Sun, 10 January 2021
My response to the desecration which occurred on January 6, 2021. |
Sun, 10 January 2021
An irony: We who have been given the good news may, with great strength, resist it. Thank God for crises. |
Sun, 10 January 2021
God establishes the continuity of history. |
Sun, 10 January 2021
On the unexpected power (not the expected male power) which results in the world's salvation. |
Sun, 10 January 2021
At first I heard an echo in this recording. I have, to my great relief, found that the recording was just playing twice on my computer. Joy springs from within. |
Sun, 10 January 2021
Does repentance bring comfort? |
Sun, 10 January 2021
Considering the meaning of "the end," "it is finished," and so forth, in terms of completion rather than demise. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
Are we like goats? We make a lot of noise, and we will eat anything. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
The word "talent" presents difficulties, since it seems to refer to performance. Our God in fact wants us to go deeper than performance and recognize essential qualities which are not easily subject to observation. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
"Stay awake!" In fact, the point of the parable is the exercise of forethought, as opposed to vigilance. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
On sainthood as a process. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
The great commandments. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
Every twelve years: "Caesar's Coin" just before a presidential election. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
More perversity. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
Perversity -- and a tribute to Joaquin Lavado (Quino), noted for his comic strip "Mafalda." |
Sun, 22 November 2020
Of Brownies and brownie points. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
"The parable that everybody hates": proof that Jesus intended his parables to be provocative. |
Sun, 22 November 2020
The parable of the unforgiving debtor: Do we get it? |
Fri, 20 November 2020
Campus minister Emily Rogers of the Newman Center of Eastern Illinois University interviews Fr. Kevin Laughery on racism. |
Sun, 6 September 2020
Sorry, no audio for this Sunday. You can hear the homily by viewing the St. Jerome live stream. (My wearable mic wasn't working, but the ambo mic was.) |
Sun, 6 September 2020
Part 2 of two parts. Peter doesn't understand that the Messiah (and those who proclaim his name) has to suffer and die. |
Sun, 6 September 2020
Part 1 of two parts. Peter expresses faith in Jesus and Jesus calls him the "rock" on which he will build the Church. |
Sun, 6 September 2020
Our lives are rich and full -- so much so that we could sing arias about them. |
Sun, 6 September 2020
When we are afraid, we want people to affirm that they feel afraid, too. |
Sun, 6 September 2020
Jesus is not the "victim" here. He has something in mind when vast throngs come to him. |
Sun, 26 July 2020
This was the weekend when we added a public Mass. -- Does everything work out for good? If we keep in mind the human family instead of a narrow focus on ourselves, we will be pleasantly surprised! |
Sun, 26 July 2020
I can't recall why I don't have a recording for July 12. -- Have you rebuked temerity lately? |
Sun, 26 July 2020
Gentleness is needed to heal a raucous and agitated world. |
Sun, 26 July 2020
As important as family ties are, we must not allow them to impede us from proclaiming the Kingdom of Godl |
Sun, 26 July 2020
We began having public Mass. We are the assembly, and have always been such. Fear no one. |
Sun, 26 July 2020
I think that, for a time, I thought my recorder wasn't working, and I missed recording audio for two Sundays. You can find the video recordings. -- We focus on the physicality of eating and drinking and recognize that this food and drink feeds us more deeply than other nourishment. |
Sun, 31 May 2020
My apologies to all who are looking for more homilies. Particularly during this Easter season, I have been forgetful and have not always brought my digital audio recorder to church. You can see and hear videos on Facebook, St. Jerome Catholic Church, Troy, Illinois. The videos are archived on YouTube, St. Jerome Church, Troy, Illinois. Heaven is not "up"! Indeed, heaven is as close as the human heart when our God has made his dwelling there. |
Sun, 31 May 2020
Mystery and conversion are things we surrender to, without trying to figure them out. |
Sun, 26 April 2020
My apologies for not including Palm Sunday and the Second Sunday of Easter, neither of which I recorded (things have been weird here; have they been weird for you?). Anyway, the theme of insight continues: things begin to come together and make sense for the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. |
Sun, 26 April 2020
Insight is something which occurs within us and which we must pay more attention to. The fragments of life coalesce and begin to make sense. This was the experience of Peter and John at Jesus' empty tomb. |
Sun, 29 March 2020
"Untie him and let him go free." These words of Jesus, regarding Lazarus, apply to us as well. |
Sun, 22 March 2020
The Year A readings of the Fourth Sunday of Lent are loaded with irony -- all the more so in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. |
Wed, 18 March 2020
News was changing by the hour. This homily ended up a little disjointed. I meant to add -- to complete the thought about not being irrational -- that the current challenge is an opportunity for us to bring forth all that is most precious and beautiful within us. As Jesus thirsted for the faith of the Samaritan woman, we thirst for an outpouring of love from us all. |
Wed, 18 March 2020
"It's a good thing the world is far, far away!" No, the world is with us, and we are with the world. Jesus' Transfiguration is his pledge to be with us, whatever the world is suffering. |
Wed, 18 March 2020
We must keep posing to ourselves the question: "Jesus -- he became human -- just like me?" Yes, he is one with us when we are in the midst of temptation. |
Fri, 28 February 2020
We take a look at St. John XXIII and all the renewal he initiated by calling Vatican II. |
Fri, 28 February 2020
Generosity or codependency?; and why Easter should be one week later. Also, my apologies for not including the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. I left the recorder on and the file ended up being 2.5 hours! |
Fri, 28 February 2020
I had a letter to read. Light and salt! |
Sun, 2 February 2020
The One presented in the Temple comes with the power to change us, and his influence will feel astringent! But he derives his authority from his complete union with humanity. |
Sun, 2 February 2020
It's not just these four fishermen who are called by Jesus. Every one of us has received a call to holiness. |
Sun, 2 February 2020
Some housekeeping matters, and these readings feel like a repeat of last week. First Corinthians feels familiar to us, because all church is local! |
Sun, 2 February 2020
I was not able to record the homily; what you hear here is a summary. |
Sun, 2 February 2020
As we survey the diversity of the nations, we recognize the ironies of people, supposedly of one community, to fail to communicate. We talk to one another about projects before us, and we recognize the value of silence. |
Sun, 2 February 2020
Family traditions are of various kinds, even in the Holy Family. |
Sun, 2 February 2020
We consider the secrets which give depth to our life. |
Sun, 15 December 2019
The cycles of time and the process of conversion. |
Sun, 15 December 2019
What is the Kingdom which we await? And how do we participate in its coming? |
Sun, 15 December 2019
Fifty years of the Lectionary cycle; transforming your tools. |
Sun, 15 December 2019
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! |
Sun, 15 December 2019
"A church that looks like a church" vs. a church built upon martyrdom. |
Sun, 15 December 2019
The Berlin Wall and scaling the wall of mortality. |
Sun, 15 December 2019
Climbing trees and finding mercy. |
Mon, 28 October 2019
It's time to examine the "interior monologue" that each of us carries on with ourselves. |
Mon, 28 October 2019
Jesus' parable is hilarious. For one thing, it is almost as if the unjust judge can overhear the narration about his turpitude. |
Mon, 28 October 2019
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." |
Mon, 28 October 2019
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." |
Mon, 28 October 2019
Cats have nine lives. People re-invent themselves. But our God wills that we be simply a person, not a persona. |
Mon, 16 September 2019
Note the calf in the Old Testament reading and the Gospel. |
Mon, 16 September 2019
So here's what I did at 10:30. |
Mon, 16 September 2019
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. |
Mon, 16 September 2019
The Gospel is not a mere etiquette lesson. It is an opening onto a fuller life. |
Mon, 16 September 2019
We cannot stand on the sidelines. There are no sidelines. |
Mon, 16 September 2019
Jesus is ironic when he speaks of "not peace, but the sword." |
Sun, 11 August 2019
People are waiting for the return of the Master. But will they recognize him? Some thoughts on the vacuous, stupid idea called "white supremacy." |
Sun, 11 August 2019
I registered displeasure with a lack of silence at the beginning of Mass, as we considered the honesty of Ecclesiastes. |
Sun, 11 August 2019
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." |
Sun, 11 August 2019
We consider hospitality and limits while contemplating Guatemala and poor Martha. |
Sun, 11 August 2019
What is our treasure? What is abundance? We consider the empty-handed 72 disciples and our own volunteerism. |
Sun, 30 June 2019
Freedom is the opportunity to choose a direction and a commitment. |
Sun, 30 June 2019
On the God who gets things done. |
Sun, 30 June 2019
There's no "problem" with Jesus' Ascension. We must take seriously our incorporation as the Body of Christ, alive and animated. |
Sun, 30 June 2019
"That all may be one" -- a truly mind-expanding aspiration. |
Sun, 19 May 2019
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." |
Sun, 19 May 2019
While you're at it, be kind to yourself. |
Sun, 19 May 2019
Just be kind. |
Tue, 23 April 2019
We gather following coordinated Easter Sunday attacks on Catholic churches in Sri Lanka. |
Tue, 23 April 2019
We must consider the woman caught in adultery in light of the never-ending abuse of women -- and where is the man? |
Tue, 23 April 2019
We must remember that a fattened calf is far more palatable than a golden calf. |
Wed, 27 March 2019
Jesus addresses the issue of "theodicy," or the problem of evil and what God does about it. |
Wed, 27 March 2019
"Let my people go!" How did Moses find it possible to respond to that voice from a burning yet unconsumed bush? |
Wed, 27 March 2019
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.) |
Wed, 27 March 2019
Listen for Jesus' sly sense of humor as he proposes the image of a wooden beam in someone's eye. |
Sun, 24 February 2019
Instead of a coughing fit, a brief summary of my homily. |
Sun, 24 February 2019
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. |
Sun, 24 February 2019
Can we find a hitherto unnoticed strength in ourselves? Paul's reflection on love celebrates love as a strength! |
Sun, 24 February 2019
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." |
Sun, 24 February 2019
We want to know that we are "chosen" and "espoused." Our God assures us that his love for us is of this quality. |
Sun, 6 January 2019
Uncertainty about the identity of the Magi does not impede us from appreciating their role in "manifesting" the Savior to all nations. |
Sun, 6 January 2019
Families allow children to become themselves. Pain is necessarily part of the process, even in the Holy Family. |
Sun, 6 January 2019
An exploration of how secrets indicate a rich interior life. |
Sun, 6 January 2019
Joy is not anesthesia. Joy acknowledges the depth and complexity of human life, including grief and pain. |
Sun, 2 December 2018
On "bucket lists" and our need to be free from artificial goals. |
Sun, 2 December 2018
What kind of kingdom is this "kingdom of God"? It is not merely a glib bit of religious jargon. It announces itself through the relationships we form. |
Sun, 2 December 2018
Reflecting on "the end of days" helps us to rest in God's providence. |
Sun, 2 December 2018
How freeing it is to discover that one's needs are few. |