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Deacon Bob's Homilies
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16th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

You Feel it in the Gut: Compassion

One day, I visited the late Senator Hubert Humphrey to ask him about compassion in politics. I had gone to see him because I believed him to be one of the most caring people in the political arena.  We began to discuss compassion in politics, he then went to his desk and grabbed a pencil with a small eraser at its end and said:…look at this pencil.  Just as the eraser is a very small part of this pencil and is used only when you make a mistake, so compassion is only called upon when things get out of hand.  The main part of life is competition; only the eraser is compassion.  It is sad to say but in politics compassion is just part of the competition.
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13th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

The Compassionate Healer

The great 18th century philosopher, Immanuel Kant asked three basic questions:  Who Am I? What may I believe? and What may I hope for?  He felt that these three questions were fundamental questions all people have in common.  Reflecting on these questions and the readings for this weekend I was drawn to a film I saw some fifteen years ago called the “Fisher King”.  Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams were the lead characters of the film.
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22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle A

Servant Leadership in Christ

The leader needs more than inspiration.  A leader ventures to say”  “I will go; come with me!   A leader initiates, provides the ideas and the structure, and takes the risk of failure along with the chance of success.  A leader says, “I will go: follow me!” while knowing that the path is uncertain, even dangerous.  One then trusts those who go with one’s leadership.

This past week I participated in an anti-violence march in Hartford to bring to the attention of the broader community the sorrow of the continued shootings in Hartford.  Marches are important and they serve the purpose of raising a concern before the people to help raise awareness about an issue.  Marching is not an end but a beginning!  It is here, in peaceful, nonviolent demonstrations that the churches can make their presence felt  in one way by raising awareness of this issue with all the risks that come with such a venture, working with others to address the many layers of this problem.
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26th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle A

What Does It Mean To Say, Yes?

A young man, wide-eyed, born to wealth and power, spent his time savoring the finer things of life.  He had an eye for the ladies of his day, went off to war seeking adventure.  By many accounts he was a playboy—he had it all; life seemed to be filled to the brim—or so it seemed!  His father would come to believe that his son was mad!  In a place call Spoleto, Francis Bermadone had a vision of Christ, and then another when he return to Assisi.  These visions turned his whole life upside down.

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23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle A

The Challenge of Good Communication

In 1986, Elie Weisel was awarded the Gold Medal of Freedom of the United States.  Weisel is a Jewish survivor of the Auschwitz death camp, Professor of Literature at Boston University, and author and lecturer.  His book, Night was a standard text I requested adults to read when I had the opportunity to teach a course on Jesus Christ.  It was a helpful book for trying to understand some elements of the mystery of Jesus’ crucifixion.
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