Fr. Brendan McGuire - Podcasts that Break open the Word of God

When we receive here today at this Eucharist, it is not just an optional extra to go out and to do good works. But rather, it is a constituent element of coming here. We are here and if we do not do good works when we leave here, then what sort of scandal does that bring to what we do here? Because then nothing really has happened here. (Read more…) Here is my homily for last weekend. Please feel...

 If we are not producing fruit in our lives, if there is no evidence for the fruit, then we have to add something to it. We need to do something here. That is the Holy Spirit, and that is the nourishment we receive from this table. This is our work. Then we can enjoy the fruits. (Read more…) Here is my homily for last weekend. Please feel free to share with others. See you at Mass next weekend.

Today the one son changed his mind, and he went because it required a conversion, an acknowledgement of his need to check his biases, both convenience bias and cognitive maturity bias. Today, may we also check our biases and come to follow the Lord, even if it is inconvenient and grow a little more mature in our discipleship. (Read more...) Here is my homily for last weekend. This is an audio only...

It is not a transaction, it is not a contract, it is a covenant. That is our discipleship. The commitment to love no matter what. It is really hard to hear when it is like this, but we are on the recipient end of that love. It is magical to hear. It is magical to experience. (Read more...) Here is my homily for last weekend. Please feel free to share with others. See you at Mass next weekend.

There is no sin that separates us from God’s incredible abundant love. God’s mercy and love are important. It is the context for everything else. It is what the saints mastered and understood; it was not about access to God. It was that God gave full access to all of us, that he was kind and merciful to all. All we have to do is accept it. (Read more…) Here is my homily for last weekend. Please fe...

The question for us this week; you are here, and you have come to listen some way, shape, or form. So let us not harden our hearts. May we listen to the voice of God screaming to us through creation, through each other and through our call to reconciliation. (Read more…) Here is my homily for last weekend. Please feel free to share with others. See you at Mass next weekend.

September 3, 2023 We need to understand the lunar spirituality of our lives, the seasons, and then allow our hearts to be transformed. Today, we come to the table to be nourished by the Lord, to be refreshed by the Lord, whether in dark or in bright times of our life, we accept and understand, translate where we are at, and allow ourselves to be aligned to the Lord's will, and to follow more...

One of the challenges is that we all have a bias in how we see things. We tend to see the way we want to see. It reminds me of an old scholastic axiom that I recently reread, and it goes like this; “Whatever is received, is received according to the manner of the receiver.” In other words, we see what we want to see or we see what we expect to see. And we can see that it not only exists today, but...

The overriding reason to cross a boundary in today's readings is mercy. We cross a boundary when love requires us to cross the boundary, when we are called love; called to move beyond the cultural norms of our time and reach out to somebody in need, then that is what we do. Because love, mercy and justice call us to do so. (Read more…) Here is my homily for last weekend . Recently, we began u...

There is such a temptation as to capture everything on video these days. Even the Pope has gotten irritated and said, “Will you put down your phones and look at me.” Everybody seems to want a selfie! It is a good thing, but it can go too far. When we somehow forget to be present to the moment. The irony is that it is been going on a long time! (Read more…) Here is my homily for the Transfiguration...

The Lord says ‘Come to me all who are burdened and labor. Take my yoke upon your shoulder and learn from me for I meek and humble of heart. And you'll find rest for yourselves.” We do that by being present to one another, by being there for one another, by being present in their time of suffering. In the week ahead could we reach out to at least one person and spend 15 minutes listening to th...

“ What is the most loving thing I can do right now at this moment when somebody has said something that is very painful to hear, or that something is happening to us that is very painful to experience?” And sometimes it is to just pause and to sit. Because in the darkness there can be a treasure, a treasure of new grace that God will give us. (Read more…) Here is my homily for the Twelfth Sunday o...

There are many lost sheep. There are many without a shepherd. If we could allow God's love into our own lives and to feel that exuberant love allowing it to transformer us. Then we can go out of here joy-filled loving others wherever they are. We spread God’s love. Then we will have lived the gospel completely. (Read more…) Here is my homily for the Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary time which was...

The feast day we celebrate today is the solemnity of the Body and the Blood of Christ and we celebrate this at every Sunday Mass weekly. We believe that the food of this table is spiritual nourishment. We believe this because the Gospel says this is true food and true drink. We believe it really nourishes our spiritual bodies in profound ways. (Read more…) Here is my homily for the Solemnity of th...

The feast day we celebrate today is the solemnity of the Body and the Blood of Christ and we celebrate this at every Sunday Mass weekly. We believe that the food of this table is spiritual nourishment. We believe this because the Gospel says this is true food and true drink. We believe it really nourishes our spiritual bodies in profound ways. (Read more…) Here is my homily for the Solemnity of th...

“ OK, do I have the energy for fifteen minutes of attention? Now” Think about how absurd that question is. Do I have fifteen minutes of energy to pay attention to somebody I love? It betrays what's going on in my life. It betrays what's going on in our lives that we've got too busy. Too distracted, too consumed with too many things that we can't take fifteen minutes every day t...

Today we celebrate the gift of this Holy Spirit in all of our lives. Let's not be afraid to invite that Holy Spirit into our hearts and to set our hearts on fire so the whole world can know that no one is a true stranger. No one is a true stranger in the body of Christ. All are welcome, and we are called to bring that message alive in how we pay attention to the voice of the stranger among us...

Bishop P.J., I say to you today If you remember nothing else from us today, you are loved by God in all your weirdness and wonderfulness. Yes, you are loved God and us. (Read more…) Last week, I had the honor of delivering the homily at the Mass of Thanksgiving for Bishop Emeritus Patrick J. McGrath. On this Memorial Day, as we remember and honor those who have given everything for our country, I...

Today, as we come to the table to celebrate and hold onto love, we do so, so that we can be the messengers to others; so that we can give that love to others. So that the message, the feast, no, the spirituality of the Ascension lives on in you and me. That is why we hold onto love. (Read more…) This pas weekend, St. Simon Parish was host to the powerful musical called Job: The Now Testament by Jo...

Love one another, yes by all means. Especially today, love your mothers but beyond that, we are called to love those who have no one to love; to witness to the God of love. It will look crazy on the outside but that is what we are called to do. “Where we do not find love, put love and you will draw out love.” (Read more…) Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, living, and with the Lord. And all m...

In today's Gospel, we find a sense of hospitality, that Jesus is talking about with God, his Father’s house. Jesus says there are many dwelling places in my Father’s house; and I am going to prepare a place for you. He says, he is going to prepare a place for the disciples. ( Read more…) This past weekend, we celebrated First Eucharist with the children and families. At the beginning of this...

Today's gospel tells us that the Good Shepherd is the voice we are called to listen to because he will bring us to all truth; all goodness; and all beauty. We need to make sure that what we are listening to has that voice. (Read more…) Here is my homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter . I hope you are enjoying this Easter Season. Alleluia, He is Risen Indeed!

There are people in our lives who have lost faith with God. They have lost a relationship with God. They are angry and frustrated like the disciples on the way to Emmaus. There are two things that we need to do: Our role is to be on the periphery, on the edge of the map at the journey of life. It is to minister to them. (Read more…) Here is my homily from the Third Sunday of Easter . I hope you ar...

In today’s gospel, understand what is happening; the disciples turned away from Christ. This was their friend and they had walked with him. They had spent three years not just knowing him and listening to him and believing in him but loving him and being his best friend. And then in his weakest moment, they turned away and ran. They turned away. (Read More…) Here is my homily from the Second Sunda...

What are we to do tonight? We are to testify to that love. We believe in Jesus Christ. We believe love wins over death; and so, we testify by us loving others because when we love one another, we participate in God’s very self; and so, love wins again now. Here and now. (Read More…) Here is my homily from the Easter Vigil homily. I hope you enjoyed this Easter Weekend and the entire Season. Allelu...