The ark of the covenant took about 400 – 450 years to arrive at Jerusalem. In the first reading tonight, we heard the end of the story, the arrival. But it was a long journey to the holy city. I…
When we baptize an infant, the priest normally meets the parents and godparents at the door of the church and asks the little one’s name. The implication is that the child is still a stranger and not yet a member…
My family used to often go on vacation to Jasper when I was a young man. We would sometimes stay at Patricia Lake at the foot of Pyramid Mountain. My mother was always so excited to get out of the…
Fire and blood. We wear red vestments today in honour of the apostle Matthias. Fire and blood. Those words may evoke violent images for us: fire can destroy, blood can be shed. But they are also the stuff of life.…
I wonder how much the faith and witness of Saint Stephen impacted the life of Saint Paul. Saint Paul’s conversion or turning from persecutor to believer is described in two places in the New Testament: The Acts of the Apostles…
This morning during our Eucharist we will be invited to renew our baptismal promises. Even if we were here last night at the Easter Vigil, it doesn’t hurt us to do so a few times – even every day as…
After my father passed away ten years ago, I became a little more mindful about my own future. We all did in my family, and we began to make some arrangements for ourselves. I purchased a plot of ground next…
“[Jesus] loved them to the end.” (Jn 13:1) John begins his story of the Last Supper with these poignant and powerful words which tell us that, from this point on in the Gospel, Jesus is rushing to the end.…
About 15 years ago I went to southern Spain for my holidays. I took two weeks to study some Spanish and another two weeks travelling around as much of the country as I could afford to see. It was August…
Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year C Homily [Micah 5:2-5a; Psalm 80; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45] Recently, the city of Edmonton put in place a winter parking ban. The point is to remove vehicles from the side of the road…