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Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 27th, 2022

Usually, we let Jesus get away with a lot of stuff just because he is the Son of God and can do no wrong. However, if we start from this standpoint, we will fail to appreciate the message Jesus wants to leave with us today. Jesus was invited to a formal dinner into a house of a prominent Pharisee so that he could see that he was considered on equal footing with the host and the other guests. Eventually, according to local etiquette, Jesus would have had to reciprocate. What ensues, instead, is something more than shocking. Jesus acts in an extremely rude and

by Fr. Dino Vanin August 31, 2022

Homilies

Homily for the 21st Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 20th, 2022

The image of a grandiose, endless banquet is the most common image used in Holy Scripture to describe heaven. It is the lavish wedding feast of Christ, the Lamb of God, and his Bride, the Church. It is meant to have all nations and all peoples as wedding guests. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. Luke 13:29 With hope-filled hearts we should long incessantly for admission into that heavenly banquet hall. Yet, we need to be deeply startled by the warning which Jesu

by Fr. Dino Vanin August 25, 2022

Homilies

Homily for the 20th Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 13th, 2022

Chances are that today’s gospel passage forces us to toss aside any syrupy picture of Jesus and, consequently, it might take awhile for us to come up with a more accurate one. For starters: we have to accept the fact that the glorified body of Jesus, as he made himself present among his disciples locked in the Upper Room on Easter Day and which was taken up to heaven on Ascension Day was, still is, and will forever be the body of a Jewish man. No blue eyes, no flowing blond locks, no sugary, (bordering on effeminate) features and no weakling affected by a langui

by Fr. Dino Vanin August 19, 2022

Homilies

Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinal Time, August 6th, 2022

He will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. Luke 12:37 As promised, in heaven, our triumphant and most glorious Lord Jesus will wait on us! Scholars call this the eschatological reversal. It is God serving his people, or more precisely, Christ serving his Body. Heaven is all about love and service, eternally, with infinite care, without growing tired, without being bored, without fear that something will go wrong. The author, whom we call Luke, wrote his gospel for the grandchildren of those who had physically seen Jesu

by Fr. Dino Vanin August 12, 2022August 12, 2022

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Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 31st, 2022

If this parable (Luke 12:13-21) does not give us pause, I cannot think of anything else that will. And this is clearly a matter of life and death; eternal life or eternal death, that is! What shall we do to avoid being called “fool” by the Lord and be wise enough to stop storing up earthly treasures for ourselves to become rich in what matters to God? The letter to the Hebrews offers us the surest way: Let us persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2 And, if we ar

by Fr. Dino Vanin July 31, 2022August 4, 2022

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Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 24th, 2022

There are circumstances in which, in our prayer of petition, we can be as confident and as daring as Abraham was, (bordering on impudence) as he haggled with God on behalf of people dear to him. (cf. Genesis 18:20-32) But in the 2nd reading (Colossians 2:12-14) St. Paul reminds us of the privileged status we enjoy through the cross of Christ Jesus. We are God’s family! Our old ways, sins, maladies, fears, worries, all those things that embarrass us, and which formed an ugly screen that kept us away from full and free access to “Daddy,” have been nailed to the cros

by Fr. Dino Vanin July 28, 2022July 28, 2022

Homilies

Homily for the 16th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 17th, 2022

Whenever life gets to be too heavy, the world proposes its ways to lighten it up and unwind: drugs, alcohol, speed, travels, a change of pace, trying something totally new or extreme or wild and so on. We, of course, have our own ways, tested over time, and in different settings. By now, we know what works for us somewhat and what doesn’t work. However, today we are invited to consider how we can refresh our soul by introducing God into the equation. By looking at what happened in the life of Abraham we might realize that God desires to visit us whenever our da

by Fr. Dino Vanin July 22, 2022

Homilies

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 10th, 2022

Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on all facets of human interaction: emotional, psychological, moral, economical, and spiritual; all these affected facets have contributed to a slow, general dehumanization of society. To a different degree we have all been impacted by the forced isolation, the restrictions, the contradicting guidelines, and by the way so many aspects of our life have been controlled by others. In this painful context, awareness that especially children, teenagers, and young adults need more sincere, selfless love, accompanied by warm human to

by Fr. Dino Vanin July 14, 2022

Homilies

Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinal Time, July 3rd, 2022

We are given a lot of orders at this Holy Mass: we are ordered to rejoice with Jerusalem (a figure of the Church); to be glad because of her; to pray the Master of the harvest to send laborers for his harvest; to be on our way; to carry nothing extra like money bag, sack, sandals; we are to remain focused on our task; we are also ordered to say to each visited household: “Peace to this household”; we are told to stay in that household; not to move around unless necessary and so on. Why? Why is the Lord giving us so many and so precise, detailed orders? And why all

by Fr. Dino Vanin July 7, 2022

Homilies

Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinal Time, June 26th, 2022

“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” (Gal. 5:1) St. Paul writes to us of a type of freedom loftier than the one guaranteed us by the Constitution. It is the freedom for which Christ died and rose from the dead to give us so that we, believers, may not use this to freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. (Gal. 5: 13) Alas, individualism, the haughty child of relativism, has been pushing the irrational impossibility that everyone is entitled to do as he/she pleases, as it is convenient to hi

by Fr. Dino Vanin June 30, 2022