“Padre, Don’t Forget”
My good friend, a retired priest from the Diocese of Hamilton, Ontario, took a group of kids to the Dominican Republic more than 30 years ago. One day he went out to the outlying regions in Consuelo, called the Bateyes,...
Author: Deacon Douglas McManaman
The Silence of God
One of the most pressing questions people have, young students especially, has to do with the problem of evil. Why do bad things happen to good people? And, if God exists, how can he allow so much suffering and evil...
There Are None So Blind
A Homily for Laetare Sunday Many years ago, people would often ask me whether I thought this person or that person in the seminary was going to make a good priest and I would readily offer my opinion. I’ve since...
Religion and Relationship
A Reflection for the 3rd Sunday of Lent In the Gospel reading this week, the fact that Jesus is speaking to a Samaritan woman is quite radical, for Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. Pious Jews were known to take...
Thoughts on the Influence of Old Prejudice
[Editor’s Note: For a follow-up reflection from editor Mike Lewis addressing the discussion surrounding this article, see “Gold Is Tested in Fire.”] One day I was driving a fair distance to a York Regional Forest Trail to walk my dog...
Poor in Spirit and Pure in Heart
Note: Deacon Doug graciously shared this homily with us for February 1st. Unfortunately, due to an email glitch, the piece went unposted. However, we feel it is a valuable reflection and are sharing it now, albeit two weeks late. As...
Embracing Ambivalence
It has been reported to me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul”, or “I belong to Apollos”, or “I belong to Cephas” (1 Cor 1, 12). It...
Perfectionism vs Perfection
A Homily for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time It is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as...
The Evolution of the Temple
Homily for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome In the first reading, Ezekiel has a vision of the temple of Jerusalem, where water was flowing from below the threshold toward the east, from the right...
Why Our “Unjust Judge” is Good News
The gospel reading for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time is the Parable of the Widow and the Unrighteous Judge (Lk 18:1–8). The figure for God the Father in this parable is, interestingly enough, an unjust judge, that is, one...
Discerning Personhood: A Reflection on the Leper Who Returns
In Sunday’s gospel reading, we see that only one of the ten who were cured of leprosy returned to thank Jesus. This is not to suggest that the other nine were without any gratitude—it is hard to imagine that anyone...
Hypocrisy and the Dangers of Disillusionment
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and of all kinds of filth.” (Mt 23:27-28). The word...
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