Voice In The Wilderness

The following homily was given to Scouts gathered at the Chapel of the Twelve Apostles on the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Osceola, Missouri. “Do a good turn daily” – that’s the lesser known “slogan” of the Boy Scouts. It goes back to the founding of the Boy Scout of America when one “unknown […] The post Homily 427 – The Scout Slogan and Motto in the Gospel – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

“You crazy Catholics… you have so many rules!” Have you ever heard that? It makes it seem like following God’s plan is some kind of kill joy that takes all the fun out of life. Society has accepted the notion that to be really free and maximize pleasure you have to do away with “the […] The post Homily 426 – Learning to Love the Rules – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

This homily was given at Masses on the first weekend at my new parish of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Kansas City, Kansas. Today’s homily is kind of part three in the series of the last two weekends considering our baptismal call to be priests and prophets. Today we consider our commission to share in […] The post Homily 425 – The Missionary Kingdom – 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

We often think of a prophet as someone who foretells the future. Sometimes they do that. But in the biblical sense, a prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God. Maybe it’s a blessing or maybe a curse. The most important thing about being a prophet is speaking what God wants you to speak. […] The post Homily 424 – You Are a Prophet – 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

By the late 17th century, Catholics had become so convinced of their own unworthiness that they thought no one was worthy to receive the sacraments or be loved by God. We were supposedly too sinful. Into this misplaced understanding of human weakness, Jesus himself came and appeared to St. Margaret Mary. He revealed the devotion […] The post Homily 423 – Farewell to St. Michael’s – Sacred Heart appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

John the Baptist was strange. He wore strange clothes and ate strange food. He is called the greatest prophet in history, and yet he left the most important city in the world to go preach in the desert. Why? John was called to prepare the culture for the coming of the Messiah. Why would he […] The post Homily 422 – Courage to Be Strange – Nativity of John the Baptist appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

Today we celebrate the the Solemnity of the Body and Blood and Christ, Corpus Christi in Latin. We might expect to find readings like our second reading from St. Paul. He describes the institution of the Eucharist. But who is this strange Melchizedek guy who is the star of our first reading and psalm? What […] The post Homily 421 – The Mystery of Melchizedek – Corpus Christi appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

Sometimes we think of the Trinity as an obscure theological dogma that was probably invented sometime long after Jesus. While it may have taken a couple hundred years to figure out the language used to talk about God, our readings today show us the work of the Trinity in the very act of creation “in […] The post Homily 420 – The Playful Creative Spirit – Trinity Sunday appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

The following homily was given at Philmont Scout Ranch at the Vigil of Pentecost on the evening prior to the first crews returning to the backcountry after the Ute Park Fire last summer. In our readings today, we hear about going to meet God on a mountain. Moses gathers with the people of Israel on […] The post Homily 419 – Meeting God on the Mountain – Pentecost appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

When a Philmont crew starts out on their 10-day trek through the backcountry, they never go out alone. They have their Ranger with them to guide them. He’ll teach them about the “bearmuda triangle,” how to cook and set up their tents, and many other important skills. Starting out can be difficult but, after a […] The post Homily 418 – Like a Good Ranger – Ascension appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

This homily was given at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico. The readings are from Wednesday of the 6th Week of Easter. We call Philmont “God’s Country” and “Heaven on Earth (HOmE).” There is such beauty and mystery here that these mountains do tend to raise our minds in thanksgiving to the one who […] The post Homily 417 – The Unknown God at Philmont – All Staff Opening Mass appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus tells his apostles, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.” We use the word love to mean so many things. I love God. Love my family and friends. I love dogs. I love pizza. That’s a pretty wide range of meanings for the same word. […] The post Homily 416 – What Is Love? – 5th Sunday of Easter appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

Throughout the Easter season, instead of reading from the Old Testament for the first reading, we have selections from the Acts of the Apostles. This book is the second book in the Bible written by the St. Luke, who also wrote the Gospel bearing his name. In today’s reading we hear of the first missionary […] The post Homily 415 – Filled with Joy and the Holy Spirit appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

“It is the Lord!” These simple words stir St. Peter’s heart so profoundly that he jumps into the sea in an effort to reach Jesus as quickly as possible. Do we have this kind of joy and desire to see Jesus? Perhaps the routine of receiving Jesus so frequently and easily has dampened our enthusiasm. […] The post Homily 414 – Forgiven, Loved, and Freed – 3rd Sunday of Easter appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

It is so wonderful on Easter Sunday to see our churches filled. So many people, with so many different stories. Were you at church this morning? If so, why? Perhaps you’ve been at church all week. Maybe you haven’t been in church since last Easter. Maybe it’s been years. Everyone has their story. Mary Magdalene […] The post Homily 413 – Why Are You Here? – Easter appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

The Body of Christ – We hear these words every time we receive Holy Communion. On this Good Friday, the body of Christ is a focus of our worship. The body of Christ is beaten, spit upon, scourged, crowned with thorns, dragged through the street, stripped, nailed to a cross, and buried in a tomb. […] The post Homily 412 – The Body of Christ – Good Friday appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

Tonight we gather to do as the people of God have done for millennia. We come together to tell our family stories. These are the stories that make us who we are. Tonight we begin with the story of Passover. We hear how God chose to save us from slavery in Egypt and bring us […] The post Homily 411 – A Time for Telling Stories – Holy Thursday appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

Palm Sunday always seems to move so quickly. We start by acclaiming Jesus with loud shouts of praise. Hosanna to the son of David! Like the people in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, we wave our palm branches and welcome Jesus into our city. But then we quickly turn to read about betrayal, denial, torture, crucifixion, […] The post Homily 410 – The Week We Call Holy – Palm Sunday appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

I like to win. I like it when my sports teams win. A personality test once told me that one of my biggest strengths is in competition. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of accomplishment of having set a high goal, worked and trained hard, and the achieved something that really stretched you. The desire […] The post Homily 409 – Grasping the Prize – 5th Sunday of Lent appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.

When you hear the word “unplanned,” do you have a generally positive reaction or generally negative? That’s the kind of question that might be asked on a personality test. Some people like to organize everything and plan out the steps for their day or even their life. Other people hear that word and think freedom, […] The post Homily 408 – Unplanned – 4th Sunday of Lent appeared first on Voice in the Wilderness.