16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 17 (Genesis 18:1-10a; Psalm 15; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42)

Abraham and Sarah had all but given up. God had promised Abraham a son and heir and that he would become a father of a great nation. But the time on the biological clock had run out, for they were both far advanced in years, and no son by Sarah had been born. And this is often the moment God chooses to act — when all human efforts have been exhausted.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 10 (Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 69; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37)        

Where can we find God? Even the greatest mystics and saints experienced times in which they felt that God was absent. They struggled with doubts and fears, as do most people.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) July 3 (Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66; Galatians 6: 14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

There is nothing as powerful as knowing that one is unconditionally loved. It gives hope, strength, courage and healing. With that knowledge of being loved we can bear the burdens that come our way and many things become possible. The spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola begin with this as the “first principle and foundation” — we are created out of love and for love. That is our reason for existing — to love and be loved.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) June 26 (1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21; Psalm 16; Galatians 5:1, 13-18; Luke 9:51-62)

Elijah was looking for a worthy disciple and successor and he had a novel recruiting method.

Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Year C) June 19 (Genesis 14:18-20; Psalm 110; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Luke 9:11b-17)

The early Church Fathers taught that Christ had always been preparing the way for the redemption that would come through the incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection. This is evident in the story from the very beginning of Israel’s history — the wandering of Abraham, still named Abram, and his meeting with the mysterious king of Salem, a man named Melchizedek.

Most Holy Trinity (Year C) June 12 (Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15) 

God is described in countless ways in the Scriptures, confirming that God cannot be contained by any one image or symbol. The ancient sources do not use the theological precision that modern people are used to and can at times appear to be inconsistent or contradictory. This can be confusing to some. The God-language of Scripture inspires the sacred imagination of the reader or hearer, revealing the depths and activities of the divine.

Pentecost Sunday (Year C) June 5 (Acts 2:1-11; Psalm 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23)

If a hundred believers were asked to explain the nature, role and workings of the Holy Spirit, there would probably be 100 or more answers. Backed into a corner, many have little understanding of the Spirit and its actions. The Holy Spirit has been invoked to bolster authority and to challenge it; to support the status quo and to overturn it; to head in new theological and spiritual directions and to retreat behind the fortified walls of tradition.

Ascension of the Lord (Year C) May 29 (Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23; Luke 24:44-53)

Our worldview and understanding of the cosmos are very closely linked with our theology and image of God. If one changes, the other must also adapt. Although this is usually met with resistance, these changes have occurred many times in the past and will continue to do so.

Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year C) May 22 (Acts 15:1-2, 22-29; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10-14; 22-23; John 14: 23-29)

What must one do to be saved? This is an age-old question and is fraught with many related issues. What does it mean to be “saved,” and from what? This is not as obvious as it might at first appear, for there have been different answers to those questions depending on when, where and under what conditions they were asked.

Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year C) May 8 (Acts 13:14, 43-52; Psalm 100; Revelation 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30)

Religious people often are reluctant to hear new things. There is a great deal of comfort in what is known and predictable. Anything that disturbs this sense of the “way things are” is suspect and is seen as a threat. Nearly every new direction that religious thought has taken has been greeted with resistance, rancour and sometimes even violence. One need not look farther than the battlelines that have been drawn in the contemporary Church.