Deep Calls to Deep Prequel 2 to Roc Homily – Seventeenth Sunday Ordinary Time 2016
A second reflection… Dennis Hamm, SJ made this connection come alive for me in his masterful book, Building Our House on Rock: The Sermon on the Mount as Jesus’ Vision for Our Lives as Told by Matthew and Luke. When he looked at the link between the Greek word, hagiazo (“to hallow, make holy”) and its use […]
Prequel to Roc Homily – Seventeenth Sunday Ordinary Time 2016
This is a wholly new way of looking at the Lord’s Prayer for me. See whether it works for you. Consider the placement of this prayer in Matthew’s gospel (6:5-15). It’s set right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, the inaugural address Jesus made to his disciples in which he laid out his […]
Here’s a Thought #1
Light a fire! In the USofA, the three political parties are in full campaign mode attempting to fire up their particular bases and keep them lit up through the November election and into the future. Catholic leadership uses the image of lighting a fire in the hearts of believers to get us excited about God, […]
Roc Homily – Sixteenth Sunday Ordinary Time 2016
Here’s the audio of my homily on Martha & Mary. Blessings! _-roc,sj
Prequel to Roc Homily – Sixteenth Sunday Ordinary Time 2016
In my homily for the 16th Sunday Ordinary Time, I proposed that the Martha & Mary passage works as a critique of a life driven by anxiety, worry, & distraction in whatever line of work. May I humbly suggest that it is not primarily about hospitality. The passage concerns the pattern many of us have of […]
Roc Homily – Fifteenth Sunday Ordinary Time 2016
Is it possible that Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan could have contributed to the ire of scribes & Pharisees? Could this parable have led to his death? I follow N.T. Wright’s study of the Pharisees that details how Jesus’ letting go of observance of purity codes could have done just that. Let me know […]
Roc Homily for the Twelfth Sunday Ordinary Time 2016
This is the strangest Fathers Day homily I’ve ever done. It’s challenging because, with this gospel passage, Jesus began to instruct his disciples about the meaning of his messiahship – “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” And, guys, it’s humiliating to be […]
About “Love Your Enemies” 6-14-16
The right response to Jesus’ teaching, “Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you,” is “You’ve got to be kidding! Are you living in the real world, Jesus? Click.” It’s the right response because it reveals where we actually live. It’s a biblical ink blot test! Perhaps then we can hear this teaching from the […]
Roc Homily for the Eleventh Sunday Ordinary Time 2016
Yes, it is still the Year of Mercy. And, today’s gospel contrasts two different ways of dealing with Mercy. The first is Simon the Pharisee, who acts as an observer-critic, as one completely detached from Jesus. The other is Susanna (I gave her a name; every one needs a name) who trusted Jesus would receive her as she […]
Deep Calls to Deep 
Year of Mercy Revisited – June 17, 2016
Here’s something to do with your weekend… or whenever… Dr. John O’Keefe & Dr. Wendy Wright, two stalwarts from the Creighton University Theology Department, interviewed me about the Year of Mercy when I visited campus in April to give a talk on same. It was a lively and engaged conversation for their Catholic Comments podcast. 20 Minutes. I […]
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