Spiritual Directions for the Journey
Posted in Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 30th, 2012
(Please click here for Printer friendly copy.) This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak the folks at St. Patrick’s Church in Mississauga. They are a warm and welcoming community. We are hopeful that a Friends of Dismas Ministry will take root in the parish under the leadership of Deacon Silverio. Here is the [...]
Posted in Reflections from Fellow Wanderers, Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 28th, 2012
Charlie is a man I only met once. His story, and the story of a small group that came to be know as Charlie’s Angels will be a part of the homily this weekend. This is a tribute from Les Horne, one of those who befriended Charlie, given at Charlie’s memorial service. Its such a [...]
Posted in Big Questions, Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 26th, 2012
Wandering the internet as I prepare for this week’s homily has led me to find a painter named Alfred Soord (1868-1915). It would seem that Alfred is one of the few people that does not seem to have a Wikipedia page. The folks at wiki. answers however, tell us that Alfred was a painter whose [...]
Posted in Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 25th, 2012
This is a second homily preparation week in a row. I have been invited to speak at the other St. Patrick’s in Toronto (you can never have too many St. Pat about the Friends of Dismas ministry. This weekend we have the scene of Jesus telling us as his disciples that he is the good [...]
Posted in Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 21st, 2012
(Click here for Printer Friendly Copy) It all comes back to the Upper Room. In today’s gospel from Luke, just as in last weeks from John, we are in the room where Jesus gathered his closest disciples on that Holy Thursday night. It is shortly after the death of our Lord and those who were [...]
Posted in Big Questions, Books/Movies/Podcasts for the Road, Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 21st, 2012
Below is a scene we witnessed as we traveled with Jesus. Many of us might have wondered the same thing as the Pharisees; Why does Jesus keep hanging around with “THOSE” people? A second question to ponder- What did Jesus mean when he told us that he desires compassion, and not sacrifices? In case you [...]
Posted in Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 18th, 2012
As I prepare this weekend’s homily I have been reflecting on last week’s Gospel reading from John and this week’s from Luke and one thing struck me. The disciples have retreated to the safety of the Upper Room, the scene of the their Last Supper with Jesus, where they find themselves on the “horns of [...]
Posted in Big Questions, The Wisdom of... on Apr 14th, 2012
“To be in the world that God is. Here is what we seek: a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than stand in judgement of the way they carry it.- Fr. Greg Boyle , Tattoos on the Heart
Posted in Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Apr 8th, 2012
Good Friday 2012 Homily (Please Click here for Printer Friendly copy) In March, I celebrated the 50th anniversary of my 8th birthday. I have been carrying a secret with me for most of these 50 years, and today I would like to share it with you as a confession of sorts. For most of my [...]
Posted in The Wisdom of... on Mar 26th, 2012
Bestselling Christian author Philip Yancy offers his perspective on God and suffering. An interesting point he makes is that in the bible God never answers the “WHY” questions. We do not always the answer to why bad things happen but through Jesus we do know how God feels about those who are suffering.
Posted in Big Questions, Reflections from Fellow Wanderers, The Wisdom of... on Feb 27th, 2012
Forgiveness is not easy and not always possible. Reconciliation is a different action and not always possible. Here is a story of both and a lesson of how one moves on with life after a devastating loss.
Posted in Big Questions on Feb 15th, 2012
“Building prisons to address crime is a bit like building graveyards to address AIDS.” These are the words of Father Greg Boyle, or Father G as his friends call him. Below is a short video that is at least 15-20 years old. It is interesting to hear former presidents and a governor talking about getting [...]
Posted in Big Questions, Reflections from Fellow Wanderers, Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Feb 13th, 2012
As a follow-up to my homily – Looking up to God by reaching down, I wanted to post some more information about Fr. Greg and his book Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion. Here is a summary of the book: As a pastor working in a neighborhood with the highest concentration of [...]
Posted in Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike, Stuff for Wandering on Feb 11th, 2012
Looking up to God by reaching down is the title I have chosen for today’s homily. Many people pray by looking up to heaven. There is nothing wrong with this. However, we often fail to realize that our God is all around us and to see him we may well have to reach down with [...]
Posted in Big Questions, Reflections from Fellow Wanderers, Reflections from the Pulpit - Wandering with Deacon Mike on Feb 9th, 2012
This year at our meetings for our local St. Patrick’s Friends of Dismas group we have been exploring what it means to live a life of compassion, one of the great Christian virtues. Below is talked called Reconnecting with Compassion: by Krista Tippett on TED.com . A good place to start any discussion is at the [...]
