Libby Caes' Homily for Ash Wednesday 03/05/2014

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March 5, 2013 Ash Wednesday Matt. 6: 1-6, 16-21 Thomas Keating, who re-introduced the contemporary church to the ancient practice of contemplative prayer, tells of his early years in a Trappist monastery. The setting is the 1940s, I believe in Massachusetts. His desire was to go the extra mile in his spiritual practices, demonstrating his zeal for God.  “When I entered the austere life of the monastery, fasting was held in honor….the symbol of fidelity in the monastery in those days was the perfect conformity to the rule…. Because I was in somewhat fragile health, I was rarely able to …

Paul Knitter's Homily for February 23, 2014

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Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time February 23, 2014   I.      AN IMPOSSIBLE COMMAND: TO BE AS HOLY AND AS PERFECT AS GOD   A.   I don’t know if any of you noticed, but the opening lines of our first reading and the closing lines of the third reading – one written centuries before the other – are really saying the same thing.  And what they are saying is something incredible for Christian ears, something that seems to contradict what Christians (and Jews) are usually taught about God and about humans: –       “You shall be holy, for I your God am …

Steve Zwettler's Homily from February 02, 2014

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Readings: ·      Micah: 6:1-8 ·      1 Corinthians 1:18-31 ·      Matthew:  5:1-12     It is good to be with all of you again this Sunday, to break bread and to share God’s Word together.  Gathering in this way gives us all such strength and wisdom to live our lives with compassion and wisdom.   Stories give us life.  I share a story with you that is pertinent to our readings today, in particular, the Gospel of the Beatitudes.   Yevgeny Yevtushenko is a marvelous Russian poet and writer who is well-known throughout the world.  In his autobiography he shares a …

Roberta Felker's Homily from January 26, 2014

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Third Sunday in Ordinary Time   January 26, 2014   Isaiah 9: 1-4   1 Corinthians: 1: 10-18   Matthew 4: 12- 23           Zebedee   Along among the broken nets    he watched them go. His flesh,     now grown, but still his hope, not just       for those declining years of splicing rope         and spinning yarns among his peers, but for          that fragile continuity            the simple rightly see avenging death.             What father doesn’t long to have               his sons about him at the …

Libby Caes' Homily from January 19, 2014

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January 19, 2014, Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 49: 1-7, John 1: 29-42 We have all received birth announcements, either with a phone call or through the mail or the social media. The parents tell us the name, sex and weight of the baby. If it by mail or the social media there is often a picture of an angelic infant and the mother or maybe both parents gazing at their newborn with adoration and wonder. Never have I a received a birth announcement with a picture of the newborn’s mouth wide open, eyes screwed shut and screaming! Nor …

Joseph Wiesenfarth's Homily from December 24, 2013

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Isaiah 9:2-7, Titus 2:11-14, 3:5-7, Luke 2:1-20    I bring you a star tonight in the person of Joseph Brodsky (1940-1995).  He was exiled from the Soviet Union after spending 18 months in the bitter cold of Arkhangelsk for being a poet.  But not just for being a poet, but for answering the court’s question of why he was a poet by saying:  “I think it’s . . . from God.”  That was the right answer at the wrong time.  It got a chilling reception.               Brodsky was exiled upon his release from prison, came to the United States, …

Libby Caes' Homily from December 01, 2013

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Advent 1 Matthew 24: 36-46, Romans 13:11-14   Both the gospel reading and the Epistle reading command us to “wake up!’ This is not an easy thing to do with the sun coming up later each morning and the days often gray. Besides that, it is cold outside! I much prefer my toasty warm bed! Who wants to wake up?? But the alarm clock goes off. Wake up! Does anybody jump out of bed when the alarm goes off the first time?? Not me! How many of you hit the snooze button? Do you hit it more than once? Do …

Sister Lynne Smith's Homily from November 24, 2013

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Luke 23:35-43 When I first saw what the Gospel was for today, I thought there was some mistake. I was expecting an apocalyptic reading – like last week’s – where the world crumbles and then we see Christ reigning in glory. Even though I’ve preached on this Sunday before, the reading caught me off guard. I was looking for Christ in his glory not Jesus on the cross. My initial reaction was disappointment: the fulfillment is Christ on the cross? I found myself caught up in looking for fulfillment in the ways our culture extols. We are taught we will …

Jim Penczykowski's Homily from November 3, 2013

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Our back-to-back feasts of All Saints and All Souls challenge us to practice what we preach.   All Saints is a flamboyant type of feast, reminding us of our destiny on the one hand and of our role in the here and now.   In the good old, bad old days one might have heard of ‘The Church Triumphant’ and ‘The Church Militant.’   Those of us here and now had a battle on our hands, but we were assured victory and access to the beatific vision if we persevered.   All Souls is a more pensive and reflective type …

Patti LaCross' Homily from October 20, 2013

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29th Sunday, Ordinary Time October 20, 2013 Genesis 32:22-31; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 It is no mystery to me why a man with 2 sister wives, 2 maids and 11 children would find himself alone after decamping his household across river – because he felt constrained under his father-in-law’s roof. But I do have a little respect for someone who can hold their own in a wrestling match; with God no less. I didn’t learn to swim properly until I was in high school, and was excited to do so. In Junior Life-Saving, we were taught that the struggling …