Tom McKenna, CM
Author
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Saints Like Us (Hebrews 12.1)
There’s an instinct to idealize the saints as entirely different from the rest of us, off in another league at some unattainable level of holiness and favor with God.
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Stumbling Along ‘The Way’ (Mark 10:35-45)
Most of us know the image backing the word “scandalize;” i.e., somebody tripping over a stone in the road.
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The Big Hearted (Micah 6:6-8; Rev 14:13; Lk 8:4-15)
This homily was preached at a recent anniversary Mass for Fr. Joseph Daly, C.M. — a Vincentian priest beloved of many,
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Playing Favorites? (James 2:1-5)
I knew a close-knit family of 5 personable children, and as they got older, they would kid their mother about having a favorite.
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The Word (Deut 4: 1-8; Jas 1:17-27)
I remember a heated conversation between a man who was promising something to a woman, and the woman to whom the promise was being made. It ended with her exasperated response, “Those are just words.”
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In This Together (Joshua 24; John 6)
Our believing is not solitary. The quality of one person’s faith spills over into the religious convictions of all the others.
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Acquiring A Taste (Ps 34,9; John 6)
People develop tastes for different things.
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“Come Apart For A While …” (Mk. 6:30)
There’s a scene in chapter 6 of Mark’s gospel which has special appeal to anyone who has ever been caught up in an over-busy, fast paced life.
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Gracious Acts (2 Corinthians, 8:7-15)
A two-word phrase Paul inserts in his letter to the Corinthians is so brief as to go almost unnoticed, but it opens onto a truth at the heart of the Gospel.
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In The Boat (Mark 4:35-41)
When Mark speaks to this endangered flock, it’s no surprise that he includes a pair of Jesus’ hope-filled parables, lessons on how things grow.