Browsing the 2023 archive of Father's Homilies
Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time November 19, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 11/20/23
Using Our Gifts with a Song in Our Hearts
Three neighborhood boys, Salvator, Julio and Antonio, lived and played in Cremona, Italy, around the mid-1600s. Salvator had a beautiful tenor voice and Julio played the violin in accompaniment as they strolled the piazzas. Antonio also liked music and ... Read More »
Homily for the Thirty-First Sunday of the Year November 12, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 11/13/23
Making Sure Our Lamps Don’t Go Out
I came across an intriguing story told by a monk who lived many hundreds of years ago:
A middle-aged woman went to a distant monastery for her first weekend retreat in many years. When she arrived at the guest house ... Read More »
Homily for the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time November 5, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 11/06/23
A Sermon Walking
I have two stories today to help us reflect on today’s Gospel reading…
One afternoon in 1953, reporters and officials gathered at a Chicago railroad station to await the arrival of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner. He stepped off the train—a giant ... Read More »
Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday of the Year September 3, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 9/05/23
Losing Life to Find It
Charles M. Schwab was an American steel magnate. Under his leadership Bethlehem Steel became the second largest manufacturer of steel. One day Schwab found himself in court, where he won a nuisance law suit. He was seventy years old at the time.
... Read More »
Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 20, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 8/22/23
The story of a first-century woman who prevailed
There is a story of a young girl who was depressed because she was not beautiful. She was discouraged, but as she grew older, her attitude changed. “I realized that not being beautiful was actually a blessing in disguise,” ... Read More »
Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time August 13, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 8/14/23
Where is your faith? Why did you doubt?
To begin, I want to share a couple of stories. The first comes from an ancient tradition concerning the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. Picture the scene of the Hebrew nation led by Moses, fleeing from slavery and ... Read More »
Homily for the Feast of the Transfiguration August 6, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 8/07/23
" Pebbles and Diamonds "
A man was walking out in the desert when a voice said to him, “Pick up some pebbles and put them in your pocket, and tomorrow you will be both sorry and glad.”
The man obeyed. He stooped down and picked ... Read More »
Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 16, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 7/17/23
Preparing for everything God offers
One day, a farmer was out in his pumpkin patch. The tiny pumpkins were just beginning to form. So the farmer took a small bottle and stuffed one of the budding pumpkins into it to see how it would fare. Sometime later, when ... Read More »
Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time July 2, 2023
Posted by marguerite noga on 7/05/23
Losing yourself to find yourself
The following story comes from the time of the Persian Gulf War, about the resistance efforts in Kuwait. Najeeb Bastaki, a twenty-four year old Kuwaiti living in Kuwait City, was a member of the Kuwaiti resistance. But he told a reporter, “The word ... Read More »
Celebrating Life that Never Dies Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Posted by marguerite noga on 6/12/23
June 11, 2023
On this Feast that asks us to focus on the Eucharist, on the Body and Blood of Christ, I want to take us back in our imaginations to March 27, 2020. It was the height of the Covid pandemic. People were dying, often alone, apart ... Read More »