Readings: Isaiah 55: 6-9; Philippians 1: 20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20: 1-6a Preacher: Susan Howard Sisters and Brothers, Paul makes it clear that the Kingdom of Heaven is for both genders. He is reiterating what Matthew has written in the Gospel that all people who work at being disciples will receive their reward of eternal life. Of course, you knew that, but… read more →
Readings: Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17; 1 Peter 3: 15-18; John 14: 15-21 Preacher: Susan Howard “If you love me you will keep my commandments…” What does this love look like? The great commandment to love one another and your neighbor (stranger or in this case a neighboring country) as yourself is a difficult and arduous undertaking if you try it on… read more →
Readings: Numbers 6:22-27; Galatians 4: 4-7; Luke 2: 16-21 Preacher: Susan Howard A dear friend sent me a Christmas gift a few weeks early. She’s very organized and thoughtful like that, worried about slow mail and lost gifts, but it arrived safely and I put it under the tree to wait until Christmas. So with eager expectation now at its peak… read more →
Readings: Exodus 32: 7-11, 13-14; 1 Timothy 1: 12-17; Luke 15: 1-32 Preacher: Susan Howard Several years ago one of our churches held a procession with the Blessed Sacrament on Feast of Corpus Christi. I had the task of finding someone to carry the cross that leads the procession. I could have asked one of our faithful ushers, or one of… read more →
Readings: Acts 7:55-60; Revelations 22: 12-14, 16-17,20; John 17: 20-26 Preacher: Susan Howard Participating in Divine Oneness, the Glory of God, is the ultimate gift. It’s not a commodity that you can touch or feel, not something we earn. It is a pure thing, a spiritual reality. It can come in a split second of spiritual conversion or over time and… read more →
Readings: 1 Samuel 1: 20-22, 24-28; Colossians 3: 12-21; Luke 2: 41-52 Preacher: Susan Howard The interconnection between making our voices heard and the loosening of the Holy Spirit to act in the world is the key to the dynamics of change. From a cursory reading of today’s texts one might imagine that the purpose of the Feast of the Holy Family… read more →
Readings: 2 Kings 4: 42-44; Ephesians 4: 1-6; John 6: 1-15Click here to download a PDF of this homily.Preacher: Susan Howard When I was 18 I traveled to Europe with a girlfriend. It was one of those bootstrap wild and crazy trips that one never forgets. We had lodging and summer jobs in a little town in the Alps of… read more →
Readings: Genesis 22: 1-2, 9A, 10-13, 13-15; Romans: 8: 31b-34; Mark 9: 2-10Click here to download a PDF of this homily.Preacher: Susan Howard Life often gets in the way of faith doesn’t it? It’s just a fact. We drift, we succumb to all the temptations of advertising and greed and pleasure.Through a series of short stories about tests of faith… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20C-24, 27A; Matthew 20: 1-16AClick here to download a PDF of this homily.Click here to watch a video of this homily.Preacher: Susan Howard But that’s just not fair!! This week’s Biblical account can dredge up strong feelings of injustice, when we hear of someone receiving more money for less work. Or on the other hand, seeing… read more →
Readings: Acts 1: 12-14; 1 Peter 4: 13-16; John 17: 1-11AClick here to download a PDF of this homily.Preacher: Susan Howard At the heart of today’s readings is the Glory of God and how God wants us to be in communion with that Glory. God’s glory is evident from the beginning, when out of chaos God crafted the earth, air,… read more →