Browsing Fr. Jasper's Homily
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Along Comes Mary
Sometimes saints walk among us and leave our lives changed forever.
Miss Simmonis was just that person for so many.
Fresh out of Notre Dame, she arrived at the school where I was teaching during the final year when we had two classrooms of each ... Read More »
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Everything
The fifth grade student thought she was alone in the school’s library as she was taking a math test she missed the week before. She wasn’t. I was there as well, sitting at a desk hidden behind a set of bookshelves where I was catching-up on long ... Read More »
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Where Are You Tabernacled?
I never knew his name. I only called him “Father.” We all did, of course – the 14 of us from college on a mission trip to Appalachia during our senior year.
We came to an old river town along the Kanawha River outside ... Read More »
Holy Family
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Bless You
And Simeon blessed them.
Never has a simple line of Scripture jumped out at me as this one did as I prayed with the Gospel in preparation for a Sunday homily.
An old holy man who spent his days in prayer awaiting the Messiah blessed a ... Read More »
Epiphany
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Fear in the Driver Seat
Confession: I didn’t get my driver’s license until I had graduated from college. I was 22-ish.
I told friends I didn’t need a car to commute to school; the train got me there just fine. I told my parents I just wasn’t interested. ... Read More »
Third Sunday in Advent
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Calgary Flame
A little more than a week ago, a Calgary, Alberta traffic reporter on live TV stopped the broadcast to read comments that were being sent to her via email and social media, comments such as:
“Wow, congratulations on becoming pregnant at your age.”
“If you are ... Read More »
Second Sunday in Advent
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
The Prophet of Singerly Road
The question arose at our parish Scripture Study this past Monday: Is the Church still a prophet in the world today?
It’s an important question to ponder, especially as we continue our Advent journey of preparation. Are we, like John the Baptist, crying ... Read More »
First Sunday of Advent
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Candle in the Wind-ow
On a quiet residential street in a river-town of upstate New York, a stately older home is nestled among other similar-styled dwellings, a nod to a wealthier past when the local paper mills brought its workers prosperity. Those mills have long-since closed and many ... Read More »
Christ the King Sunday
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Love to the Max
I wish you could meet Max. He has been a parishioner here at Immaculate for decades, but stopped attending when Covid came to town nearly four years ago now. His wife took a turn for the worse during the shutdown of society and he’s been ... Read More »
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Peg O'Donnell
Unburying the Talent
The seminarian that lived down the hall from me during my first year of formation for the priesthood was a gentle soul. Quiet. Kind. One of those people we often encounter who never make life all about themselves.
Shortly after our return from Christmas break, ... Read More »