The cycles of time and the process of conversion.

What is the Kingdom which we await?  And how do we participate in its coming?

Fifty years of the Lectionary cycle; transforming your tools.

Getting a church dedicated, and the strangest conversation imaginable.  BONUS: I forgot to turn off the recorder, so you get to hear a baptism also!

"A church that looks like a church" vs. a church built upon martyrdom.

The Berlin Wall and scaling the wall of mortality.

Climbing trees and finding mercy.

It's time to examine the "interior monologue" that each of us carries on with ourselves.

Jesus' parable is hilarious.  For one thing, it is almost as if the unjust judge can overhear the narration about his turpitude.

The homilist was off last weekend. -- The Naaman incident gives us a picture of the evolution of the idea of God, who is supreme and not a "local god."  Naaman still requests two mule-loads of earth from Israel, so he can have a "local connection."

This was our "Mass in the Grass."  You may remember from last year that my homily was interrupted by a football game and the national anthem.  This year it didn't happen.  I did not say to the congregation, though I was sorely tempted to do so:  "Well, they didn't do civic religion, but they did have whistleblowers."

Cats have nine lives.  People re-invent themselves.  But our God wills that we be simply a person, not a persona.

Note the calf in the Old Testament reading and the Gospel.

So here's what I did at 10:30.

I've never done this before.  I am giving you two versions of my homily, focusing on planning, with a specific reference to planning at St. Jerome.  I left some things out of one, and I left other things out of the other.

The Gospel is not a mere etiquette lesson.  It is an opening onto a fuller life.

We cannot stand on the sidelines.  There are no sidelines.

Jesus is ironic when he speaks of "not peace, but the sword."

People are waiting for the return of the Master.  But will they recognize him?  Some thoughts on the vacuous, stupid idea called "white supremacy."

I registered displeasure with a lack of silence at the beginning of Mass, as we considered the honesty of Ecclesiastes.

I am using "Amazing Parish" with my pastoral staff currently.  I am finding that ASKING is a big part of my pastoral leadership.  Jesus says, "Ask and you shall receive."

We consider hospitality and limits while contemplating Guatemala and poor Martha.

What is our treasure?  What is abundance?  We consider the empty-handed 72 disciples and our own volunteerism.

Freedom is the opportunity to choose a direction and a commitment.

On the God who gets things done.

There's no "problem" with Jesus' Ascension.  We must take seriously our incorporation as the Body of Christ, alive and animated.

"That all may be one" -- a truly mind-expanding aspiration.

Sorry -- I forgot to turn the recorder off until I had reached the intercessions.  Jean Vanier, who died May 7, is the embodiment of Jesus' command "Love one another."

While you're at it, be kind to yourself.

Just be kind.

We gather following coordinated Easter Sunday attacks on Catholic churches in Sri Lanka.

We must consider the woman caught in adultery in light of the never-ending abuse of women -- and where is the man?

We must remember that a fattened calf is far more palatable than a golden calf.

Jesus addresses the issue of "theodicy," or the problem of evil and what God does about it.

"Let my people go!"  How did Moses find it possible to respond to that voice from a burning yet unconsumed bush?

Is life a pie or the sky?  (This is unrelated to the concept of "pie in the sky when you die," which we will have to treat at another time.)

Listen for Jesus' sly sense of humor as he proposes the image of a wooden beam in someone's eye.

Instead of a coughing fit, a brief summary of my homily.

The people who know their poverty will always remain connected with their God, in accord with the tree whose roots have a reliable source of water.

Can we find a hitherto unnoticed strength in ourselves?  Paul's reflection on love celebrates love as a strength!

A government shutdown is the opposite of the harmony described by Saint Paul in his description of the Christian community according to the "analogy of the body."

We want to know that we are "chosen" and "espoused."  Our God assures us that his love for us is of this quality.

Uncertainty about the identity of the Magi does not impede us from appreciating their role in "manifesting" the Savior to all nations.

Families allow children to become themselves.  Pain is necessarily part of the process, even in the Holy Family.

An exploration of how secrets indicate a rich interior life.

Joy is not anesthesia.  Joy acknowledges the depth and complexity of human life, including grief and pain.