McKenna
Nativity Power
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 30, 2020 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
The Christmas gospel from St. Luke starts out on a theme of power, the political power of an absolute ruler, Caesar Augustus.
Setting the Stage (Mark 1:1-8)
by Tom McKenna, CM | December 18, 2020 | Formation, Reflections | 0 Comments
I read an account of a high school boy who had, as the story title put it, “Made it Easier to be Honest.”
A Holy Nudge (Is 61; Jn 1:19-28)
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”
In The Mood (Mk 13:37)
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.
![Saints Like Us (Hebrews 12.1)](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2016/02/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Saints Like Us (Hebrews 12.1)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Nov 3, 2021 | Formation, Reflections
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.
![Saints Like Us (Hebrews 12.1)](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2016/02/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
Stumbling Along ‘The Way’ (Mark 10:35-45)
by Tom McKenna, CM | Oct 20, 2021 | Formation, Reflections
Most of us know the image backing the word “scandalize;” i.e., somebody tripping over a stone in the road.
![Saints Like Us (Hebrews 12.1)](https://b704496.smushcdn.com/704496/en/files/2016/02/mckenna-tom-reflections-featured-facebook-1.png?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1)
The Big Hearted (Micah 6:6-8; Rev 14:13; Lk 8:4-15)
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,
You Are Somebody
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jul 6, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
“You Are Somebody…” (John 15) (Homily at the Farewell Mass for the departing members of the 2015/16 Vincentian Mission Corps, St. Louis) Jesus confides in His disciples today, “I have told you this, that your joy may be complete.” Or to put it another way: “I...
Wonderful News. Blessed Are Those…
by Tom McKenna, CM | Jun 22, 2016 | Formation, Reflections
“Wonderful News.” Blessed Are Those… Matthew 5 What if we were to take these Beatitude behaviors and attitudes as descriptions of the way things already are in the world, as if we were hearing Jesus giving a kind of analysis of society as it really is? We’d have...
What do I do, Lord? Gospel/Vincentian Discernment
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...
St. Louise: Moving Toward Love
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...
The Saints as Bibliography
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...
Moving Toward “I Believe” John 10:27-30
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...
The Faces of God
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...
“Hazy, Clearer, That’s It.” An Emmaus Pattern of Discipleship
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...
Soaked Through and Through by Sense of God’s Reality
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....