Here is the homily preached to the IHM Sisters on November 30, 2015.

Here is the homily preached to the IHM Sisters on November 29, 2015.

The First Sunday of Advent [C]
Jeremiah 33:14-16  +  1 Thessalonians 3:12—4:2  +  Luke 21:25-28,34-36
November 29, 2015
 

“ ‘And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.’ ”

In praying about today’s Gospel passage, this “cloud” seemed full of meaning:  both specifically regarding Advent, and more generally regarding growth in our Christian spiritual life.  The more that I prayed about it, the more it seemed that this “cloud” in which the Son of Man comes “with power and great glory” signifies the two nights—two purifications—of the sensory part and of the spiritual part of the soul.  It’s through this cloud that the divine “Son of Man” wishes to come to you, His beloved, “with power and great glory”:  that is, the grace of contemplation. Continue reading →

Today is the last day of the Church’s liturgical year.
Here is the homily preached to the IHM Sisters on November 28, 2015.

Here is the homily preached to the IHM Sisters on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 2015.

Here is the homily preached to the IHM Sisters on November 24, 2015.

Here is the homily preached to the IHM Sisters on November 23, 2015.  This was the first Mass ever offered in the Chapel of the Sisters’ new Novitiate.  A votive Mass was offered in honor of Mary, Mother of the Church.

Here is a reflection for this final Sunday of the Church’s liturgical year, the Solemnity of Christ the King [Year B], November 22, 2015.

Here is the homily preached to the IHM Sisters on November 21, 2015, the feast of the Presentation of Mary.  Today a new chapter in the history of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Wichita begins, as they move to their new site:  the first site in their history that they themselves have built and owned (by God’s grace and with the generosity and prayers of benefactors!).

Here is the homily prepared for the IHM Sisters for November 20, 2015.

Friday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time [I]
1 Maccabees 4:36-37, 52-59  +  Luke 19:45-48
November 20, 2015

“And every day He was teaching in the temple area.”

Many in Jesus’ day were disgusted with the commercialism that had crept into the practices at the Temple in Jerusalem.  This place, the Temple, was the holiest place in this world for Jews.  One of the obligations of a good Jew in the time of Jesus was to go to Jerusalem at the time of Passover, and offer a sacrifice in the Temple:  those who were wealthy offered an entire ox or sheep; those with less means offered turtledoves.  And so there grew up a very large market during the time around Passover, a system within which many abuses developed.  Jesus undoubtedly had many people cheering for Him as He castigated the Jewish officials and the money-makers in the Temple. Continue reading →