26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Sept. 28 (Ezekiel 18:25-28; Psalm 25; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 21:28-32)

People often shake their fist at heaven and lament the “unfairness” of God. Sometimes this can mean that God did not deliver the goods when they prayed for something. The apparent inequalities and injustices of life are another source of disappointment in the divine. Why do vicious, aggressive or dishonest people seem to get ahead?

We are truly alive in Christ

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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Sept. 21 (Isaiah 55:6-9; Psalm 145; Philippians 1:20-24, 27; Matthew 20:1-16)

Isaiah’s plea to seek the Lord while He may be found and call upon Him while He is near leaves one with the impression that God is going somewhere. But God is not about to check out or disappear.

God is the antidote

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Triumph of the Cross (Year A) Sept. 14 (Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 78; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17)

As anyone who has ever been on a long journey knows well, there is nothing like heat, thirst and hunger to bring out the worst in people. The Israelites provide a good example of human fickleness and fear during their journey through the wilderness.

Praying for 'something more'

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Labour Day came early this year, along with those September-school-starting feelings. Even for those of us who’ve been out of school many years, they can be startling. If you’re a parent of school-age children, perhaps you’ve been “getting them ready,” assisted as always by advertisers who prod weeks early. If you’re not, you may remember the years when you prepared for term-time, possibly with competing feelings. 

Love thy neighbour

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Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Sept. 7 (Ezekiel 33:7-9; Psalm 95; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20)

Ezekiel has a new job along with excellent incentive to do well. It is nothing less than an offer he can’t refuse: do your job as instructed or die. His assignment is stand as an intermediary between God and Israel. Additionally, he is to warn people when they have strayed from the path and call them back to the ways of God.

Suffering often comes from doing right

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Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 31 (Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27)

It is easy to sympathize with the rather unwilling prophet Jeremiah. His proclamation of the “bad news” — violence and destruction — was not well received. Nothing had gone right, he was a laughingstock, his life had been threatened, and he wanted out in no uncertain terms. And he was angry with God — he accuses God of putting one over on him and even forcing him against his will.

Beware of those who think they have God figured out

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Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Aug. 24 (Isaiah 22:15, 19-23; Psalm 138; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20)

Scandal in high places — nothing new about that, is there? The setting is Jerusalem in the seventh century BC in the court of King Hezekiah. Shebna was a very high ranking official (master of the palace), signified by his possession of the "key of David." This was apparently a symbol of governing authority exercised in the name of the king. Shebna had committed an unnamed offence that dishonoured the name of his master the king. He was bounced from his position and demoted to scribe and Eliakim elevated in his place — end of story.

God will offer salvation to all

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Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Aug. 17 (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Psalm 67; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28)

A prophetic image from the long distant past can speak to us over and over again.

Faith in God will get us through life

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Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Aug. 10 (1 Kings 19:9, 11-13; Psalm 85; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33)

Many people think that we live in a world devoid of God’s presence — that God has receded from human concerns or that the world has become “disenchanted.” Perhaps we are listening and looking for the wrong signs.

The Lord provides for His people

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Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Aug. 3 (Isaiah 55:1-3; Psalm 145; Romans 8:35, 37-39; Matthew 14:13-21)

It would be difficult if not impossible to imagine a supermarket declaring that food and drink — including wine — was now available for everyone, regardless of ability to pay. The sudden run on the store would be overwhelming unless suspicion and cynicism kept people away. And yet God is doing exactly that.

Enslaved in our search for freedom

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It was Sunday morning, and I was leaving the hospital. A woman was sitting in the foyer; she smiled pleasantly, but a bit anxiously, her white hair framing a friendly face. She’d finished her appointment early and wondered when the bus would come to take her to the mall. My car being nearby, I offered her a ride over.