Father Gilles' English Homilies

Holy Trinity C 2019 - at Saint Anne's Hospital - bilingual homily

© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

Body & Blood of Christ B 2018 - at the Late Sunday Mass

Homily MP3 File

Epiphany Blessing of our Home & Doors - “LORD, MAY THE NATIONS ADORE YOU FOR YOUR MERCY!”

Homily at St. Gabriel 2018 MP3 file Home Blessing PDF file Church Blessing PDF file

Epiphany Blessing of our Home & Doors

“LORD, MAY THE NATIONS ADORE YOU FOR YOUR MERCY!”

This is our Epiphany Family Prayer Ritual to obtain God's blessing on our Home. Before a family meal we gather at the front door, listen to an elder, and pray together.

Gathering at the Front Door – Prepare the roles and the texts.

Moment of silence

ELDER: (As soon as all are ready – Elder ask for everyone’s attention.)

At Epiphany we celebrate the manifestation of Christ to the nations of the world. We are called to show Christ to others! Whether they realize it or not, people’s greatest and most crucial need is to know Jesus, and in Him, the Father’s love and mercy. Our Christian apostolate is to gratefully receive our life from God our Father each day and be real, loving persons in the image and likeness of Jesus. Conscious of our own human condition in need of being saved by Jesus, like Him we humbly accept each person, host the pain, joy, hopes and fears of others, and make ourselves available to their needs. In this way, we live in great hope a life of faith – knowing we are doing our Father’s will – as Jesus did and continues to do in us!

ALL: “O Holy Spirit, by your flaming divine love burn away in us all that is not true love. Let us live fully in the freedom of a heart guided by You alone. Make us into living images of Jesus, and grant us the grace to accept the painful purification we must undergo in order to become like Him! Amen!”

ALL: Sing a favorite Christmas Hymn. – The Sign of the Cross

Penitential Rite

ELDER: Lord Jesus, You came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father: Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

Lord Jesus, You heal the wounds of sin and division: Christ have mercy. Christ have mercy.

Lord Jesus, You intercede for us with your Father: Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy.

ELDER: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

ELDER: Father in heaven, look upon our (this) family in your love, and give us (them) the blessing of your peace. Let your Spirit fill our hearts with joy, that we (they) may be holy and happy. May our (their) concern for others reflect your love, and bring us (them) happiness throughout this year, through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, with your Holy Spirit, one God forever. Amen.

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ALL: “Come Holy Spirit, give your divine power to our words: God of Bethlehem and Cana, God of Jordan's leaping waters, in Baptism You make us your children and wed us to your only begotten Son. In your love may we fill this place with kindness to one another, with hospitality to guests, and with abundant care for every stranger. By the gentle light of a star, guide home all who seek You on paths of faith, hope, and love. Then we will join angels in proclaiming your praise: "Glory to God in heaven and peace to his people on earth," and with the Magi distribute your gifts generously around us for the good of others and for your glory. Father, grant us and our home and all who enter here this merciful blessing of your abundant love in Jesus’ Name. Amen!”

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After the prayer, with a piece of chalk we write above the front and back doors 20+C+M+B+_ _ (The crosses stand for the four seasons, the numbers are the year, and the letters for the name of the 3 Magi: Caspar, Melchior, Balthazar, and by tradition, and they also mean "Christus Mansionem Benedicat" or "Christ bless this house / dwelling.") We process all around the house, each family member participating, sprinkling the four corners with holy water, going into each room, and coming back to the point of departure. Everyone joins in the procession, singing a hymn or reciting prayers. All gather around the dining room or kitchen table and ask the Lord’s blessing upon their meal, and then sit down or help serve, in a spirit of joy and gratitude.

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© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC © 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC

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Jesus gives Himself as food - OT 20 B 2006 - a divine transfusion for eternal life - at Becket

Homily MP3 File

Body & Blood of Christ B 2006 - at St. Thomas à Becket

Homily MP3 File

Holy Trinity B 2006 - at St. Thomas à Becket - The 5 Ways of the Lord

Homily MP3 File - How the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity came about in the Roman Catholic Church and a reflection on the "Ways of the Lord"

Jesus is attractive - OT 18A 2005 at St. Thomas à Becket

Homily MP3 File

Homily while in training - Saint Paul University Seminary - S.P. Institute of Pastoral Studies - St. Elizabeth Parish, Ottawa - Solemnity of Christ the King, Nov. 22, 1981

Well, it looks like God is making us an offer we can’t refuse: it’s either unending happiness or unending pain and loneliness. At first hearing, that sounds pretty scary! But as we give it more time, it seems as though Jesus is really telling us something about belonging. We often experience belonging, but we don’t often think about it.

With something like hunger, it’s different: we know that the empty feeling and the growling in our stomach won’t go away until we have something to eat. Or when our mouth is dry; it won’t feel better until we have something refreshing to drink. Now that the days re chilly, we wear sweaters and turn on the stove or furnace to keep warm. A lot of these things we can get for ourselves, but when new receive them from someone who cares about us, we really feel that we belong. And when we go without them for a long while, we begin to feel that we don’t belong to anyone – “Nobody really cares about me!”

Chances are, though, that we can remember at least one time in our life when we felt we belonged to someone, to a very special person. Perhaps it was the handshake, or a smile, that really gave a warm feeling inside. Perhaps it was a gentle kiss, a loving embrace, or a great big bear hug! Maybe someone tucked us into bed at night with a favorite fuzzy. It’s good to belong to someone special. That’s an offer that’s too good to refuse. It’s someone offering themselves that makes a difference.

At times, we might know someone who’s lonely or cold, and we feel badly for them. Like Jesus, we know what it’s like to feel hungry or tired, afraid or rejected. This is the moment to let that person know somehow that we care; that we’re ready to go out of our way for them. If we do, it becomes possible for them to feel that they belong. This is how the Father lets us know that we’re loved, that we belong – through the little caring things of every day.

In a way, our God is terribly weak, almost helpless. For 1000’s of years people have called him King, and he is. And yet he needs us to let people know that they are loved…. Have you ever met someone who is suffering, hurt or angry? If you try to tell them about God’s love and no one has ever cared for them it won’t take long for them to tell you where to go! It’s very difficult for us to know God loves us if we haven’t first felt the caring touch of another’s love.

The Father depends on us to let others know they are loved…. He depends on others to let us know we are loved… and He gives us the same strength He gave to Jesus: a Love so strong that it gives life that lasts forever. This love is a seed that sprouts in us – after we die, it will become fully grown and bear much fruit – and even now it is rowing, showing some flowers and even some fruit.

Jesus loves us first – He is the first One, our older brother – and his Spirit meets us in the quiet of our heart: that place where we can decide to care for someone, or not to care. We don’t have the strength ourselves to love as well as we would like, but Jesus gives us the strength to try. His Love within us only becomes real for others when we let it come out and touch someone – especially when it’s hard to do, or if it’s for someone we don’t like…. And when we do, that’s when we belong to Jesus the most. His Kingdom is about the giving of life… and we proclaim him our King when we share his love that wells up within us with one another. Jesus is the first of many brothers and sisters.

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Homily while in training - Saint Paul University Seminary - S.P. Institute of Pastoral Studies - St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Nov. 17, 1981

The Kingdom Is Now

Le désir d’appartenir est universel, et notre foi allume en nous le feu qui guette le Royaume. À tout âge ils nous sont donnés des signes indicateurs de sa présence, dans les personnes et les événements de chaque jour. Arrêtons-nous et soyons attentifs, dans la solitude comme dans le partage, aux moments d’humour et de larmes, d’angoisse et de joie, de faiblesse et d’amour : - pour y voir les signes; pour y découvrir le Royaume qui nous précède.

The striking personal differences in persons that we know invite from us an equally personal response; which either brings us together or sets us apart. There comes a moment of truth. Remember the baseball fever that gravely afflicted some of us a month ago, or the far-out costumes that some of us brought to life at Hallowe’en: from the Wicket Witch to the Happy Clowns. We laugh and sing about our differences, or accept them after some difficulty; because, “After all, variety is the spice of life!”

On a deeper level, we are moved when a person’s whole being is filled with sadness, anger, pain – for them a searching moment of truth; or elated by friends who are married, give birth to a child, or return from a retreat – as they overwhelm us with a joy they cannot contain… a beautiful moment of truth.

Such is the experience of Eleazar – a 90-yer-old man still filled with awe for the Almighty. This intimate relationship, enfleshed in the tradition he received as a boy, continues to fill his life with meaning and peace. He is glad to tell the world; - even if his friends don’t understand and the henchmen beat him; it is his moment of truth. We see here an old man caught up in a powerful vision of the Kingdom – a vision which his friends cannot share – reluctant as they are to endure the same death. Remember Pontius Pilate who later found himself equally reluctant to share Jesus’ vision of the truth; - he heard only the words.

Zacchaeus experiences the unexpected; - “What they say is too good to be true!” Bored with life, he boldly displays his eagerness to catch sight of this Jesus; - who immediately under-stands him as he sits in the tree. The door to the Kingdom swings open, and Zacchaeus joyfully enters in! – surprising yet longed-for moment of truth – giving his life new value and purpose. Yet the joy of this encounter touches no sympathetic chord in his onlookers; only self-righteous annoyance and jealousy.

The Kingdom is here: waiting behind the doors of every person, moment and space, every encounter and inner experience. The doors aren’t always open to our awareness, and the door that opens is often unexpected. As Master of the House, Jesus knows which doors are the most accessible for us, and He opens them… even catching us by surprise. Others might not see the opening at all, but our heart beckons us on…. What joy waits for us there. What greater joy there is when we also see others enter the Kingdom through their experiences – how enriching to let their vision strengthen our own as we journey…. God as we worship – in Spirit and in truth.

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Holy Trinity C 2019 - at Saint Anne's Hospital - bilingual homily

Body & Blood of Christ B 2018 - at the Late Sunday Mass

Epiphany Blessing of our Home & Doors - “LORD, MAY THE NATIONS ADORE YOU FOR YOUR MERCY!”

Holy Trinity A 2017 - at Saint Gabriel Parish

Body & Blood of Christ A 2014 - at the Late Sunday Mass

Holy Trinity A 2014 - at the Late Sunday Mass

Body & Blood of Christ A 2008 - at Saint Luke Parish

Holy Trinity A 2008 - at Saint Luke

Body & Blood of Christ C 2007 - at Saint Luke Parish

Jesus gives Himself as food - OT 20 B 2006 - a divine transfusion for eternal life - at Becket

Body & Blood of Christ B 2006 - at St. Thomas à Becket

Holy Trinity B 2006 - at St. Thomas à Becket - The 5 Ways of the Lord

Jesus is attractive - OT 18A 2005 at St. Thomas à Becket

Homily while in training - Saint Paul University Seminary - S.P. Institute of Pastoral Studies - St. Elizabeth Parish, Ottawa - Solemnity of Christ the King, Nov. 22, 1981

Homily while in training - Saint Paul University Seminary - S.P. Institute of Pastoral Studies - St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Nov. 17, 1981

Family - however imperfect - is a great gift to us by our Creator God and Father - Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - Saturday 17:00 p.m. Mass at St. Patrick Basilica, Montreal - December 28th, 2024

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