Here I have put together a selection of homilies. The Word of God is ‘alive and active’ says the Letter to the Hebrews. That is not to say that it lives a hidden organic life we can trace through a microscope, as if it were a virus; but that it is inspired, a bearer of God’s eternal Spirit. Therefore it resounds to this day with quite as much force as when it was first spoken. It ever has something new to say. The preacher’s first task is to listen intently to this Word at once ancient and new, then to make his own, necessarily limited words its vehicles. I have not been able to provide translations of texts in other languages; but if you rummage around a little you will find a fair amount of material in English.
To come close to others is risky; to be drawn by blood ties into God's salvific plan is to become part of a passion narrative. What the holy Family displays is not saccharine harmony but readiness to renounce what is one's own in order to assume, as a holy obligation, the vocation of another.
Continue reading The challenge Christ poses has never appealed to the majority. However, in each generation there have been exceptions — men and women, sometimes children, whose heart's eyes have been opened to the transforming potential of God's love; who have let themselves be transformed; and have thereby transformed society.
Continue reading Cut off from the notion of God's Image, the body is at the mercy of our imagination's surrealist tendencies (homily in French).
Continue reading To be a Christian is to assume risk responsibly; to put one's trust in God and not in oneself. Then joy's floodgates burst open.
Continue reading The Mother of God becomes a holy tabernacle, the manifestation of human nature unscathed, the way God created it at first. In Mary we contemplate the perfect prototype of our race (Homily in Norwegian).
Continue reading Why did the Word become flesh? Why was the incarnation a necessity?
Continue reading There was a time when being a Christian felt like being part of the winning team. That is no longer the case - but Christ's reign has not for that reason been sidelined.
Continue reading To be an atheist is not necessarily to fail to believe in God. To be an atheist is to live as if God did not exist - thus atheism is possible among believers, too, a terrible, destructive possibility.
Continue reading Do we not, as Catholics, look at ourselves in the mirror rather too much these days? It is both boring and counter-productive, so let us instead drape our mirror with Abgar’s cloth and set our sight on the face of Christ.
Continue reading Our Order has always known that the purpose of our life is expressed, not just in the spirit of the Rule, but in its letter.
Continue reading To speak the truth can be costly, but it liberates; to hide behind a facade of untrue words, meanwhile, is a kind of captivity. A prison of that kind may feel safe for a while, but it's not where life is likely to blossom and prosper.
Continue reading Lar vi oss lede, føres vi frem på en vakker, meningsfull vei; en vei som ikke alltid er lett, men hvor selv de vonde etappene betyr noe. For vet dere: den store faren her i livet, er ikke å gjennomleve smerte; det er å lide uten å kunne erkjenne at også lidelsen kan ha mening.
Continue reading Vi tenker oss utbrenthet som et moderne fenomen. Men det skal godt gjøres å finne klarere uttrykk for tilstanden enn i Moses’ desperate, nærmest blasfemiske bønn: “Jeg makter ikke å bære hele dette folket alene; er det slik du vil gjøre mot meg, så drep meg heller med én gang, og la meg slippe å se min ulykke”.
Continue reading Å la seg konfirmere, er å erklære seg moden til å si ja på egne vegne til evangeliets fordring. Dere står her i dag, ikke lenger som barn, men som unge menn og kvinner.
Continue reading Let us never forget that, if the Lord has given us the light of faith, it is so that it, through us, may be carried into dark places, not just to cast a cosy, homely glow under our own bed.
Continue reading Not to answer violence with violence; to keep our hearts open towards those in need; to pray deeply in times of persecution; to be prepared for sacrifice: we know these imperatives well. Nonetheless, to find them embodied in a specific existence, be it one that unfolded 1100 years ago, is at once unnerving and thrilling.
Continue reading L’illusion de l’autonomie est pour l’homme une espèce de vache sacrée. Une partie cruciale de l’itinéraire spirituel est la découverte des éléments de notre vécu, de notre personnalité qui nous tiennent captifs.
Continue reading Vi tenker oss altfor lett troen som noe dennesidig; vi lever som om verden her og nå var evig. Vår oppfatning av kristendommen blir, som følge, lett både snever og gørr kjedelig.
Continue reading Ein kirchlicher Körper der sich dieser Ordnung entzieht ist wie ein kopfloses Huhn dessen Anblick zugleich komisch und erschütternd ist. Es läuft zwar noch, flattert auch ein bisschen, aber kommt nicht weit, wie auch immer es seinen Weg nennt.
Continue reading Den hellige Ånd hvisker i vårt øre: ‘Bare flytt litt på deg, du, så ser du det hele i et annet perspektiv; en nådefylt mulighet oppstår der du nå ser stagnasjon.’ Problemet er at vi blir vi stående på krava, i solstek og tørke, akkurat som Israel i ørkenen, oss ubevisst at en svalende oase åpner seg rett over åskammen.
Continue reading Hvem tror på alvor i dag at vi ved slutten av vårt liv skal ha dette livet å svare for? Vi har da betalt skatt!
Continue reading Et rosetog er en storartet ting; men mer skal til for å hele et trauma. Gode hensikter sikrer ikke en såret nasjons enhet og hold.
Continue reading Israel er uforestillbart uten sau. Litt etter litt blir fellesskapet mellom folk og husdyr et bilde også på forholdet mellom Herren og hans folk; det var liksom det nærmeste å ty til.
Continue reading Kun unntaksvis ser vi at Vårherre stå stille. Stort sett er han på vandrefot, hastende, opptatt av å kalle til omvendelse, av å drive ut den onde, av å helbrede syke—de tre former for virksomhet han idag betror apostlene.
Continue reading