Home Homilies Michael Whelan SM, PhD

Gospel for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) (20 August 2023)

In today’s Gospel – Matthew 15:21-28 – we have the intriguing story of Jesus’ encounter with the “Canaanite woman”. … This story is intriguing because the last stated geographical location in which Matthew places Jesus, is Gennesaret, at the very northern end of the Lake of Galilee – see 14:34-36. It is about a 50-60kms walk from there West to Tyre and a further 30-40kms North to Sidon.

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Gospel for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) (13 August 2023)

In today’s Gospel – Matthew 10:37-42 – we hear some of the hard sayings of Jesus. Already in the Sermon on the Mount we have heard Jesus say: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). He challenges his listeners to ask the question: “Where is your morality grounded? Is it primarily a matter of conforming to cultural, social and religious customs and expectations? Is it a matter of simply doing what you, as an individual, happen to think at the time is right?”

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Gospel for the Feast of Transfiguration (18th Sunday) (Year A) (6 August 2023)

In today’s Gospel – Matthew 10:37-42 – we hear some of the hard sayings of Jesus. Already in the Sermon on the Mount we have heard Jesus say: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). He challenges his listeners to ask the question: “Where is your morality grounded? Is it primarily a matter of conforming to cultural, social and religious customs and expectations? Is it a matter of simply doing what you, as an individual, happen to think at the time is right?”

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Gospel for the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) (30 July 2023)

In today’s Gospel – Matthew 10:37-42 – we hear some of the hard sayings of Jesus. Already in the Sermon on the Mount we have heard Jesus say: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). He challenges his listeners to ask the question: “Where is your morality grounded? Is it primarily a matter of conforming to cultural, social and religious customs and expectations? Is it a matter of simply doing what you, as an individual, happen to think at the time is right?”

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Gospel for the Sixteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) (23 July 2023)

In today’s Gospel – Matthew 10:37-42 – we hear some of the hard sayings of Jesus. Already in the Sermon on the Mount we have heard Jesus say: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). He challenges his listeners to ask the question: “Where is your morality grounded? Is it primarily a matter of conforming to cultural, social and religious customs and expectations? Is it a matter of simply doing what you, as an individual, happen to think at the time is right?”

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Gospel for the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) (16 July 2023)

In today’s Gospel – Matthew 10:37-42 – we hear some of the hard sayings of Jesus. Already in the Sermon on the Mount we have heard Jesus say: “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). He challenges his listeners to ask the question: “Where is your morality grounded? Is it primarily a matter of conforming to cultural, social and religious customs and expectations? Is it a matter of simply doing what you, as an individual, happen to think at the time is right?”

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