Browsing Deacon Paul's Homilies
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Posted by Amy Cerosaletti on 7/16/24
If you think about it, the Gospel passage we hear today is a rather one-sided narrative. We never hear any dialogue between Jesus and the Apostles and their reactions to what Jesus says to them. I’ll bet there was a lot more to that story! Can you imagine the scene:
Jesus, reclining at table, takes a piece of bread, dips it in some olive oil, and announces to the Apostles, “So… I am sending you out, in pairs by yourselves, to preach and minister to the surrounding villages, cast out unclean spirits, and heal people.” (Dramatic pause while he takes a bite of the bread...) The Apostles look at him and then nervously at each other. No one says anything. Then Jesus, while dipping his piece of bread again in the oil, knowing what they are thinking, says, “Oh yeah, and by the way, you are to take no money, no sack, no food. You can wear sandals but only one tunic.” I can imagine, upon hearing this, it's just too much, it's just too uncomfortable; they become anxious…. and agitated. Peter ‒ the impetuous Peter ‒ blurts out what they are all thinking: “Master, no food and no money? One tunic? How are we supposed to wash the one tunic? We’ll be naked! And how do we know who we are supposed to be going to see where you're sending us, let alone what we are to say to them? How do we heal them? How do we cast out unclean spirits? We’ve seen you do it, but we've never practiced it in your presence, let alone done it on our own! How do we know we’ll get it right, that it’ll work, that the unclean spirits will listen to us?" Jesus looks at Peter and says, “Peter ‒ so many questions, so little faith. Take a deep breath: I’ve got your back, you have my ... Read More »
Third Sunday of Easter, Year B
Posted by Amy Cerosaletti on 4/14/24
In Luke’s Gospel today, we hear of the unfolding elements of the gathered Christian community — elements that we should recognize with some familiarity. What do we hear? So they…returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them. (Lk 24:33) Jesus was made known ... Read More »
Easter Sunday 2024
Posted by Amy Cerosaletti on 3/31/24
Those of us of a certain age will recall, with fondness and a touch of nostalgia, the 1977 made-for-television special series, Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth. It premiered on network television for several nights in a row during the last week of Lent in 1977. I recall, as a-then ... Read More »
Holy Thursday 2024
Posted by Amy Cerosaletti on 3/28/24
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.
What is it that we often do when we know we are about to depart from loved ones and those to whom we have responsibility, whether it be to ... Read More »
4th Sunday Lent - Year B
Posted by Diane DeDominics on 3/11/24
...then the LORD God formed the human being out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being (Gn 2:7)
In this account of the creation of humanity from the Book of Genesis God ... Read More »