was a cold and...
Continuing with our look at the significant human relationships of Jesus, I wanted to reserve the slot nearest Christmas for his Blessed Mother, Mary, the Virgin of Nazareth. In that constellation of stars gathered around Christ, the brightest is unquestionably she. She is the brightest, of course, by the...
The Christ Constellation (2) – Saint Joseph The second star in that bright constellation of holy people closely bonded with Christ is St. Joseph. As it happens, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter last Monday, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, to mark the 150thanniversary of the declaration of St....
A famous theologian called Von Balthasar wrote some years ago that just as Jesus can only be understood better as God in relation to the Father and the Spirit, so he can only be understood fully as man by the key human relationships of his earthly life. I suppose that’s...
This homily is directed to parishioners in Largs, Fairlie and Sklemorlie! I want to appeal to your sense of holy defiance. Covid has had us pinned down, restricted and constricted since March. In both parishes, it has deprived many of the spiritual lifeline of Holy Communion and Reconciliation. It has...
