Looking back this week

The homily this weekend was a tough one. Moral homilies are rare today and they are always difficult to preach, and I suspect, to hear. In fact I wish I didn't have to preach them at all, but I know they must be preached when the Gospel and/or Liturgy of the Word takes me there in prayer. Many parishioners pointed out that, painful as they may be for some people to hear, some things need to be said. It's so hard to voice Christ and His Church's moral teaching in a culture that simply doesn't recognize sin as problem. For many Jesus is just a nice guy, not a teacher. It's hard to be a disciple (a student) of Christ anymore; we all want to teach Him and the Church instead! It was a Lenten penance for me to preach this last homily. Thank you for your prayer.

Praying & Thinking Time

I do most of my thinking about spiritual things at night. Much of what happens in a parish like St. Benedict's is behind the scenes, unseen for the most part. It's all in the preparation, and night time is prep time for me!

Here are parish things I am thinking about and working on tonight: 1. this weekend's homily, 2. Monday's "Spirituality 101" Lecture at St. John the Baptist Church in Kenmore [7:30 pm -I hope you can make it] and 3. RCIA and Holy Week liturgies.

Homily - 5th Sun. Lent (C)

I'm up to preach this coming weekend. At this point, I am leaning toward doing an Ignatian "representation of place," meaning that I will ask us to put ourselves "into" the scene. Then I'd like to make some application to our real lives today - sin, shame, sexuality, Jesus' compassion, Holy Week, etc.

What are your thoughts? I'd love to read them. Contact me at deaconhynes@gmail.com.

Deacon Bill+