Episodes
Monday Dec 25, 2023
Monday Dec 25, 2023
The grand Pesebre or Nativity scene set up in our church of San Francisco in Cuenca is lovely, soft, and sweet. There is, however, a darker side to these Nativity images, that is made clear in Luke's Gospel. They point directly forward to Jesus' ministry, his death, and his resurrection.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
God Wants A Home, 4th Sunday of Advent (B), December 24, 2023
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
Sunday Dec 24, 2023
What does it take to make a house a home? In today's readings, both houses and homes become the center of our spiritual attention. God's work of making himself a home among us over millennia, with David, and especially in the story of Mary is one that invites us to welcome God into our own spiritual homes.
Homily shared wth the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
Sunday Dec 17, 2023
John the Evangelist begins his Gospel account of Jesus with a mystical hymn to the Creator and the Word, echoing the opening words of Genesis: "In the beginning...." But then he interrupts it twice with the story of John the Baptist. What is he up to here? Is this just a case of bad editing or does the Fourth Evangelist see something essential in weaving together this cosmic hymn and the prosaic story of the Baptist?
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Sunday Dec 10, 2023
Our usual image of John the Baptist, at least in Western art, is often a soft and tender one. In Byzantine iconography, he is depicted as wild and fearsome, which is closer to how we find him the Gospels. Yet, he is profoundly attractive to the people of Judea and Jerusalem and they come to him in great numbers. His humility and self-abnegation before God is a powerful Advent image even today.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
Sunday Dec 03, 2023
As this "new year" begins the characteristics of Advent are highlighted in this day's scripture readings: humility, peacefulness, and attentiveness to what is doing among us.
Homily shared with the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Sheep, Goats, and A King, Solemnity of Christ the King-A, November 26, 2023
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Sunday Nov 26, 2023
Jesus' image of sheep, goats, and the great king who separates them for distinct destinies seems simple enough up front, but once he adds the troublesome criteria of how they are to be "judged", things get much more complicate...and worrisome. His emphasis on the corporal works of mercy rather than typical piety challenges us to examine our consciences with some justified trembling. That trembling may be calmed by the fact that before he was a "king" this Jesus was a shepherd.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sunday Nov 19, 2023
Sunday Nov 19, 2023
The Thanksgiving tradition of recounting particular blessings at the dinner table is a wonderful one. Each gift or grace that is mentioned comes with a string attached: the responsibility to use that gift for the benefit of others. The image of the servant who buries his one talent, not allowing it to grow or bless others, is a powerful one that encourages us to not follow his example. Gifts shared are not expended, they are expanded!
Homily delivered to the Catholic Community of Saint Francis, Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
Holy Wisdom, 32nd Sunday of the Year (A), November 12, 2023
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
Wisdom, as understood in the Hebrew Scriptures in the centuries before Jesus, was imagined as a living and gracious feminine presence, seeking out souls open to its blessings. It was seen as an expression of God's presence among his people. This kind of Wisdom was alive and present especially in Jesus, his words and works. It is close to, if not the same reality, his disciples later came to understand as the Holy Spirit. This Holy Wisdom, "Hagia Sophia" in Greek, is what the world needs now...
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community, Cuenca, Ecuador
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Not Lifting a Finger: 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), November 5, 2023
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Jesus blasts the hypocrites who are his constant opponents in ministry with a series of accusations about their moral character. One among those accusations is particularly poignant for the cruelty it points to: those who lay heavy burdens upon others' shoulders, yet do not lift a finger to lighten the load. (A cheery apology for the interruption at the beginning of the homily when a small child wandered into the sanctuary, attracted by the beautiful statuary in the retablo of the church!).
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community of Cuenca, Ecuador.
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Loving Our Neighbor, 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A), October 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Jesus yet again responds with great wisdom to the trick questions posed by those who are threatened by his public ministry. The two great commandments, including "the golden rule", to love our neighbor as ourselves, form the foundation of our moral lives and the way of the Gospel.
Homily delivered to the Saint Francis Catholic Community in Cuenca, Ecuador.