Fr. Brendan McGuire - Podcasts that Break open the Word of God

Episodet

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  Homily for the Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Why Do We Keep Score? God Gives Us a Full Cup 24.09.2026 7min

  My mother used to have problems with some of my homilies, and she used to say so, "You are a bit light on judgment and a bit heavy on love." I would say, "God has more love than judgment." She would go, "Yeah." Then she would always end the argument, "Yeah, but that one who gets in at the end of time, who kind of just shows up with a conversion at the last moment, I think that is just a bit unfair!" Read More
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  Homily for the Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Tear Out the Page: There Is No Ledger in Heaven 15.09.2026 13min

  I remember 9-11, twenty-five years ago. I was in the rectory at St. Lawrence Parish, as that second plane crashed into the tower, and then watching the two towers burning. It is seared into my memory. Then the following hours of confusion and anger, and then eventually watching both buildings collapse. I remember every moment of it. It is as if it happened yesterday. I remember in particular the next day, those hours after, the sky was silent. It was eerie. There were no commercial airplanes ...
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  Homily for the Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time - Stagnant Water, Stagnant Love: Keep It Flowing 08.09.2026 11min

  When I was growing up in Ireland, you would turn on the tap and have water, just like you guys do, right? The difference is, in Ireland, there is no bill. Water is free. Never charged for it. Read More
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  Homily for the Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time - Are You a Believer or a Follower? The Hard Truth 01.09.2026 9min

  Human behavior scientists maintain that in order to change one’s behavior, the person who actually wants to change needs to desire to change. That sounds so obvious, right? If you want to change something, you have to actually want to change it. Read More
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  Homily for the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time - Not What You Do But Who You Are 25.08.2026 9min

  I had the wonderful opportunity to visit my close friend and mentor, Monsignor Lloyd Torgerson. Lloyd is a towering figure in the American church, especially in Los Angeles. He is eighty-six years old, still pastor, and he has been pastor over thirty years. He is still as sharp as a tack. He has this wonderful way. He is so hospitable. He is such a generous human being. He meets me, and it is always the first thing he says: “Brendan, you are so wonderful. I love you.” Read More
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  Homily for the Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time - The Yellow Door and the God of Surprises 22.08.2026 8min

  This last week we had a great opportunity as a parish and school staff to go away on a day of retreat. It was wonderful just to be away and to spend a day in prayer, holding up the whole year ahead. I introduced the theme for the year: Flourish: Cultivating Dignity Through Presence. Read More
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  Homily for the Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time - God’s Primary Language Is Silence 11.08.2026 12min

  I just got back from vacation. I had been in Florence for a conference on artificial intelligence for the first nine days, where I gave four presentations over those days. Then I had the great opportunity to go to Sicily and visit with a friend of mine, with another friend, and we spent two weeks there. It was great to catch up and see my friends, but I must confess, one of the struggles with vacation is that you get out of your routines, right? You do not have as much control of the en...
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  Homily for the Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time - What Mothers Know That the Rest of Us Forget 04.08.2026 10min

  Last year, when we were on pilgrimage to Turkey and Greece, in the footsteps of St. Paul, we had nearly 50 parishioners. When you have a group of people like that, something always goes wrong! So the first day, somebody cut their foot on something as we were walking somewhere. I turned around and I asked, “Rachel, we need a large bandage.” Rachel opens up her bag and out comes this huge bandage. Read More...
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  Homily for the 17th Sunday or Ordinary Time - What Is My Purpose Now? The Pearl of Great Price 30.07.2026 2min

  During the year, at our Men’s Group, we have been reading a book called “The Power of Purpose” by Richard Leider, and in it he tries to articulate what it is that gives us meaning and purpose in our life. In this book in particular, he says that once we find this purpose, in relation to the world’s needs, and that it is a dynamic process. I think that insight is very powerful. It is a process that we come to, and we know when w...
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  Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time - The Reckless Sower: A Love That Will Not Stop 17.07.2026 6min

  I bring you this homily today from Florence, Italy. I am here with a group of Jesuits from throughout the whole world, those working in formation, bringing them all together to learn a little bit more about artificial intelligence and how to integrate that into their ministry. Read More
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  Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Turn the Lens of Life to Clarity 30.06.2026 9min

  One of the great gifts that we have as priests is that we are invited to journey with people in some of the most tender and vulnerable moments of their life. In particular, when people get sick, and when they get terminally sick, they invite us into that very vulnerable part of their life, and they share the most powerful insights and the most tender moments ever shared.
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  Homily for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Do Not Be Afraid: A Father's Faith in Hard Times 23.06.2026 7min

  Many of you know how much my own father was a hero in my life. He always seemed to have the right thing to say at the right moment. He just seemed to have that wisdom to always guide in the midst of darkness. Read more...
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  Homily for the Eleventh Sunday of Ordinary Time - Do Your Portion of the Wall 16.06.2026 10min

  Our conversation led to talking not so much about artificial intelligence, as what this means for humanity. What does it mean for humans to flourish? What does that conversation look like? It really was a mirroring of the document that Pope Leo announced. (Read more...)
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  Homily for The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ - Gnaw on My Flesh: The Presence We Cannot Outsource 10.06.2026 10min

  What does it mean for us as human beings to flourish? What does it mean to have dignity as a human person? And what is the common good for all people? He goes through a whole hundred and thirty-five years of the Church’s social teaching to refocus our energies on that message. Read More
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  Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - Right Relationship: With God, Each Other, and AI 02.06.2026 12min

  This past week, as I said at the beginning of Mass, has been quite a week for me. It was extraordinary. I had the opportunity to sit in the Synod Hall as the Holy Father gave his new encyclical, Magnificat Humanitas, to the world. I am still unpacking the magnitude of the event in my life, but there are some things that really stood out for me. Read More
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  Homliy for Pentecost Sunday - Holy Spirit Goose 2026 26.05.2026 9min

  In our Catholic church, we typically think of the Holy Spirit in rather tame terms. We think of the Holy Spirit as a nice peaceful dove coming, fluttering into our lives, or tongues of fire settling down on our head. But in Celtic spirituality, it is very different. In Celtic spirituality, it is a wild goose, honking and wild, untamed, fierce and furious, but free. (Read more...)
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  Homily for Ascension Sunday - The Fierce Urgency of Now: A Message for 2026 19.05.2026 11min

  Almost 60 years ago, on April 4th, 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King walked into Riverside Church in New York City and gave a speech co-written by Dr. Vince Harding, his peer in ministry. For over a decade, he had been the voice of civil rights throughout the land and had great success. But on this occasion, he expanded his ministry to speak for justice throughout the world. He spoke about fighting for justice for all, putting a voice to the voiceless,...
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  Homily for the Sixth Sunday of Easter - Why Are We So Afraid? The Spirit Is With You 12.05.2026 10min

  We need to recognize that the Holy Spirit is a gift, and like all gifts, it has to be received. It has to be opened. It has to be unleashed. As Catholics, we have some work to do with the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are maybe a tad shy in accepting the Holy Spirit as one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. Read More A Blessing for All Who Are Mothers By Fr. Brendan McGuire To you who have carried life in your body or in your prayers, who have nursed the wounded knee and the ...
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  Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Easter - The Way, The Truth and The Life 06.05.2026 6min

  A few weeks ago, I was scrolling through my phone and stopped at three news clips back-to-back. Three different people, all speaking with total confidence, all claiming to tell the truth, and all saying things that flatly contradicted what the next person had just said. Read more...
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  Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Easter - Do We Hear His Voice? Listening for the Good Shepherd 28.04.2026 10min

  “Do you always listen?” “Oh, listening is a bit of a problem,” they admitted. We hear the voice, but we do not always listen. Why? Because we get distracted. There are lots of things we are doing, and we want to do what we want to do, and maybe not obey. That is the exact same challenge with God.