Sunday, December 25, 2005

Merry Christmas!!!!

Don't have much time to post this morning...I have my 5th mass in less than 24 hours in a few minutes. However, here's my homily for this year.

As ususal, I rip off C. S. Lewis. I just can see any other way. Besides, this is what Jesus gave me again this year. I'm trying to reach out to these Christmas and Easter Catholics and bring them to the point of choice.

God bless you.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Today's first option for the first reading is so wonderful.

This is God's disposition towards us...

Song of Songs 2:8-14

Hark! my lover – here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!

“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”

Sunday, December 18, 2005

We're getting close now...

And it's a crazy time of year to be certain. I've got two funerals in the next two days. So yeah...forgive me if I'm not all together.

Here are a few random thoughts from this weekend. Perhaps they will make some sense.

Blessings this week!

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Rejoice!! The Lord is near!!!

It's snowing outside. As a priest this is a happy event in as much as it means I can get caught up on about 10007 things that get pushed aside for the sake of "putting our fires" and "urgent" things that fill up my day to day life.

I got a day to catch up on Friday with 8-10 inches of snow which we got here in Adrian, Michigan. It's snowing as I write this. HOPEFULLY I'll get one more snow-day before Christmas and then I'll be a VERY peaceful priest. Deo volente.

So I have a great deal to be thankful for today. I have much to rejoice about on Gaudete Sunday 2005.

Here's my homily on joy, by the way.

God bless you.

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Today is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Here's a little homily for your listening enjoyment. Or boredom. Or something else.

Did you feast today? It's a feast day you know. We must feast and fast with the Church. So...if by any chance you are reading this while it is still December 8th...by all means, celebrate a bit in honor of our Blessed Mother. :-D

Sunday, December 04, 2005

This week,

A very kind woman from Virginia sent me my brother's homily which she recorded Saturday night. Providentially, I didn't have a homily completely prepared for Sunday morning because I had a unique situation at the Saturday Vigil which required a special homily.

So there I was.

Saturday night...a fresh homily from my brother...ready to use...and it was a good homily. Anyone who reads this blog knows that I often take inspiration from my brother. We think and preach alike...imagine that? ;-)

Nevertheless, God took me in a completely different direction and I didn't use any of it. C'est la vie. Perhaps it will help me in three years when these readings come up again. As my brother has said, and as I have experienced, often a whole homily boils down to one thought. And usually that's just a gift from God.

Oh yeah, here's my homily.

Happy Second Sunday of Advent.