Readings: Joshua 24: 1-2a,15-17,18b; Ephesians 5: 21-32; John 6: 60-69 Preacher: Marlene Bessette Over the course of the last month, we’ve read the entirety of John’s sixth chapter, and it’s been building to a crescendo in today’s gospel. We began with the feeding of the five thousand, a story so important that it is the only gospel miracle, other than the… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 22: 19-23; Romans 11: 33-35; Matthew 16: 13-20 Preacher: Marlene Bessette My husband has been a deacon for 12 years now and we have become an effective homiletics team. He spends a great deal of time crafting his homilies after researching and praying over what message would speak to the community to draw them closer to God. I support… read more →
Readings 1:Acts 10:34a, 37-43; 1 Corinthians 5: 6b-8; John 20: 1-9 Preacher: Marlene Bessette As with many young adults, when I went to college, I drifted from the practice of my faith, eager to start fresh and honestly, to leave my prior life, including faith traditions, behind. I had a rough upbringing, and this was my chance to break away. I… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3: 2-3a,5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12 Preacher: Marlene Bessette As I reflected on today’s Gospel, I kept returning to the verse that recounts the reaction when the magi’s quest to find the newborn king of the Jews led them to Jerusalem. “When King Herod heard about this, he was greatly troubled and all Jerusalem with him.” What… read more →
Readings: Proverbs 8:22-31; Romans 5:1-5; John 16: 12-15 Preacher: Marlene Bessette It was a bit intimidating to be asked to provide the reflection for Trinity Sunday. I mean, who really wants to try and talk to one of the greatest mysteries of our faith? But I put on my floaties and jumped into the deep end of the pool of homiletic… read more →
Readings: Isaiah 62: 1-5; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-11; John 2: 1-11 Preacher: Marlene Bessette As a woman and a mother, the interchange between Jesus and Mary at the Cana wedding feast is always a little jarring to me. “Woman, how does your concern affect me?” Reading this immediately brought back an unpleasant memory of an interchange I had with one of… read more →
Readings: Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; 1 John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17Click here to download a PDF of this homily.Preacher: Marlene Bessette I am not an English major, but “as” is a very versatile word. Apparently, it can be a conjunction, a preposition, an adverb or a noun. Who knew that “as” is also a type of Roman coin?In today’s gospel, we… read more →
Readings: Acts 2:42-47; 1Peter 1:3-9; John 20: 19-31 Click here to download a PDF of this homily Preacher: Marlene Bessette I think Thomas gets a bum rap. He’s one of the twelve, known by most of us only as the skeptic; a doubting Thomas who needs to put his fingers into Jesus’ wounds in order to believe he had risen… read more →
Readings: Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21Click here to download a PDF of this homily.Preacher: Marlene Bessette It seems a little odd, but the topic that just wouldn’t leave my mind after I read this week’s gospel was “New Year’s Resolutions.” It’s probably because I started thinking about what theme would be at the center of my reflection right after the New Year. I… read more →
Readings: Deuteronomy: 4:1-2, 6-8; James 1:17-18, 21-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Click here to download a PDF of this homily. Preacher: Marlene Bessette My heart is very heavy and my eyes are moist…how am I to reconcile a teaching of the church that conflicts with the love in my heart? I am sure that many of us have found… read more →