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

We are the only human species that has survived hundreds of thousands of years.
There were many human species, but only we remain. The reason, according to him, is not muscle strength, not our tools, and  not even our brains, but because of our ability to tell a story. Storytelling. It is literally wired inside of us. It is what enables us as human beings to gather…

See, it is our choice. And when we choose to remember the hurts, the slights, we choose what will damage us and damage the relationships. It does not change that they said something silly or something hurtful. Why has that happened? Because they did say something hurtful. But instead of letting it go, we hold on to it and we dredge up that memory and shine it like gold, like some treasure. What a dreadful mistake to make, and yet here we do it time and time again.

Here is my homily for the Second Sunday of Lent. I hope you can enjoy it.

Finally, I want to let you all know that we have been doing some refreshing and updating of my homilies and my website. You will begin to see this beginning this week with my website when you select the Listen button below. And later in the month you will see an updated look to my homily emails as well.

If you think about an ordinary social interaction, that you might have at a party or some sort of scene, where you are meeting people for the first time. What is typically the first question after you have greeted? What do you do? And I am always reluctant to answer because they are so disappointed! They are like, "Oh, okay," and then the conversation comes to an end. (Read more…)

Here is my homily for the First Sunday of Lent. I hope you can enjoy it. And many blessings for a holy lenten journey.

What amazed me about Cirque du Soleil was how they threw each other with such grace, they seemed to swoop in and pick them up each time, at the right place and the right time. It was just magnificent. Now, if you know anything about human dynamics, a lot of strength is required to throw somebody and catch somebody of your own weight or anybody’s weight. And it requires the ability to adjust. (Read more..)

Here is a bonus homily from a Renewal of Marriage Vows that took place on February 14, 2026. I hope you can enjoy it.

There is a great story told of a little fish in the ocean swimming around trying to figure out where the ocean is. He comes up to this older, wiser fish and says, “Where is the ocean?” The old fish says to him, “You are swimming in it.” The little fish is confused. He says, “But that is just water,” (Read more…)

Here is my homily for the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time. I hope you can enjoy it.

When I was growing up in Ireland, my father had an expression, just one simple phrase that summed up a person, and it was a compliment. He would see somebody that he thought well of, somebody that he thought was authentic. He would say, "Ah, that man is a salt of the earth man." It was a definitive statement. (Read more…)

Here is my homily for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time. I hope you can enjoy it.

The foundational component, what they called a pillar of humility. To be humble before God and know that they are a child of God. Happiness comes from that. We are no better than anybody else. No one else is any better than us. And because of that foundational principle, everything else is built and flows from there. (Read more…)

Here is my homily for the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time. I hope you can enjoy it.

And there, in that unlikely place, Jesus finds his first followers. He walks along the Sea of Galilee and sees two brothers, Simon and Andrew, casting their nets. He says to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once, they left their nets and followed him. Then he sees James and John with their father Zebedee. He calls them. (Read more…)

Immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. 

Most myths follow the same general pattern. The arc of the story is that you have a hero who goes on a quest, then in that adventure overcomes great adversity, whether personal or something that happens in their life.Then in overcoming it, they gain profound wisdom. But that is not where the story ends. Because the real power of the myth is that they bring this newfound wisdom back to their tribe or their family or their community. In that process, the community becomes enlightened and the community is transformed. (Read more…)

Here is my homily for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time. I hope you can enjoy it.

I am not going to tell you to do not do all those New Year's resolutions. I am just going to say to do this one thing first. Remember that you are beloved. And sit with that for maybe just January. Not just today, but the whole month of January. Just put all the other ones on to February. You can pick those up then, and then you see if you need to do them. (Read more…)

Here is my homily for the Baptism of the Lord. I hope you can enjoy it.