by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Sep 9, 2024 | Homily
Isaiah 50:4-9; James 2:14-18, Mark 8:27-35 A moment came in the public ministry of Jesus when he asked his disciples what others were saying about him, and who they thought he was. Jesus asked not because he did not know the answer, but to elicit a stance from his...
by Monastery of Christ in the Desert | Sep 2, 2024 | Homily
Scripture readings: Isaiah 35:4-7; Letter of James 2:1-5; Gospel According to Saint Mark 7:31-37 In the Gospel today, Jesus cures a deaf man who also has a speech impediment. Freedom from bondage of various kinds is an important sign of the Messianic age which Jesus...
by Abbot | Aug 26, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8; Letter of Saint James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27; Gospel According to Saint Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-22 Jesus and his followers are chided today for not observing the Jewish ritual customs of cleanliness and etiquette. Jesus...
by Abbot | Aug 21, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Joshua 24:1-2, 15-17, 18; Ephesians 5:21-32; Gospel of John 6:60-69 Life is filled with choices, to say the least. It’s part of life in the present, but the matter of facing choices each day stretches back over millennia. In the Gospel today,...
by Abbot | Aug 12, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Proverbs 9:1-6; Ephesians 5:15-20; Gospel According to Saint John 6:51-58 This Sunday we hear in the Gospel the concluding section of the Bread of Life discourse. Christ’s proclamation that the new bread from heaven is his own flesh results...
by Abbot | Aug 5, 2024 | Homily
First Book of Kings 19:4-8; Letter to the Ephesians 4:30-5:2; Gospel According to Saint John 6:41-51 Today’s Gospel passage continues the discourse on the Bread of Life from last Sunday. Who is the Bread of Life? Jesus himself, of course. The fact that Jesus claimed...
by Abbot | Jul 31, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15; Ephesians 4:17, 20-24; Gospel According to Saint John 6:24-35 The essence of the Gospel message, the heart of what Jesus is trying to say to us, might be put in the form of a question. Jesus often used questions in his...
by Abbot | Jul 22, 2024 | Homily
We are told in the Gospel today that Jesus “went up the mountain.” Which mountain, we do not actually know, but in any case, the crowds followed him on foot. The setting is outside Jerusalem, on the other side of the so-called Sea of Galilee, that is, the enormous...
by Abbot | Jul 19, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Prophet Jeremiah 23:1-6; Ephesians 2:13-18; Gospel According to Saint Mark 6:30-34 The emphasis in the Gospel text this Sunday on Jesus and his disciples going by themselves to an out-of-way place for prayer and rest. It is something that...
by Abbot | Jul 9, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Prophet Amos 7:12-15, Ephesians 1:3-14, Gospel According to Saint Mark 6:7-13 Behind every good sports team or individual athletic competitor there is usually a competent trainer or coach. That person indicates and even insists on what must be done...
by Abbot | Jul 3, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Ezekiel 2:2-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Gospel According to Saint Mark 6:1-6 The first reading for Mass this Sunday is from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, who addressed the people of Israel while they were in forced exile, far from home, around...
by Abbot | Jun 25, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15; Gospel According to Saint Mark 5:21-43 The first reading for this Sunday, from the Book of Wisdom, was written about 100 years before the birth of Christ and...
by Abbot | Jun 17, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Texts: Job 38: 1, 8-11; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Gospel According to Saint Mark 4:35-41 We might all agree that in daily life there are circumstances, events and realities that make us feel happy or joyful: getting a vacation, for example, or seeing old...
by Abbot | Jun 11, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-24; Second Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:21-34 Of late we have been celebrating a number of festive Sundays: Pentecost, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, as well as “non-Sunday” ones, such as the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate...
by Abbot | May 27, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Exodus 24:3-8; Letter to the Hebrews 9:11-15; Gospel According to Saint Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 On the night before giving His life on the cross, Jesus instituted the Eucharist, the gift of his Body and Blood, in the form of bread and wine, as...
by Abbot | May 20, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Book of Deuteronomy 4:32-34,39-40; Romans 8:22-31; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 28:16-20 Each year on the Sunday following Pentecost, the Church celebrates the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, our belief that God is One and yet Three Persons:...
by Abbot | May 13, 2024 | Homily
Readings: Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11; First Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13; Gospel According to Saint John 20:19-23 The Solemnity of Pentecost is a celebration of the universality of the love God has for us. At Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, the Church commemorates...
by Abbot | May 7, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 1:1-11; Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians 1:17-23; Gospel According to Saint Matthew 28:16-20 As we celebrate our Lord’s Ascension, which took place forty days after his Resurrection, we recount with joy the day when Christ...
by Abbot | Apr 29, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; First Letter of John 4:7-10; Gospel of John 15:9-17 In our popular language, the word “love” is so often used and misused, that it has almost become devoid of meaning. Love is a word so frequently...
by Abbot | Apr 22, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 9:26-31; First Letter of Saint John 18-24; Gospel of Saint John 15:1-8 Maybe few or none who read this have grown grapes, though perhaps some have. Even if we have not grown grapes, we are familiar with the notion of a tree...
by Abbot | Apr 15, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 4:8-12; First Letter of Saint John 3:1-2; Gospel of Saint John 10:11-18 Our Lord Jesus Christ, during his earthly ministry, knew very well how to speak to the people about his person and his mission, using simple and direct...
by Abbot | Apr 8, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 3:13-19; First Letter of St John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48 Today’s first reading, from an address of Saint Peter to the Jewish people after he had cured a man in the Temple, refers to the showing forth of God’s saving power in Jesus...
by Abbot | Apr 6, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 4:32-25; First Letter of John 5:1-6; Gospel of John 20:19-31 We continue our yearly celebration of the Passover of Christ, whose triumphant resurrection from the dead is our hope and joy. Today the Gospel account describes...
by Abbot | Mar 31, 2024 | Homily
Scripture Readings: Acts of the Apostles 10:34, 37-43; Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians 3:1-4; Gospel According to Saint John 20:1-9 One of the clearest messages of this holy day is contained in the words of the angel at the empty tomb, which is heard at the...
by Abbot | Mar 29, 2024 | Homily
“It is finished,” are Christ’s words from the cross just before He “bowed his head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). What is finished? On Good Friday the old creation, of sin and separation from God, has ended, is finished, and a new...
