This homily was preached at a recent anniversary Mass for Fr. Joseph Daly, C.M. — a Vincentian priest beloved of many,
![The Big Hearted (Micah 6:6-8; Rev 14:13; Lk 8:4-15)](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2016/02/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 16, 2020 | Formation, Reflections | 2 Comments
One of my favorite words, both because of the way it sounds and what it connotes, is “nudge”
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 2, 2020 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
We’ve all heard the term “mood music.” It refers to the power music has to set a tone, move us through different feeling states.
by Tom McKenna, CM | November 18, 2020 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
“God” is not just another word, but rather the designation of the overflowing reality at the heart of everything.
by Tom McKenna, CM | November 4, 2020 | Formation, Reflections | 3 Comments
In his unaffected way, he was voicing a truth that runs across the whole length of the Bible and all down the avenues of our faith: “I give help because I have been helped.”
by Tom McKenna, CM | Oct 6, 2021 | Formation, Reflections
This homily was preached at a recent anniversary Mass for Fr. Joseph Daly, C.M. — a Vincentian priest beloved of many,
by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 22, 2021 | Formation, Reflections
I knew a close-knit family of 5 personable children, and as they got older, they would kid their mother about having a favorite.
by Tom McKenna, CM | Sep 8, 2021 | Formation, Reflections
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.”
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jun 8, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
“What Do I Do, Lord?” Gospel/Vincentian Discernment (Acts 1; John 15) There’s what you might call a woman’s quip about the man supposedly being the one who pursues the woman. It runs, “He chased her and he chased her and he chased her – until she caught him!” You...
by Tom McKenna, CM | May 25, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
St. Louise: Moving Toward Love (Is. 58: Mt. 25) There’s a famous quote attributed to Mark Twain: When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much...
by Tom McKenna, CM | May 11, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
The Saints as Bibliography Acts 4:8 There’s a writer who characterizes the lives of the saints as “bibliographic entries onto the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.” A bibliography: a series of additions to the one story; i.e., variations on how Jesus’ story plays...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Apr 27, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
First, some scene-setting. You’re there with these other disciples, and this Jesus person is right in front of you looking you in the eye. He’s in the process of making this claim: “I and God are one. What you hear coming from my mouth is coming from God’s mouth.” And...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Apr 13, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
The Faces of God John 8:14 I once came across a psychological test aiming to measure a person’s trust in life or fear of it, life understood in its most general sense as existence or reality. It was getting at the question, “Down at your instinctual level, do...
by Elizabeth Astridge | Mar 30, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
“Hazy, Clearer, That’s It.” An Emmaus Pattern of Discipleship (Lk 24:13-35) Apologies if this opening metaphor doesn’t catch the profundity of this wonderful conversion story of the two disciples on the Emmaus road. But… You’re in the eye doctor’s office and sitting...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Mar 16, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
“Soaked Through and Through by Sense of God’s Reality” - Psalm 82 My Father loved and listened to classical music. Looking back on that, it’s a bit surprising because he was from a working class home, never graduated high school, played semi-pro football, and so on....
by Tom McKenna, CM | Mar 2, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
“Not Just Interesting, But Moving” (Exodus 3; Psalm 103) There’s a difference between things that are interesting and things that are intriguing, between things which make us curious and things which actually move us. I can pick up a score of a symphony and...
by Tom McKenna, CM | Feb 17, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
One of the famous Gospel characters is the publican, the tax collector in the back of the room. Jesus portrays him as the ideal worshipper, the best kind of pray-er. He knows how to come before God; he does it right. Not full of himself, not holding up accomplishments...