This homily was preached at a recent anniversary Mass for Fr. Joseph Daly, C.M. — a Vincentian priest beloved of many,
McKenna
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.
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.”
The Way – Christian Code
Fr. Tom McKenna offers a reflection entitled A Christian Code: The Way (Mk 10: 46-52; Jeremiah 31:7-9) In one place or other, most all of us have come across the phrase “code word.” It means some word or phrase that at first seems unimportant, but if...
How do we define ourselves
Fr. Tom McKenna reflects on The Rich Young Man (Mk. 10:17-22) and how we define ourselves in an essay “I …, Therefore I Am” “I …, Therefore I Am” In a philosophy class, a teacher asked, “What is your cogito?” I thought he meant some bone or other body part -- but...
The Encounter Space – Fr. Tom McKenna
In The Encounter Space (Ephesians 2; Luke 6) Fr. Tom McKenna offers this reflection on the space where encounter takes place. Judging from some of Paul’s favorite imagery, he would have lined up closely behind one of Pope Francis’ favorite metaphors, “encounter,”...
Someone Who Knows – Reflection by Fr. Tom McKenna
In his reflection titled Someone Who Knows, Fr. Tom McKenna, reflects on Downton Abbey's 'upstairs-downstairs' structure and someone who knows both sides. (Hebrews 4: 14-16; Mark 10:35-45) In the letter to the Hebrews, and then again in Mark, we come across two...
The God Who Gives Life to All Things
The God Who Gives Life to All Things (1 Timothy, 6:13) New events have a way of opening up doors to riches in the Christian tradition not quite realized before. There’s a line in Timothy’s letter today which gives one instance this process at work, in this case the...
The gift of meaning – T.McKenna
The Gift of Meaning (Lk 10:17ff) from a retreat reflection presented to the Daughters of Charity in Los Altos, California. Have you ever come across people who tell you that life for them has little or no meaning -- or even have you yourself gone through times when...
Fr. Tom McKenna reflects on memories of mercy
Fr. Tom McKenna, CM offers his reflection on memories of mercy Every time we enter into the Eucharist, we begin with the prayer, “Lord have mercy.” It could seem on first bounce that its main point is to bring to mind something wrong we’ve done, some sinfulness that...
“Standing in the Right Place,” With Vincent
“Standing in the Right Place,” With Vincent Father Tom McKenna, CM preached this homily at the St. Vincent's Day celebration for St Vincent's day homily to the Vincentian Family in New Orleans. In his letter on Consecrated Life this past year, Pope Francis pointed to...
Putting out into the deep – Fr. Tom McKenna, CM
“Putting Out Into the Deep,” In Two Tones This order Jesus gives to Peter today, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch,” gets heard in at least two different registers. One has been in the optimistic, adventurous key John Paul II gave to it. “Get...
