Be The Net

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 13, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Jer 17:5-8 / Ps 1 / 1 Cor 15:12, 16-29 / Lk 6:17, 20-26
by Rev. Mr. Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

There are only two kinds of people – those with loaded guns and those who dig.  That’s a line from Clint Eastwood in The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.   Here’s another one – those who nibble corn on the cob in a circle, and those who nibble corn on the cob in a line.  And my favorite, there are only two kinds of people in this world – those who load the toilet paper to pull from the back, and those who properly load it to go over the top.  The whole idea is “us and them.” (more…)

Baptism: The Bridge

The Baptism of the Lord
January 9, 2022 – Year C
Readings: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 / Ps 29 / Acts 10:34-38 / Lk 3:15-16, 21-22
by Deacon Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.  It’s a big day.  Sometimes that feast seems to get lost, as we’re coming out of the huge feast of Christmas, but it really is a very, very big day.  Secular (or non-religious) historians say that this is one of two events that happened with certainty with respect to Jesus.  One of those events is the crucifixion of Jesus; historians are pretty certain that that took place.  The other is the Baptism of the Lord.   Secular historians use this event as the basis for their study of the life of Jesus.  So it’s a pretty significant event.  Hallelujah! (more…)

Goods or Grace?

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 10, 2021 – Year B
Readings: Wis 7:7-11 / Ps 90 / Heb 4:12-13 / Mk 10:17-30
by Deacon Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

Today’s gospel acclamation, the part within the Alleluia, is this: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

What does it mean to be “poor in spirit”? It means that we understand a fundamental truth: that none of us is responsible for our own existence, nor are we responsible for our continued existence.  Someone else is responsible for that, and we know who that is: God.  We need Him.  He didn’t need us, and yet out of love, He created the whole world, and out of love, He put us in it. And remember, “It was good.” (more…)

Transforming the Heart

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 29, 2021 – Year B
Readings: Dt 4:1-2, 6-8 / Ps 15 / Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 / Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
by Deacon Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

Well, these Pharisees – what’s the deal with them?  I think one of their major purposes is that they wanted to belittle and undercut what Jesus was doing.  He knew what they were trying to do; He knew their hearts.  But they didn’t have anything on Jesus, so they decided to attack His followers.  If His followers weren’t able to do the simplest of rituals, then He can’t be all that, right?  That’s where they’re coming from. (more…)

How Can This Be Possible?

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
January 1, 2020 – Year A
Readings: Nm 6:22-27 / Ps 67 / Gal 4:4-7 / Lk 2:16-21
by Deacon Michael Stinson, Guest Homilist

When I was in college, I often went to a particular convenience store that was near our campus. I usually went there in the evening to get coffee, when I was studying in one of the classrooms that was just across the road. The name of that store was “Tinee Giant.” I went there so often that I bought a mug with the store logo on it, and I still have it. For some reason they spelled “Tiny,” T-I-N-E-E.

That name, Tinee Giant, is what we call in English class an oxymoron. It’s a figure of speech that puts two things together that seem to be opposite, like tiny and giant. How can something be tiny and giant at the same time? I’ll bet you can think of more oxymorons: “jumbo shrimp”? That’s a favorite one. “Open secret,” “virtual reality,” “alone in a crowd,” “unpopular celebrity,” and of course, you can quote Shakespeare: a “damned saint,” an “honorable villain.” (more…)

To Christ, Through Mary

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
January 1, 2019 – Year C
Readings: Nm 6:22-27 / Ps 67 / Gal 4:4-7 / Lk 2:16-21
by Deacon Cassidy Stinson, Guest Homilist

I remember very clearly the first time I ever stayed up to celebrate New Year’s Eve as a child. It was the night before the start of the year 2000, the turn of the millennium, and I guess my parents decided that it was such a special occasion that they were willing to risk the chance of my getting crazy from lack of sleep to be able to see the event.

It was all very much like we did last night: celebrating at my grandparents’ house not far from here; fizzy cider for the kids, other beverages for the adults; and most of all, seeing the live countdown of the ball dropping in Times Square. (more…)

The Greatest Blessing of All

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
January 1, 2017 – Year A
by Rev. Mr. Mike Stinson, Permanent Deacon, St. George, Scottsville
Readings: Nm 6:22-27 / Psalm 67 / Gal 4:4-7 / Lk 2:16-21

Your deacon Eddie and I were both raised as Baptists, and most of the preaching I heard in the first few decades of my life was Baptist preaching — including a few times just down the street at Bedford Baptist Church.

You might know that the preaching tradition in Baptist churches is a little different than here in the Catholic church. One way it’s different is that Baptists often feel encouraged to talk back to their preachers — to say “Amen,” or “that’s right,” or “Praise Jesus,” or other things.

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Are You Ready for a Party?

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
January 1, 2017 – Year A
by Rev. Mr. Mike Stinson, Permanent Deacon, St. George, Scottsville
Readings: Nm 6:22-27 / Psalm 67 / Gal 4:4-7 / Lk 2:16-21

Are you ready for a party? Maybe it’s the wrong morning to ask that question. Maybe this morning I should ask, are you trying to recover from a party? But you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.

Parties are on my mind this time of year, but not just because it’s New Year’s Day. New Year’s Eve is also my Dad’s birthday, and we always celebrate with him, and we did again last night, but that’s not the only other reason.

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“Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
January 1, 2016 – Year C
Readings: Nm 6:22-27 / Psalm 67 / Gal 4:4-7 / Lk 2:16-21
by Rev. Mr. Mike Stinson, Permanent Deacon

“Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

I’m a teacher, and one morning a few weeks ago, I was driving to school, and my son Jeremy was in the car with me. As we got to a long curve in the highway, I noticed a car that was coming the other way was drifting across the yellow line, moving into my lane.

I moved over slightly and assumed he would move back into his lane — but he didn’t. He kept drifting over towards me, and I moved over some more, and he kept coming, until finally at the last second I jerked my wheel to the right — then there was a loud bang! and then what was left of my rear view mirror was dangling from a wire, thumping the side of my car door as I drove on down the road.

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Can We Be Like the Mother of God?

Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
January 1, 2015 – Year B
Readings: Nm 6:22-27; Psalm 67; Gal 4:4-7; Lk 2:16-21
by Rev. Mr. Mike Stinson, Permanent Deacon

What does a Mother do? She helps her child grow. First, her child grows within her. Then her child is born. And then she encourages her child to keep growing, and she introduces him to others.

Like any mother, Mary remembered the events surrounding the birth of her child — the gospel says she “kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.” These events showed the unique nature of her child. A human baby — but also God, come to earth in human form. (more…)