Homilies - Fr. Brendan
Measuring Wall
On one of the walls in my brother's kitchen
are little black lines with dates beside them all the way up the wall.
They signify the height of my niece and nephews
as they grow up with the corresponding date on it.
It is interesting to see the different lines and dates
where they were and where they are now;
and where Mummy is and Daddy is
and Uncle Brendan is way up here!
There is no kind of set schedule when they measure up
but every now and then, they line up and check.
We did it the other night and they had grown
by some enormous amounts since they had last done it.
Of course, there is the usual dueling between the siblings:
"I'm taller than you are."
"Well, let's find out."
They measured up and of course all the lines spoke for themselves.More...
Becoming the Living Body of Christ
Bob had a vivid memory of that fated day
when his brother had pulled him up out of the drowning waters.
He held that memory deep within his heart
and he memorialized it every year by a special drink on the day.
The first year anniversary he made a drink, sat down
and remembered the hour and the day it happened
recalling the exact details of event.
He could almost feel himself being there again.
The fear as the water was pouring into his lungs and filling them.
Then the great joy of being yanked out and his gasping for air;
he could almost smell and taste the seawater as if he was there once again.More...
Live the Mystery
As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity today,
we celebrate one of the most profound mysteries of our church.
Now even just that phrase itself irritates
some non-Christians or non-religious people.
When we use the phrase, "it's a mystery"
they often call it a religious copout
-that we just don't know how to explain it
because it does not make sense and God does not exist.
Going Public
On Friday a week ago, Facebook went public;
they call it an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
In doing so, the company allowed all individuals investors
to have an opportunity to invest in the company.
If one believes in the company's mission and its ideas
as well as the operational strategy to make money
then one might invest in the company
if they have the money to do so.
Often early investors have an opportunity to cash out
and make a reality of their investment from earlier years.
The stock rises when the demand for the stock is higher
than those who are selling;
the supply and demand balance.
In the case of Facebook, the demand was less than the desire to off-load
and as a result the stock price went down.
It will depend on performance now if the stock will rise again.
In going public Facebook gave individuals,
who had never had an opportunity to invest in the company,More...
Open Secret
Kentucky Fried Chicken is famous for their deep-fried chicken.
Their recipe for the batter is such a tightly-kept secret
that even the employees that work for Kentucky Fried Chicken
do not know the recipe.
In fact, the recipe is assembled from several different plants
so that the recipe is never found out.
It is, if you would, a trade secret.
No one has been able to crack the code
on KFC's particular recipe as to how they make this batter.
Love--the Activity of God
St. John of the Cross speaks eloquently about love
and how God's ways are always in and through love.
He speaks of two aspects:
love as God's activity and that when we love one another,
we are participating in God's activity with one another
and that we become the presence of God for each other.
When we allow ourselves to be loved
then we are participating also in that activity of God.
Much like a kite that sails in the wind;
it needs the wind for it to hold the kite up.
Just as the kite needs the wind to stay up,
so our love needs God's love to keep us in motion.
That is how we participate in God's love;
it is the very essence of what God is
and how we love one another is in that essence.More...
Bear Fruit for God
There was once a billionaire, who threw a large party at his big estate
and when all his guests arrived, he announced that,
"I have filled the swimming pool with crocodiles and alligators.
If anyone who was brave enough to swim from one end
of the very long swimming pool to the other end,
could have a choice of his entire art collection worth millions of dollars,
the presidency of his entire company collection of companies
or his daughter in marriage."
With that, there was a splash in the water
and this frantic movement in the water of
somebody swimming to the other end.
Soon the pool got a little red but then out at the end comes a man,
a little worn and beaten up but he arrives safe and sound.More...
Knowing and Experiencing Are Different
If asked someone who lived near the equator if they know anything about snow.
There will be some people who have read about it in a book
and understood what it looks like,
maybe they have even seen lots of pictures of it;
they understood how it comes about
but they have never actually seen snow in reality;
they have never experienced the snow.
Now they still know it but they have not experienced snow.
Maybe there are some people here who have not experienced snow
because we live in a sort of warm climate.
One Step At a Time
There was once a group of settlers who came to this land
and they found a beautiful valley between two magnificent mountains.
On either side of the valley were very steep mountains.
One day, a young man from among the settlers
decided he would climb the top of this mountain and he did.
After many days he returned,
he spoke of the how magnificent the view from the top of the mountain was, "Like an eagle I have seen the beauty of the valley and beyond;
the beauty of God's creation is awesome
and we are called to give glory to such beauty in God's creation."
Peace I Give You
If I offered to give you $10,000 what would you say?
I can see there are smiles on your faces already.
What would you presume that from what I said
-if I am going to give you $10,000?
The answer is that I must have $10,000
and maybe a whole lot more than that to give it away so easily.
I must have at least $10,000 or whole lot more than $10,000
if I am so quick to give you $10,000.
How could I give you something I do not have.
