7 August 2026 - Friday of the 18th week, odd year

Nahum 2, 1…7; Mt. 16:24-28

                                                                         H O M I L Y

All calls in the New Testament are individual and personal. Jesus does not issue general calls to anyone who wants to become His disciple. It is always a ‘Come, follow me!’ addressed to a specific person. However, here, immediately after the first announcement of his passion, Jesus lists some of the conditions that must be met by all those who are called and who wish to respond to this call.

It should be noted that among those who accompanied Jesus in his ministry, there were several categories of people. First there was the crowd, undoubtedly made up largely of curious onlookers, but also of sincere but shallow people, and a large number of sincere people who were open to his message. Beside this crowd were the disciples, those whom he had called to ‘walk behind him,’ to accompany him in all his missions. Among them were the twelve Apostles. And then there were also close friends who did not belong to any of these groups, but with whom Jesus liked to spend time during his travels, such as Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

Jesus is addressing here the disciples proper, that is, those whom he had called to follow Him and who desired to respond to that call. He reminds them that they must follow Him to the end; they must accept to carry their cross and therefore, possibly, to be crucified. But even though He calls them, Jesus leaves them all free. ‘If anyone wants...’ This “if” is very important. It expresses God's respect for human freedom.

We find an echo of this attitude of Christ in the Rule of St. Benedict, where Benedict asks that after reading the Rule three times to the novice, he be told each time: "Here is the Rule... if you can follow it... enter... otherwise, you are free to leave."

While Jesus respects human freedom, He nevertheless insists on instructing His disciples about the demands inherent to that freedom. One can renounce being a disciple to gain the universe... But what good is it to gain the universe if one loses one's soul?

Jesus constantly presents us with choices. He always leaves us completely free, but He also makes us aware of the concrete consequences of each of our choices.

Armand VEILLEUX

5 août 2026 -- Mercredi de la 18e semaine, année paire.

Jérémie 31, 1-7 ; Mt 15, 21-28

                                                                            Homélie

          L'Évangile d'hier nous a donné un exemple de la foi de l'apôtre Pierre - une foi à la fois généreuse et faible.  Aujourd'hui, l'Évangile nous donne l'exemple d'une foi très profonde et très forte chez une femme qui n'appartenait pas au peuple d'Israël.  Une foi si forte qu'elle a non seulement fait "changer d'avis" à Jésus, pour ainsi dire, mais a même eu une influence sur son ministère.

6 août 2026 – Fête de la Transfiguration

Dn 7,9-10.13-14 ou 2 P 1,16-19; Mt 17, 1-9 

                                                                     H O M É L I E

            Ce récit évangélique qu’on appelle généralement la « Transfiguration » répond à un style littéraire qu’on appelle l’Apocalyptique.  C`est un style que l’on retrouve non seulement dans le dernier Livre du Nouveau Testament, qu’on appelle précisément l’Apocalypse, mais aussi en plusieurs passages des Évangiles. C’est donc à très juste titre que le Lectionnaire liturgique pour la Fête d’aujourd’hui nous donne comme première lecture une vision du Livre de Daniel, qui se situe précisément dans cette ligne.

5 August 2026 -- Wednesday of the 18th week, even-numbered year.

Jeremiah 31:1-7; Matthew 15:21-28

                                                                                       Homily

Yesterday's Gospel gave us an example of the Apostle Peter's faith - a faith that was both generous and weak. Today, the Gospel gives us an example of a very deep and strong faith in a woman who did not belong to the people of Israel. A faith so strong that she not only ‘changed’ Jesus' mind, so to speak, but even influenced his ministry.

6 August 2026 - Feast of the Transfiguration

Dan 7:9-10.13-14 or 2 Pet 1:16-19; Mt 17:1-9

                                                                                   Homily

This gospel story, generally known as the "Transfiguration", corresponds to a literary style known as the Apocalyptic. It is a style found not only in the last Book of the New Testament, known precisely as the Apocalypse, but also in several passages of the Gospels. The liturgical lectionary for today's feast day quite rightly gives us as its first reading a vision from the Book of Daniel, which is precisely along these lines.

4 août 2026 -- Mardi de la 18ème semaine, année paire

Jérémie 30, 1-2. 12-15. 18-22 ; Mt 14, 22-36

                                                                               Homélie

          L'élément central de cet Évangile est placé par l'évangéliste Saint Matthieu entre deux manifestations de l'attention que Jésus porte aux affamés et aux malades.  Notre texte commence, en effet, par la mention de la multiplication des pains et se termine par celle des foules qui amènent leurs malades à Jésus pour qu'ils soient guéris ne serait-ce qu'en touchant le bord de son vêtement.