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05 Jul 2015 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

A thorn in the flesh was given to me. Much speculation has centered on the nature of Paul’s “mystery” affliction. Was it a chronic illness? The scars and injuries from the beatings he had suffered? One theory suggests Paul may have not been talking about a physical problem at all but in a figurative, not a literal thorn, as in a “pain the neck”—that is, his opponents. This interpretation fits well with the other readings, where God sends the prophet Ezekiel against the people who are in rebellion against God and where Jesus the “prophet is not without honor except in his native place.”

Illness Rebellion

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Homily stories

10 Jun 2018 - Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Many of my friends are starting to go through their children’s difficult teen years. In the eyes of their kids, they can’t do anything right, while the kids themselves are doing a whole lot wrong. All I can do is remind them that we once did the same thing with our parents, that kids have to reject what they come from in order to forge a new path of their own—and hopefully decide which parts of their upbringing are worth keeping. And don’t forget, some family traits are worth discarding—perfectionism, stinginess, or worse. How many of us have vowed we were never going to be like so-and-so? Even after we stop rebelling for rebellion’s sake, we still make decisions that our family doesn’t like but that are right for us. My family wasn’t wild about me becoming a writer. It’s not an easy path, and there are some days when I think I should have taken their advice and chosen something else, but then I never would have experienced the years of pleasure in my craft, the amazing adventures my vocation has brought me, or the incredible people I’ve met in my career, some of whom have become like second family to me.

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

Rebellion teenagers family choosing your path

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Homily stories

09 Jun 2024 - Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Many of my friends are starting to go through their children’s difficult teen years. In the eyes of their kids, they can’t do anything right, while the kids themselves are doing a whole lot wrong. All I can do is remind them that we once did the same thing with our parents, that kids have to reject what they come from in order to forge a new path of their own—and hopefully decide which parts of their upbringing are worth keeping. And don’t forget, some family traits are worth discarding—perfectionism, stinginess, or worse. How many of us have vowed we were never going to be like so-and-so? Even after we stop rebelling for rebellion’s sake, we still make decisions that our family doesn’t like but that are right for us. My family wasn’t wild about me becoming a writer. It’s not an easy path, and there are some days when I think I should have taken their advice and chosen something else, but then I never would have experienced the years of pleasure in my craft, the amazing adventures my vocation has brought me, or the incredible people I’ve met in my career, some of whom have become like second family to me.

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

Rebellion decisions family traits

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