2009 Homilies

Date Speaker Feast Topic
December 27 Fr. Lawrence 2nd Sunday of Christmas John 1:1 again – for those who didn’t get to Christmas Day mass.
December 25 Fr. Lawrence Christmas Day The poetry of the Prologue of John’s Gospel – in the original Greek
December 24 Fr. Lawrence Children’s Liturgy The final rehearsal for the Pageant got snowed out – and God doesn’t care.
December 20 Fr. Lawrence 4th Advent Luke’s Magnificat
December 8 Fr. Lawrence 2nd Advent “In the fifteenth year…” In Luke’s spirituality, God chooses to be WITH us in history – not apart from it.
November 29 Fr. Lawrence 1st Advent With joyful and patient hope, we prepare for the Son of Man’s coming in glory…
November 22 Fr. Lawrence Christ the King Jesus is King – i.e. Son of Man who came to serve, not to be served.
November 15 Fr. Lawrence 33rd Ordinary The last reading from Mark – the apocalypse. “Come grow old with me” says God.
November 8 Fr. Lawrence 32nd Ordinary The last part of Jesus’ teaching in Mark. The heart of the matter…
November 1 Fr. Lawrence All Saints/Souls We celebrate the Communion of Saints – and pray with/for all those who have gone before as well as all those who will come after us.
October 25 Fr. Lawrence 30th Ordinary Bartimaeus is blind. However, he “sees” the mission of Jesus more clearly than the Apostles.
October 18 Fr. Lawrence 29th Ordinary Act III, Scene 3. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”
October 11 Fr. Lawrence 28th Ordinary Scene 2, Act III. A 3-part homily on “stuff.” “If
you want to be my disciple, give up your dominion over people
and your quest for stuff…”
October 4 Fr. Lawrence 27th Ordinary “And Jesus said.” He probably did utter an absolute
prohibition against divorce. The Church has been creating
loopholes ever since to make the doctrine “livable.”
September 27 Fr. Lawrence Feast of St. Vincent Vincent found out what God was saying in the gospel later in
life. We can, too – and on a personal level, an
institutional level, and a reform level.
September 20 Fr. Lawrence 25 Ordinary Mark’s gospel. The second prediction of the passion.
And the disciples STILL don’t get it….
September 4 Fr. Kennedy Seketa 23 Ordinary The homilist encourages us to look at our daily lives as
opportunities to grow in the love God and do all for the love of
God.
August 30 Fr. Lawrence 22 Ordinary The gospel according to Mark. The homilist give a broad
outline of the gospel for the year, Mark, which we return to
after a long hiatus.
August 23 Fr. Lawrence 21 Ordinary The homilist, like Joshua, reminds us of the great things the
Lord has done for us. Choose – between the Lord or the
gods of those among whom we dwell. “As for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord.”
August 16 Fr. Lawrence 20th Ordinary John 6: Sermon on the Bread of Life. The homilist
explicates the Eucharistic Prayer (Canon) as it relates to
this Sermon. See
handout.
July 26 Fr. Lawrence Song of Songs Our love, like God’s love, should be as passionate as that
celebrated in the Song of Songs.
July 19 Fr. Lawrence Esther Like Esther, we are part of the Diaspora. We must be part
of, but not assimilated, by the empire in which we live.
July 12 Fr. Lawrence Ruth “Wherever you go, I will go…You’re people will be my people,
your God, my God…”
June 28 Fr. Lawrence 13th Ordinary Jesus engages in His healing ministry. Healing???
June 21 Fr. Lawrence 12th Ordinary Mark revisited – Jesus asleep in the boat during the storm.
“God will not go away.”
June 14 Fr. Lawrence Corpus Christi This is my blood, the new covenant which shall be shed for
many..
June 7 Fr. Lawrence Trinity Sunday God created
humans in His own image. What we can learn of God, we
learn by knowing ourselves.
May 31 Graduating High School seniors Pentecost Reflections –
at post-communion time graduating seniors reflect on their life
at St. Vincent’s.
May 31 Fr. Lawrence Pentecost The homilist
addresses the high school graduates who are celebrating at this
service. Christ commissioned us to use our talents in the
service of God.
May 24 Fr. Lawrence 7th Easter The add-ons to
the Gospel of Mark.
May 17 Fr. Kennedy 6th Easter “Love one
another as I have loved you….”
May 10 Fr.
Jay O’Connor
5th Easter “Paul, what
are you doing?”
May 3 Fr. Lawrence 4th Easter
First Communion
Good Shepard
Sunday. The homilist addresses the first communicants
about their role as sheep and shepards.
April 26 Fr. Lawrence 3rd Easter Jesus appears
to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. “…having
accomplished all according
to the scripture…”
April 19 Fr. Lawrence 2nd Easter The
Resurrection story according to John. “I am going to my
God AND your God…”
April 12 Fr. Lawrence Easter Sunday “He is risen”
And we will rise as well….
April 5 Fr. Lawrence Palm Sunday The passion
according to Mark. The homilist explicates three
specifically Markian passages in the narrative.
March 29 Fr. Lawrence 5th Lent The covenant –
Noah, Abraham, Moses, now us thru Jesus…
March 22 Fr. Lawrence 4th Lent Unless we be
with-lifted up with Jesus, we will not enter the kingdom of
heaven.
March 15 Fr. Lawrence 3rd Lent Jesus cleans
the temple of those who would make it a marketplace. “He did not
need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself
understood it well.”
March 8 Fr. Lawrence 2nd Lent The
Transfiguration. Jesus is transformed like Isaac in the
first reading – in the glory that will he His after the
resurrection.
March 1 Fr. Lawrence 1st Lent The
temptations of Jesus in the desert according to Mark. So
what is (are) the temptation(s)?
February 22 Fr. Lawrence 7th Ordinary Jesus cures
the man lowered down through the roof. And gives us an
example of how to help the paralyzed.
February 15 Fr. Lawrence 6th Ordinary Jesus cures
the Leper. And gives us a complicated example – respect the law
and blow it away when necessary.
February 8 Fr. Lawrence 5th Ordinary Peter’s
mother-in-law was healed – and the “got up to serve” them.
A bookend to Jesus’ “I cam to serve, not to be served…”
February 1 Fr. Lawrence 4th Ordinary Through works
and words, Jesus reveals who He is and who God is. He
begins teaching in the synagogue differently – with authority
rather than with footnotes.
January 25 Fr. Lawrence 3rd Ordinary We begin the
reading of the Gospel
of Mark in earnest today, from the beginning. Mark, like
each of the gospel writers, has his own flavor. Savor it.
January 18 Fr. Lawrence 2nd Ordinary Samuel is
called. The Apostles are called. We are called. None are
given a roadmap.
January 11 Fr. Lawrence Baptism of Jesus This feast
ends a season (Christmas) and begins another (Ordinary time).
It begins Jesus’ ministry to heal, reveal, inspire, and amaze.
January 4 Fr. Lawrence Epiphany Christ, the
light as represented by the star of Bethlehem, has broken
through to all people, including us gentiles.