Month: June 2021

June 27, 2021 at Saint Peter and Saint William Churches in Naples, FL

Wisdom 1, 13-15, 2, 23-24 + Psalm 30 + 2 Corinthians 8, 7, 9, 13-15 + Mark 5, 21-43

Jesus calls that woman who is unclean, “daughter,” and with that she is healed of her affliction. Of course, her affliction is far more than a hemorrhage. It is far more than the fact that her medical bills have used up everything she had. Her real affliction is her isolation, the separation from family and her community brought on by this hemorrhage which was so horrible and defiling at the time. No one there would have touched her for fear of becoming unclean. … more »

Philippians 3, 7-14 + Matthew 10: 1-7

June 20, 2021 Mary, Mother of Light in Jupiter, FL

Let’s take two things from what Jesus says to us today in this Gospel, for when we proclaim the Gospel within the assembly of God’s people at liturgy, it is not history, or something he once said long ago.  He is speaking to us right now in this little church here Tequesta, Florida just as much as he is speaking in our Cathedral in Brooklyn or in Lebanon. There is a lot here to digest, but two things stand out and deserve our attention.

First, there are these names. When Matthew put this Gospel together, a lot of people in his Jewish/Christian community knew one or many of these real historical figures. … more »

This homily was not delivered as prepared. Therefore there is no audio.

I was serving the Maronite Community in Jupiter, Florida on June 20, 2021

Job 38, 1, 8-11 + Psalm 107 + 2 Corinthians 5,14-17 + Mark 4, 35-41

Just in case you like trivia, the surface of the lake they are crossing is 682 feet below sea level. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides that are between 1000 and 2000 feet above the lake. Warm air on the water and cold air on the mountains just a few miles away can get very turbulent very fast. The cool air falls down the sides of the mountains and mixes with the warm wet air at which point you are going to have a storm. … more »

June 13, 2021 at Saint Peter and Saint William Churches in Naples, FL

Ezekiel 117, 22-24 + Psalm 92 + 2 Corinthians 5, 6-10 + Mark 4, 26-34

My father was born in what we would today call “poverty”. In the middle of seven children, he never went beyond 8^th grade in a tiny village on the Mississippi River. He left home before he was 15, got a job in Saint Louis sweeping a stock room, and 40 years later retired as a top executive of the same company. He firmly believed in the old saying that you had to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. He also believed that the more you work, the more God will love and reward you. … more »

June 6, 2021 at Saint William Church in Naples, FL

Exodus 24, 3-8 + Psalm 116 + Hebrews 9, 11-15 + Mark 14, 12-16, 22-26

When I say: “The Mystery of Faith.” You often respond by saying: “When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, until you come again.” We should be clear about this, because for followers of Jesus, those words are meaningless unless they reflect the life of the one who says them. On this holy day, we are reminded to pay attention to what we say and mean it. If you believe that something happens to the bread and wine in my hands when Christ speaks those words again, then you ought to believe that something happens to you when you say Amen and when you eat the bread and drink this cup.  … more »