Homily (87)
2025 (24)
When the first Spiderman movie came out, I was enthralled – it was so good I was left hungering for more. I would replay in my mind again and again my favourite scenes from the movie, and I would track the blogs of ardent fans that would dish out all the latest gossip about …
While aimlessly trawling the net, I recently stumbled across an article entitled “Don’t force your happily ever after.” It was by a young woman named Kelsey, who takes us through the vicissitudes of her love life and then tries to draw a lesson out of it. When she was in …
“Love one another as I have loved you.” This is Jesus’ command to us in today’s gospel. But how has Jesus loved us? I would like to suggest to you that what characterizes Jesus’ love is its asymmetric quality. Jesus’ love is a completely asymmetric love, it’s a love that …
In the English language sheep have a bad rap where following is concerned: “to follow blindly like sheep.” It is true that in some cases this saying is apt and describes well the mob mentality of certain people who decide to abdicate all personal responsibility and simply …
Recently one of the top players in the ATP Men’s Tour, Carlos Alcaraz was interviewed on his hopes and dreams for the future. At the tender age of 19, he achieved the huge feat of becoming the youngest ever number one in the world after winning the US open. Two years later, …
In today’s gospel, we see Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to his disciples and giving them the power to forgive sins: “whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Pope Francis loved reminding us that mercy is the most powerful aspect of …
It is said that on the evening of June 18, 1815 a man stood in the tower of England’s Winchester Cathedral gazing anxiously out to sea. At last he found what he was looking for – a ship sending a signal by use of lights. He strained to see the message. All of England held …
On Palm Sunday, we have the privilege of hearing two gospels, one that recounts the events when Jesus entered Jerusalem, and then a second that recounts the events that lead to his crucifixion. All too often the homily on this day focuses on the former, to the exclusion of …
In her work of counselling couples who are dealing with the fallout of an adulterous affair in their marriage, Ester Perel, a Canadian psychologist, has come to some interesting insights into the motivations behind adultery. Her work has led her to believe that when a …
This is a parable that we all know very well. I would suspect that when we hear this parable most of us are inclined to see ourselves in one of the sons. But I would like to invite you today to focus on the Father, for it was not really the son who was prodigal, but rather …
In today’s gospel, we are confronted by a certain version of Jewish theodicy. Theodicy is the branch of theology that wrestles with the question of how an all-powerful loving God might allow evil. At the time of Jesus, many Jews, following the lead of the Sadducees, did not …
Today’s first reading begins by telling us that Abraham decided to put his faith in the Lord. What does this really mean to have faith in God? Surely it means more than simply believing that God exists and following his commandments. I would suggest to you today dear friends …
Imagine that you were a car – now ask yourself what type of fuel you run on? What is the fuel that you put inside yourself, what keeps you going throughout the day. Now I’m not talking about whether you eat nshima, bread or spaghetti. I’m talking about what is the fuel that …
As a visitor to Joburg I have been amazed by the phenomenon of intersections where the traffic lights are not working. The lights not working are of course not what I find amazing, as a Zimbabwean, I am unfortunately far too used to such a phenomenon in my own country. But …
The faults that we most condemn in others are actually the faults that we fear the most in ourselves. When I first heard this axiom, I laughed at it because it sounded so hypocritical. How can a person be so vociferous in condemning a fault in another person when they have …
Imagine that you have just won the lottery – a cool R100 000. The next day, you are driving to the store, and when you get to the parking lot, it is choca-block, nowhere to park. You roam all over the parking lot until finally a space opens up – now you like reverse parking …
In 2004 Victor Yushchenko stood for the presidency of the Ukraine. Vehemently opposed by the ruling party Yushchenko’s face was disfigured and he almost lost his life when he was mysteriously poisoned. This was not enough to deter him from standing for the presidency. On the …
Perhaps some of you have come across the new series on Jesus’ life called “The Chosen.” It takes the story of the gospel and fills it out, giving character and depth to those who play cameo roles in the gospels like Nicodemus, Mary of Magdala and Matthew the tax collector. …
In our hyper-individualistic society, we can sometimes fall into the trap of approaching our religious faith in individualistic terms. We each have our own faith and practice this faith in many different ways. Many of us have various devotional practices, which, for a large …
In our hyper-individualistic society, we can sometimes fall into the trap of approaching our religious faith in individualistic terms. We each have our own faith and practice this faith in many different ways. Many of us have various devotional practices, which, for a large …
Contrary to the other gospels, John does not pepper his gospel with many stories of Jesus’ miracles. We know Jesus worked many miracles, many of which are not even recorded in any of the gospels. But John decides to recount only seven miracles of Jesus in his gospel. …
Baptism of Our Lord – St. Ignatius 10am – Year C – Lk 3: 15-22 It may surprise you to learn that the early Christian community were very embarrassed by the Baptism of the Lord. This was because it upset the neat categories that they were trying to establish: namely that John …
In today’s gospel we are presented with three wise men who sought to discern the happenings of great events in the stars. A common misconception presents the wise men as kings. The probable cause of this confusion comes from Ps 72 that we sung today for our psalm, where we …
2024 (51)
There can be a certain temptation to idealize the Holy Family and think that as a family they never fought or misunderstood each other or failed to get along because of their own human frailty. To be completely clear, human frailties are not the same as sin. There can be …
Matthew’s gospel opens with a rather long and tedious genealogy of Jesus and we might wonder why we need to listen to such a boring list on a joyful night like tonight. Genealogies serve a number of purposes in the Scriptures. On the one hand, they serve to establish the …
With growing concern in recent years about the representation of minority groups in films, books and other works of fiction, a certain test was developed as a tool to measure the representation of women in a work of fiction. This test, known as the Bechdel test, has three …
Today is Gaudete Sunday, a Latin word meaning rejoice. In our second reading today, Paul even though he is in prison, is overflowing with joy and enjoins the same joy on the community at Philippi. Paul encourages the people of Philippi to rejoice always. We might think that …
Often when we attend ceremonies, those who are invited to make speeches preface their remarks with long formal acknowledgements of dignitaries both present and absent that go something like this: His Excellency, President of the Republic, in absentia, the Honourable Member …
Having just come out of a 30-day retreat, I had a rather jarring experience on Tuesday when I went into a mall for the first time in a month. But what added to the dissonance in my head was to see Christmas decorations all around the mall when we had not even begun Advent. …
If we observe the stories of people who encounter Jesus in the Gospel, they are by and large people who are seeking help from Jesus, normally in the form of some physical healing. Invariably Jesus provides them with the help that they are seeking and they depart from Jesus …
Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have been struggling with the question of how to justify the authority of one person over another. What gives one person the right to tell another person what to do? In other words what gives authority its legitimacy, where does …
Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who has written a lot about male spirituality talks about how in the first half of his life, every man needs to build a tower, needs to achieve something, needs to prove himself to the world, make a name for himself. He needs to learn the …
It is noteworthy that the foundational and archetypal human relationship, as presented in our first reading today, is one of man-wife and not parent-child, or sibling-sibling. For the vast majority of us, the foundational relationship of our lives is mother-child. It is …
In today’s gospel, Jesus addresses some of his most demanding counsels to his disciples: “if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off!” While there have been Christians who have taken Jesus at his word, most notably the great Church father, Origen, who was rumoured to have …
Jessie Chan is a young Chinese woman who is trying to recover from a very painful breakup of her six-year relationship with her boyfriend. A shot of light pierces this darkness in the form of a witty, charming, sensitive fellow by the name of Will who waltzs into Jessie’s …
In order to understand what is going on in this story, we need to realize that it is to be read in the context of what has come just before it, namely the feeding of the 5000. It is no accident that purity laws in Jewish customs and traditions revolved around food and …
In 2018, Pete Davis a Graduate student at Harvard Law gave the commencement address at his graduation. He spoke of an experience that will perhaps be familiar to many of us of being up late at night looking for a movie to watch on Netflix. Even after watching numerous …
For the past 3 weeks, our gospel has come from the 6th chapter of John, the bread of life discourse, widely considered by many to have Eucharistic overtones. Today’s gospel is considered by scholars to be the most explicitly Eucharistic of all the sections in chapter six. …
In today’s first reading we see the prophet Elijah suffering from classic burnout syndrome. He is sitting forlornly under a broom tree and prays for death in these words: “This is enough, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Many of us know all too well …
In my early years as a Jesuit, I had occasion to live in a rural mission in Zimbabwe. Being a rural mission, we were not a very wealthy community and had to live quite a simple lifestyle, there were not many luxuries in our diet and our fare was quite basic. There would …
In the wake of the Enlightenment, certain Protestant exegetes, eager to present Christian belief as entirely consistent with the rationalism that had come to rule the day in Western Europe, attempted to “demythologize” the gospels. They feared that presenting Jesus as …
A young and very successful executive was travelling down a suburban street in his brand new black Jaguar. Suddenly a brick was thrown from the sidewalk, thumping into the side of the car. Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the …
In today’s gospel we see Jesus sending out his disciples with the instruction to them to take nothing for the journey. Through this instruction Jesus was highlighting the importance of enabling those who receive the Word to feel that they have something to give as well. For …
In the third season of the Chosen, there is a wonderful scene developed by the screen-writers of the show, which so accurately portrays Jesus’ theology and outlook on life that it truly deserves a place in the canonical gospels, even if it is the work of imagination. The …
The woman we meet in today’s gospel has been suffering from hemorrhaging for 12 odd years. This sickness would have rendered her permanently ritually impure. Anyone who came into contact with any blood whatsoever were considered ritually impure for a period of 7 days. This …
A newly-wed couple were crossing a lake in a boat, when suddenly a great storm arose. The man was a warrior, and remained unflinching in the face of danger, but his wife on the other hand became a ball of nerves and was petrified with fear. She turned to her husband and …
In 1876 the US Department of Agriculture imported a Japanese vine named kudzu to United States to help stabilize eroding hillsides. The vines grow exceptionally fast and produce dense vegetation that protects loose soil from water and wind but also blocks sunlight from …
Perhaps more than any other narrative in the Old Testament, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden has exerted an enormous influence in shaping Christian ideas about sin, sexuality, shame and guilt. Down through the ages, this narrative has had a reception of being …
As human beings – we tend to value objects and items that are “polyvalent,” items that can mean and serve many different functions. This is why, perhaps, we have come to so value the little gadgets that we carry around with us everywhere in our pockets and purses, which can …
I was recently chatting with a friend who asked me if I believed in aliens. I told him that if, by aliens, he meant the intelligent, self-conscious life forms like the Wookies, Gungans and Tuskan raiders of Star Wars fame, then my answer would be no. Not a categorical “no,” …
As I child, I often heard the story of the tower of Babel, and took it as a nice story that explained the origins of different languages in our world. However, there is a much deeper meaning to this story which reveals itself if we pay attention to the stated goal of the …
In today’s first reading we are told that while Jesus was lifted up to the heavens a cloud took him from their sight. In the Old Testament, the cloud is a cultic symbol that denotes the hiddenness of God. The heavens was where God was thought to dwell, hidden away from the …
In our first reading today, Peter comes to the revelation that “God has no favourites.” This may seem obvious to us, but at the time it went against the very grain of the Jewish worldview, who regarded themselves as the Chosen people, the favourites of God. The Old Testament …
In her 2013 bestseller, Quiet, Susan Cain explores how the rise of what she calls “the extrovert ideal” has come to dominate our contemporary society, to the detriment of those of a more introverted nature. We live in a culture that hero-worships the extrovert. The media has …
In 2010, the BBC brought out a riveting TV series entitled Sherlock. The series tracks the adventures of Sherlock and Watson and is loosely based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic figure of Sherlock Homes. Unlike the books, Mary, Watson’s wife gets a significant cameo part …
When we make major life decisions, like the choice of a certain career, or the choice of a life partner or the choice to have children, what we are essentially doing is taking a bet on our happiness and fulfillment. We are putting our happiness and fulfillment in life on the …
Anita Pearce was a single mother who lived in Brownsville New York with her three sons. Over a period of six years, all three of her sons were gunned down and killed in gang violence. Her youngest son was killed right on her doorstep. This was obviously a deeply traumatic …
I’d like to continue with the story about the bridge controller that I used in my Good Friday homily. As I said, when it is used as an analogy of our salvation in Christ, it has a number of shortcomings. On top of the ones I pointed out on Good Friday, another shortcoming is …
There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would …
Imagine an entirely fictional character named Musonda, who is an influencer cum politician with a large following on social media. He is something of a firebrand, priding himself on his ability to speak truth to power, and roundly criticizing the government of Zambia for its …
Two rather elderly Jesuits were recently having a conversation about dying. One of them asked the other “Are you afraid of dying?” Confident of being able to stare death in the face unflinchingly, his friend replied unhesitatingly “No not at all, I don’t mind death at all – …
Fr. Greg Boyle is the founder of Homeboy Industries, a highly effective program that is responsible for helping to transform the lives of thousands of former members of Los Angeles’ gangs. When Fr. Greg first came to Dolores mission, a Jesuit parish in the heart of LA’s most …
I don’t know about you, but when I go shopping, I get stressed – because I am usually trying to balance two things – I want to purchase good quality merchandise, but I want to find it within the limits of my budget. So I want to get as much quality as I can, and pay as …
Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest and widely acclaimed spiritual writer, brought out a book a few years ago, entitled “Falling Upwards.” His main thesis in this book is that life is divided into two halves. The first half of life is all about building one’s tower. As you …
Some of you may know of the Pacific island just of the coast of Chile, known as Easter Island, which is known for its curious collection of great big stone statues, called moai that are dotted all over the island, numbering more than 887. What puzzled scholars for a long …
When I was a young Jesuit doing my philosophical training, I had a friend who would let me come over to his house and use his high speed internet connection to research my term papers. When he first gave me the password to his Wi-Fi: “End_2055,” I looked at him quizzically, …
In today’s gospel, a leper comes to Jesus and says: “Lord if you want to, you can heal me.” He was sure that Jesus could heal him, he just wasn’t sure that Jesus wanted to. Perhaps he had seen Jesus heal others – perhaps he had watched from a distance (for he was not allowed …
I have a friend, Roy, who at the age of 48 years old, contracted cerebral malaria. As you can imagine he became critically ill and was admitted to ICU where he spent several weeks. At a number of points while he was in ICU, it was touch and go. In fact the doctors told him …
The great English writer and wit G.K. Chesterton would often be seen squeezed behind a table in a London restaurant for lunch. He would often joke about his great bulk, saying that he gave him great consolation to be able to give up his seat on the train for three ladies. …
Have you ever had the experience of being approached by a born-again Christian and been asked the question “Have you received Jesus into your life as your personal savior?” It has happened to me a few times and I have been tempted to ask them where in the Bible does it tell …
In today’s gospel we see John designating Jesus as the Christ is the Lamb of God and takes away the sins of the world. But how precisely does Jesus take away the sins of the world? The image of the Lamb of God that we are given in today’s gospel is based on the Pascal lamb: …
The film, The Dark Knight, released in 2008 as part of the Batman franchise, has striking parallels with the story of our salvation in Jesus Christ. Harvey Dent, the new police commissioner has won over the hearts of the whole of Gotham and become for everyone the model of …
There is a story told of three farmers sitting around the fire one evening after a hard day’s work. Two of them were having an argument about what was the best way to plant their grain. After realizing that they were getting nowhere in trying to convince the other, they both …
We as Catholics often get a lot of flak from certain other Christians for according far too much importance and respect to Mary. What they don’t seem to understand is that Mary always points the way to her son, Jesus Christ. Focusing on Mary is a helpful way to gain new …
2023 (3)
A number of years ago, a certain priest had gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While he was there he bought a beautiful wood carved Nativity set. It was so delicate, he did not want to risk putting it his checked luggage, and so decided to carry it in his hand luggage. …
in Macheke. As I was due to leave the parish I had been ministering at and move on to a new mission, I used my retreat to review the four years that I had spent at this parish. I could point to solid structures that I had built that would be my legacy in Mbare: I had turned …
Ash Wednesday derives its name from a powerful ritual that reminds us of a mortality. We are confronted by our mortality in order that we take seriously the short time allotted to us here on earth. As we journey towards Calvary this Lent together with the Lord, we start the …
2022 (2)
In today’s gospel we see Peter going back to doing what he knows best, being a fisher of fish. Peter backslides into his old way of life, the way of life he had before he met Jesus. For a brief moment in his life, while he was a Jesus’ side, he thought that his life might be …
Many of us, I’m sure have had the experience of being asked by a born-again Christian: “Have you received Jesus into your life as your personal savior?” It has happened to me a few times and I have been tempted to ask them where in the Bible does it tell you that …
2021 (7)
In our first reading today, we see the people of Israel moaning about the hardships of life in the desert and looking wistfully back at their life of slavery in Egypt. We might be surprised at this attitude – surely freedom is far better than slavery no matter the cost. If …
There is no free lunch. Or so we have been taught to believe in the capitalistic societies that we live in. Even if it’s someone’s else’s charity we are benefitting from, the lunch that we get free has to come from somewhere, value is not just created out of thin air – …
Japanese culture is one of the most highly stratified and hierarchical on the planet. I have been told that until you know a person’s social ranking relative to your own, you cannot talk to them, because you do not know how to address with the correct protocols of respect. …
In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, much of the comedy revolves around the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice, who use their razor sharp wits to duel with one another in a game of brinkmanship that becomes increasingly acerbic and antagonistic as the play …
21 years ago, Mel Gibson starred with Helen Hunt in the Hollywood blockbuster film What Women Want. Through a freak accident the character played by Mel Gibson acquires the ability to hear the secret thoughts of any woman who is within a radius of ten meters of him. Of …
It is said that on the evening of June 18, 1815 a man stood in the tower of England’s Winchester Cathedral gazing anxiously out to sea. At last he found what he was looking for – a ship sending a signal by use of lights. He strained to see the message. All of England held …