Tag Archives: sermon

Not giving power to the demons of division in our lives

Posted on August 17, 2008 by unfinishedperson | 2 Comments

In his homily on today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 15:21-28, Fr. Bryan Wright from my home parish in Wellsboro, Pa. spoke about those “demons that try to take us of course” by “wreaking havoc in our household, among our children, in our workplace, in our community, even in our church.”

God, meanwhile, he said, is patient and forgiving to ALL, with salvation for all. He is quick to forgive, patient and ready to take us back. We should treat others as he treats us with patience, being slow to anger and quick to forgive.

“This week, let us be aware of the workings of the Evil One…,” Fr. Wright said, “…and not allow the demons to reign.”

Lord, let my words, my actions, my thoughts be toward unity and not division among my family, my co-workers and my supervisors, and most especially my church, where sometimes I see and focus on those things that divide. Instead, let me to remember that as Fr. Wright said, “Salvation is for ALL,” not for just those whom I would like to think it is. Amen.

This post is cross-posted at Journeying with the Saints.

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Posted in Soul

Tagged Christianity, Fr. Bryan Wright, God, homily, Matthew 15:21-28, sermon, Sustenance Sunday

Hearing God who is in a tiny whispering sound

Posted on August 10, 2008 by unfinishedperson | 2 Comments

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.
Then the LORD said to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

I Kings 19:9a, 11-13a

Today’s homily comes from Fr. James Dougher (pronounced like “Dewar’s”, he told us when he first introduced to us earlier this year), the pastor of my home parish, St. Peter’s in Wellsboro, Pa.

In his homily, Fr. Dougher related the story of an elderly relative who couldn’t hear until she put in her hearing aid. “Now I can hear you?,” she’d say.

Elijah expects to find God in the roar of the wind, in the earthquake, in the fire, but the Lord doesn’t present Himself until he [Elijah] quiets himself and listens with a different ear…

…how is God speaking to us in the our ordinary lives? We need to listen to God in the ordinariness of our lives so we can say, ‘Now I can hear you.’

My own reflection: Sometimes we expect God to speak to us in a loud, booming voice like thunder when he might just be whispering to us through the people and circumstances already in our lives. Often, though, we might be missing what He’s saying because we’re waiting to hear the loud, booming voice instead of the whisper in which he is speaking to us. Are you listening today? Am I?

Lord, help me to listen for what You may be whispering to me today. Let me quiet enough to hear it. Amen.

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Posted in Soul

Tagged Christianity, devotional, Elijah, Fr. James Dougher, God, homily, sermon

Sowing the seeds of love

Posted on July 20, 2008 by unfinishedperson | 1 Comment

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Matthew 13:24-30

Today’s homily comes from Fr. Bryan Wright, parochial vicar at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Wellsboro, Pa., my home parish. It was short and sweet:

“What kind of seeds do we sow? Seeds of patience, joy, laughter, understanding, a positive attitude OR seed of the enemy, gossip, nastiness, impatience, stirring up trouble, being mostly competitive?”

So what have you sown this past week, and what you will sow in the week to come?