homiletics
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The Mystery of the Trinity
Today is Trinity Sunday, when the Church celebrates one of its greatest mysteries. We affirm our belief in this mystery every time we recite the Nicene Creed. The mysteries of the Church are supernatural truths. These are realities that we know to be true, and we accept the fact that we cannot fully define them Continue reading
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A New Commandment of Love
Our gospel reading picks up right after Judas has left to bring back the soldiers to arrest Jesus and begin the trials that will lead to crucifixion on Good Friday. And now that the passion is definitely under way Jesus proclaims to the remaining apostles, “Now is the son of man glorified.” And the next Continue reading
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Thomas and Truth
This gospel story today about Thomas speaks to us about the nature of truth and how we know it. In his homily last Sunday, Fr Neil spoke about the many ways that people come to decide as adults that they want to be Catholic, whether they are coming into Christianity for the first time or Continue reading
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Into Your Hands – The Seventh Word
Into your hands I commend my spirit. St. Anselm taught that the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross was something only a man must do and only God could do. Jesus is true God and true man, one person of the Trinity with two natures. Jesus did not deem equality with God something to Continue reading
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Behold Thy Son – The Third Word
“Woman, behold thy son … Behold thy mother.” [John 19: 26, 27] As Jesus hangs from the Cross, his body weak from the night being tried by the Sanhedrin and Herod before being flogged by Pilate and sent to carry his Cross to Golgotha, he is naked and alone. Thieves on either side, Roman soldiers Continue reading
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Pretty in Pink
This is the Fourth Sunday in Lent, and you have probably noticed that we swapped out the regular Lenten purple vestments for these special rose colored vestments. The Fourth Sunday in Lent is also known as “Laetare” Sunday because Laetare is the first word in Latin of the entrance antiphon for today. It means “Rejoice!” Continue reading
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From the fullness of the heart
This is the eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and this year it is the last Sunday before we start the penitential season of Lent. The three pillars of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Today’s readings really drive home the importance of prayer as the foundation of a life in Christ. You’ve probably been told Continue reading
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Our Fortified City
We read in Jeremiah today of a promise made to the prophet as he is sent out on his mission. The promise is that God knew him and loved him from all eternity, and as God sends Jeremiah out, he tells the prophet he is a fortified city. Jeremiah must gird himself with his traveling Continue reading
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The Wedding at Cana
This past Sunday was the second Sunday in Ordinary time, and the Gospel reading in Year C was the story in John 2 of Jesus’ first miracle at the wedding in Cana. On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples Continue reading
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The King is Coming as an Infant
This is the fourth and last Sunday of the season of Advent. Advent is the season in the church year when we anticipate the coming of the King. The King is coming. We know he is coming in the flesh in just a few days, when he comes as a little baby born in a Continue reading
Bound in Love 