The Tenth Hour

Margaret Carswell Funeral Homily This morning we gather as a family of faith to celebrate the Requiem Mass of Margaret , our dear sister in Christ.  A couple of days after Margaret passed from this life to eternity, Pope Francis put out a document to the entire Church. The document was entitled 'Christus Vivit' - Christ. Although in many ways the document is aimed primarily at young people, it speaks to all of us who are on the journey of faith. One of the ideas, Francis explores in that book is the idea or notion of beauty. The Pope asks what does it mean to be beautiful? Whee we do encounter beauty where encounter it? This may sound a bit abstract but the Pope is making an important point. He exhorts young people not to confuse beauty with appearances.  For him beauty isn't encountered in the pages of a magazine or in a picture on social media. Beauty is something more. For Pope Francis there is beauty  in the laborer who returns home grimy and unkempt, bu

Homily - The Fifth Sunday of Lent Today in our Gospel [1] , we encounter one of the most meaningful and symbolic episodes in the life of Jesus. Today he teaches us the value of compassion, the value of compassion and the value, the enduring value, of empathy. There is, however, one detail of this Gospel that always causes me great vexation and makes me indulge in pretty serious reflection – exactly what was Jesus was writing in the ground? What he was scrolling with His finger? Was he doodling or writing? The Academics give all sorts of answers. Some say he was writing down the Ten Commandments, others say he was writing down the names or, indeed, the sins of the woman’s many accusers. Still, others that He was writing the names of God. What then He was writing? Pope Francis often speaks of God as a story teller [2] . For him, God takes the many triumphs, failures, hopes, dreams, and regrets of our lives and makes into a story that is compelling, intriguing and captivati