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SSJD Homilies: From Our Hearts and Minds to Yours.

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Homily For The Feast Of Hannah Grier Coome, February 9,... By The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz. Let me begin by wishing all the Sisters and the wider family of The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine a very Happy Mother's Day! It is said of Hannah Grier Coome that "she built a religious community from the ground... Read more ssjd.ca

Homily on the Anniversary of the Consecration of The... by the Most Rev. Fred Hiltz. Well, dear Sisters and Guests, what a wonderful set of Readings for keeping the anniversary of the Consecration of this Chapel. On the day of the Dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem Solomon stands before the altar... Read more ssjd.ca

Fishers of Men. - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine Mt. 4:12-23, Is 9:1-4; 1 Cor 1:10-18 By Fr. David Brinton OGS. How many of you remember singing this in Sunday School? "I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men. I will make you fishers of men if you follow me! Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for St. John's Day. - The Sisterhood of St. John... By Sr. Doreen, SSJD. Sirach 15:1-6 Psalm 92 1 John 1:1-9 John 21:19-24 We celebrate the Feast of St. John twice - once now during Christmastide and once again in May. It is an important double celebration, not just because St. John is our Patron... Read more ssjd.ca

Christmas Day Homily - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD Isaiah 52:7-10 / Psalm 98 / Hebrews 1:1-12 / John 1:1-14 Some of you will know of the Christmas Truce that took place between the allied forces and the German army in 1914. An allied gunner, Bruce Bairnsfather, who... Read more ssjd.ca

Making Room - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine By the Most Reverend Fred Hiltz In the last few days I have made room in my study for the Christmas crèche. Making room simply means clearing the top of an old dresser cabinet. The crèche itself is a wooden stable, someone else's throwaway piece... Read more ssjd.ca

Easter Sunday Homily - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine By. Sr. Elizabeth Ann, SSJD. Alleluia, Christ is Risen! Alleluia, Christ is Risen! Alleluia, Christ is Risen! Amen. On my first full day in Jerusalem on tour with my brother in January 2020, we entered a Garden outside the city walls of the Old City. Read more ssjd.ca

Good Friday Homily - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine By: Sr. Elizabeth Ann, SSJD. Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Psalm 22:22-30 Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 19:1-42 O most afflicted-I crucified thee. God interceded-for my salvation-not my deserving. Amen. We began today with the stations of the cross, as I did... Read more ssjd.ca

Maundy Thursday Homily - The Sisterhood of St. John the... By Sr. Elizabeth Ann, SSJD. Then take the towel, and break the bread, and humble us, and call us friends. Suffer and serve till all are fed and show how grandly love intends to work till all creation sings, to fill all worlds, to crown all... Read more ssjd.ca

Palm Sunday - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine By Sr. Elizabeth Ann Zech 9:9-10 Psalm 24 Phil 2.5-11 Mk 11:1-11 PSALM 122 1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of God."2 Now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.3 Jerusalem is built as a city that is at... Read more ssjd.ca

Mary's Response to God's Call and Our Response: The... By Sr. Anne, SSJD Isaiah 7:10-14; Hebrews 5:5-10; Luke 1:26-38 Today's readings are like a multi faceted diamond that presents us with some light into Mary's response of "Yes" to God's call to be the mother of Jesus the Christ. Read more ssjd.ca

The 4th Sunday in Lent: Jesus, Baseball and the Gospel.... A Homily by the Rev. William Morrison, Victoria, B.C. I wasn't preaching anywhere today. But this is a favourite of mine from 2000, when the 4 th Sunday in Lent fell on April 2, thus coinciding with the opening weekend of the baseball season. Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for Mother Hannah's Feast Day. - The Sisterhood... by Sr. Elizabeth, SSJD. Hannah Grier Coome, our Mother Foundress was unique in many ways. She is one of only a very few women religious founders to be born in Canada and the only founder of an Anglican Community in Canada. Read more ssjd.ca

God of the Cosmos, God of the Home. - The Sisterhood of... Isaiah 40.21-31 Ps 147.1-12, 21c 1 Cor. 9.16-23 Mark 1.29-39 The narrative of the healing of Peter's mother-in law is a story that encompasses the whole of Jesus' ministry in miniature. It's homey in its intimacy and realism, and cosmic in its... Read more ssjd.ca

Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple - The... 1 st reading: Malachi 3: 1-4 Psalm: Common Praise #376 Epistle: Hebrews 2: 14-18 Gospel: Luke 2: 22-40 When we read gospel stories, especially ones like this one, one so family oriented and familiar, I think that sometimes we miss some of what it ... Read more ssjd.ca

The Conversion of Paul - The Sisterhood of St. John the... By Sr. Elizabeth Ann, SSJD. Readings: Acts 26: 9 - 23; Psalm 67; Matthew 10: 16 - 22 Conversion and Cost The gospel according to Matthew was written about 15 to 20 years after the death of Paul in Rome. The gospel passage we just heard could have ... Read more ssjd.ca

Confession of Peter the Apostle - The Sisterhood of St.... Readings: Acts 4:8-13; Psalm 23; Matthew 16:13-19 A question and three words: confession, common, and companion. Jesus asked the disciples, "What is the scuttlebutt?" or, "Who do people say that the Chosen One is?" The disciples answer that some... Read more ssjd.ca

What Time Is It? - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine By Sr. Anne, SSJD. Jonah 3:1-5, 10 / Psalm 62:5-12 / 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 / Mark 1:14-20 TIME'S UP!When I have heard that expression it usually was at the end of an exam session. It's a way to get our attention, a head's up if you will. Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for the Anniversary of the Consecration of the... By Sr. Wendy Grace, SSJD Readings: 1 Kings 8:22-30, Psalm 122, 1 Peter 2:1-5, 9-10, John 20:19-21 (NRSV) Today, January 17th is the day we celebrate the consecration of the Chapel of St. John the Divine. To consecrate means 'to make or declare... Read more ssjd.ca

Coventry Carol Lullaby for Holy Innocents - The... Coventry Carol The Coventry Carol is an English Carol which dates from the early 1500's and was part of a mystery play performed in Coventry, hence its name. William Shakespeare may well have seen this play and heard this carol. Read more ssjd.ca

The Baptism of Jesus and the Voice of God. - The... Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29: 1,2, 8-11 Acts 19:1-7 Mark 1:4-11 I've had a hard time this week trying to figure out how to preach on the Baptism of Jesus. Read more ssjd.ca

How Do We Prepare for an Unknown Future? - The... Last year at this time I had just finished my fourth retreat talk for the New Year's Retreat. I began on the morning of New Year's Eve by asking the retreatants to write down some of the blessings they had experienced in 2019; then a few of them... Read more ssjd.ca

You Are The Temple - The Sisterhood of St.... By Sr. Amy Joy, SSJD 2 Samuel 7: 1-11, 16; Luke 1:26-38 The theme of today's first reading of Samuel is about God's Grace to people. He offered unconditional love to them, and promised David that his throne would be established forever. Read more ssjd.ca

Christmas Day Homily - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine Isaiah 9: 2-7 Psalm 96 Titus 2: 11-14 Luke 2: 1-20 In the December Saskatchewan Diocesan Church newspaper, Bishop Christopher Harper wrote: "COVID-19 gave our world a timeout, where we were sent to our rooms to think about what we are doing to... Read more ssjd.ca

The Beginning of Hope. The Messiah: The Gospel according ... Isaiah 40:1-11 Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 2 Peter 3:8-15a Mark 1:1-8 All our readings for today have one common theme using texts from the prophets. In our Epistle reading for today, the idea of Christ's second coming has its roots in the Old Testament... Read more ssjd.ca

The Reign of Christ - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine Ezek 34:11-16, 20-24; Ps 95:1-7a; Eph 1:15-23; Mt 25:31-46 In the name of God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word and Holy Spirit, Amen I'm sure some of you remember the collect for this Sunday from the Book of Common Prayer which a few of us grew ... Read more ssjd.ca

Belong - Behave - Believe. - The Sisterhood of St. John... By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD. Zephaniah 1.7, 12-18, Psalm 90.1-12 1, Thessalonians 5.1-11, Matthew 25.14-30 A big shift is happening in our church and other mainline denominations that is talked about in books and blogs but something we rarely... Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for All Soul's Day - The Sisterhood of St. John... I could never have imagined myself volunteering to preach on All Souls' Day, if I hadn't received a long letter from the daughter of an old friend of mine in Vancouver who died recently. Her name was Joy. Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for the Feast of St. Luke. - The Sisterhood of... Sir 38:1-4, 6-10, 12-14 Ps 147:1-7 Lk 4:14-21 Early tradition suggests that Luke was a physician, a Gentile convert, and a friend of the apostle Paul. As the the author of the Gospel according to Luke, he seemed to be writing primarily for the... Read more ssjd.ca

What's In A Name? - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine Isaiah 45:1-7; Psalm 96:1-13; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22 What's in a name? We heard this lovely phrase from Isaiah 45:4, " I call you by your name, I surname you, though you do not know me. " Friends call us by name. Others must ask ... Read more ssjd.ca

Requiem Homily for Sr. Sue Elwyn, SSJD. - The Sisterhood ... Tuesday, Sept 29, 2020, 11 am ✠ In the name of God the Maker of all, and of the Word who speaks through us all, and of the Blessed Spirit who inhabits us all. Amen. These are times of trial and testing for all of us. Read more ssjd.ca

By Whose Authority? - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine The readings for today all have one common theme and that is about authority. Authority conferred by God and authority challenged by the Hebrew people during the Exodus and the religious authorities during Jesus' time. In the first reading from... Read more ssjd.ca

The Amazing, Overwhelming, Eternal Love of God. - The... by Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD. Numbers 21.4-9 Psalm 98.1-6 1 Corinthians 1.18-24 John 3.13-17 This is one of those times in the church year when we recall the major landmarks of our faith. Read more ssjd.ca

Forgiveness Is An Invitation - The Sisterhood of St.... The readings today all speak to seeking forgiveness for harm we have done and forgiving others for the harm they have done. Joseph's brothers seek forgiveness for selling Joseph into slavery. Joseph shows that he had already worked through the... Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for Sr. Wendy Grace's First Profession - The... By Sr. Sue, SSJD. Readings: Isaiah 61.9-11; Psalm 66.16-18; Revelation 21.1-7; Luke 1.26-33 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our rock and our redeemer. The Sisters have a long history of... Read more ssjd.ca

Join the Dance: A Homily for Proper 20 - The Sisterhood... Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8; Psalm 67; Romans 11: 1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: 21-28 Today there is a very interfaith thread set out in the Propers as a challenge for us - a call to a deeper understanding of God as shared by all the peoples of the world,... Read more ssjd.ca

On the Feast of the Assumption of Mary - The Sisterhood... By Sr. Doreen, SSJD. Isaiah 7:10-15; psalm 132: 6-10, 13-14; Gal 4:4-7; Luke 1: 46-55 Mary is the favored one, the beloved in whom God is well pleased - and the one saint that has at least 7 Feasts attached to her name, either directly or because ... Read more ssjd.ca

On the Feast of St. Stephen - The Sisterhood of St. John ... By Sr. Elizabeth Ann, SSJD. Jer 26:1-9(10-11)12-15 Ps 31 Acts 6.8 - 7.2a, 51c - 60 Matthew 23. 34-39 Even though initially I was drawn to the fact that we have moved the feast of Stephen from December 26th to August 3rd , instead I began focusing ... Read more ssjd.ca

The Feast of the Visitation - The Sisterhood of St. John ... Zeph 3:14-13 Ps 113 Col 3:12-17 Luke 1:39-56 There are several steps to this Feast Day! Luke tells the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah, how God comes to them by an angel with the news that in their old age they will have a son, fills them with... Read more ssjd.ca

On Listening: Homily for August 9th - The Sisterhood of... By Sr. Elizabeth, SSJD On my first reading of the scriptures for today, I was struck by a common theme running through them, the theme of listening for the voice of God. The reading from 1st Kings has long been a favourite of mine. What... Read more ssjd.ca

The Golden Thread Called Wisdom - The Sisterhood of St.... By Sr. Anne, SSJD. 1 Kings 3:5-12 Ps 119:129-136 Rom 8:26-39 Matthew 13: 31-33, 45 - 52. Today's readings are woven together by a common thread, a golden thread, called Wisdom. Anne Tanner, in a chapter on Wisdom from her book Practical Prayer,... Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for Saint Peter and Saint Paul - The Sisterhood... By Sr. Wendy Grace, SSJD Novice. Ezekiel 34:11-16 2 Timothy 4:1-8 John 21:15-19 Psalm 87 As I reviewed the lectionary readings for today I was struck by the theme of sheep and shepherds. Then because actual sheep and shepherds don't have much to... Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. - The... By Sr. Sue, SSJD. May the words of my lips and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our rock and our redeemer. Today we keep the feast of Mary Magdalene. Read more ssjd.ca

Proper 16a: Dreams,Wheat and Weeds: Something Sacred... By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD. Genesis 29:11-19a Psalm 139.1-11, 22-23 Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43 When I was a kid, I loved adventure movies - my taste has certainly changed over the years, but then adventure in the 1950s was a lot tamer than now. Read more ssjd.ca

Proper 15a: Couple-archs and the Parable of the Sower -... By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD Genesis 25:19-34 Psalm 119.105-112 Matthew 13.1-9, 18-23 During the summer, every third year, we follow the narrative of three famous couples - Sarah and Abraham, Rebekah and Isaac, and Rachel and Jacob. Read more ssjd.ca

Homily Proper 14 A: God of Love - The Sisterhood of St.... By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD. Genesis 22.1-14 Psalm 13 Romans 7.15 25a Matthew 11.16-19, 25-30 The Old Testament reading today is a wonderful love story on one level. On another level, it is a story that is meant to show how God uses ordinary... Read more ssjd.ca

Proper 13A- Discipleship and the Peace of God - The... By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD Matthew 10.34-42 The passage from St. Matthew's gospel which Sr. Stella has just read is, on the surface, puzzling. Jesus tells his disciples to expect not peace but war. Read more ssjd.ca

Homily for the Feast of St. Benedict. - The Sisterhood... By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD. Acts 2.42-47 Psalm 34.1-8 John 15.12-17 The Sisters of Saint John the Divine, in the spirit of their patron, are called to live to the glory of God in fulfillment of the two-fold law of love. Read more ssjd.ca

Homily on The Birth of John the Baptist. - The... By Sr. Louise, SSJD It's not very often that you'll find me up here at the ambo other than for the readings. But once in a while I like to stretch myself a bit and take on doing a homily or as today a Homilette. Read more ssjd.ca

Models of Ministry - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine By Sr. Ann Norman, SSJD. Readings: Genesis 18:1-15/ Psalm 100/ Romans 5:1-5/ Matthew 9:35- 10:8 The readings for today have a common theme of ministry. There is the theme of hospitality with Abraham entertaining angels without knowing it, the... Read more ssjd.ca

Friends of the Soul - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine Pull up a chair, grab a cup of tea and settle down with Sr. Elizabeth Ann's Trinity Sunday Homily! Click here to read more... Read more ssjd.ca

Easter 3 - The Sisterhood of St. John the Divine by Sr. Doreen, SSJD Propers: Acts 2: 14a, 36-41; Psalm 116: 1-4, 12-19; 1 Peter 1: 17-23; Luke 24: 13-35 Easter 3 - within the Great Fifty Days! Each year as we walk through the scriptures of Lent and Holy Week, and we arrive at Easter, I am... Read more ssjd.ca

A Miniseries: Traveling from the Dark to the Light - The ... By Sr. Constance Joanna, SSJD. Most of us have traveled through Lent this year becoming increasingly burdened by the darkness of the world around us - politically, economically, and personally - as the COVID-19 virus has exploded. During some of... Read more ssjd.ca