Homilies

November 24, 2019

Homily: Killing Kings and Freedom

To listen to this homily click here. The death of the king marked year one in the French Revolution, the beginning of the republic and a new era—an era, of course, of freedom.
November 17, 2019

Homily: When Christ Loses the Argument

To listen to this homily click here. I have always been haunted by the fact that Jesus didn’t really win the argument, that he convinced only very few. What I mean is that all along and throughout his ministry, although at times he attracted countless many, his disciples, when all was said and done, were few.
November 10, 2019

Homily: Martyrs and Angels and Christian Courage

You wouldn’t think it, necessarily, but early Christian martyrs were often funny. They weren’t pious wimps singing hymns while being led away to torture and death. More often than not they were sardonic, sarcastic, and smart-mouthed.
November 2, 2019

Homily: Praying for the Dead, Love and Living Memory

We’ve been doing this since the very beginning, honoring and praying for the dead.
October 31, 2019

Homily: The Christian Language of All the Saints

It’s possible only with the English language; it’s the marvelous characteristic of our great transatlantic tongue.
October 6, 2019

Homily: Why It’s a Good Thing to be Unprofitable Servants (Lk 17:5-10)

To listen to this homily click here! The Jewish scholar and rabbi, Naftali Brawer, tells a story I’ve always remembered of the time he visited a synagogue in Jerusalem for the Kabbalat Shabbat service; this is a ceremony with origins in the mystical traditions of medieval Judaism, a ceremony of ritual and song welcoming the Sabbath, […]