Search

Results

Homily themes

01 Nov 2015 - Solemnity of All Saints, Cycle B

“He began to teach them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.’” The beatitudes in Matthew mark the beginning of the first of the five great speeches or discourses on which this gospel is built. Jesus goes up a mountain, traditionally a place of revelation, to address his disciples and deliver a set of beatitudes three times longer than those in the Gospel of Luke. Beatitudes were not new. They’re a form found in the Psalms, where blessings, and sometimes the reasons for them, are proclaimed. The gospel takes the beatitudes a step further by using them to describe the inhabitants of the kingdom of God: those who rely on God, grieve, are humble, and do God’s will; the merciful, peacemakers, and the persecuted. Not a bad description for all the saints—and those to whom God gives the fullness of life.

Saints beatitudes

Restricted
Exploring the word

30 Jan 2011 - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

HOW DO YOU get to holy from where you’re sitting? Is it a matter of saying enough prayers, going to church for years, not breaking the Commandments, being generous to the annual bishop’s appeal? Those things might help; I’m not one to knock any of them. Especially the bishop’s appeal, which is a way of being faithful to the common good of our sisters and brothers. But sanctity is not the pot of gold at the end of any of these rainbows automatically. And maybe, honestly, holiness is not even on your bucket list. The faces on the holy cards rarely look like they’re having a good time. I’ve got a heavenly host of saints’ images all around my desk, with expressions ranging from pensive (the Madonnas) to brooding (Saint Paul) to grim (Jerome!). I’d love to have a view of the laughing, dancing communion of saints, but apart from some grinning Mother Teresas and mischievous Pope John Paul IIs, those are hard to find. Yet when Jesus fashioned his most famous teaching, the Beatitudes, he capitalized on what would make us “happy”—which is a more accurate translation than “blessed.” Which leads you to wonder: Shouldn’t being among the blessed be a source of joy for us? Of course one must admit the list of qualifying folks doesn’t sound as if they’ve got a lot to smile about: the poor (in spirit or otherwise), the mourners, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the persecuted and insulted. I suppose being a compassionate, pure-hearted peacenik isn’t so bad. But ask me again when I’m actually practicing those virtues. So what makes this lot so happy, according to Jesus? Their reward in heaven will be great. In a culture that views delayed gratification as no gratification at all, that sounds like the not-so-good news of Jesus Christ. Is Jesus saying, “Suffer now to be happy later”? When life is presented in those terms—the cross today or the flames tomorrow—that’s not exactly comforting. Happily, that’s not what Jesus is saying. The common denominator in the Beatitude Club is humility, not suffering. If we want to belong to this Happy Club, we have to exercise that most essential of all virtues. What does it mean to be humble? To know when to bow down or bend the knee. We bow before the will of God, which is to love and be loved. We bend the knee before God alone. Those who are humbled by their present circumstances or who humble themselves by conforming their lives to God’s will are mutually blessed. As Mother Teresa once said, we must empty ourselves to receive a blessing because even God cannot fill what is full. Want happiness? Seeking holiness? Start with humility. Related scripture links Israel as God's own possession: Exod. 3:6-10, 13:1, 15:16-17, 19:4-6, 20:1-6 Saved from the flood: Gen. 6:5-9:1, 7; 2 Pet. 2:5 Spared from Sodom: Gen. 19:1-29 God relents from wiping out the nation: Exod. 32:1-29 Catechism links The universal destination of goods: CCC 2401-2449

Authors Alice Camille

holiness happiness joy beatitudes blessed

Restricted
The inner word

30 Jan 2011 - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Today's readings show the special place the poor and the just have in God's heart. Consider the following questions as you ready yourself to preach on this week's readings, which include the Beatitudes, one of the great passages from all of religious literature: How can you lead the members of your parish to be even better ministers to the hungry, the poor, the abandoned, the disabled? In what ways have the times you felt weak actually made you stronger? "The Lord protects strangers," says today's psalm. Are there strangers in your community who need your and your community's protection? Are there others, like Catholics who have left the church, whom you could welcome and thus make them "strangers" no more?

Poor poverty beatitudes stranger
School draws a bead on student's rosary

06 Jun 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

On the night he was handed over, the second reading tells us, Jesus asked his followers to drink from the cup in remembrance of him. A 13-year-old boy who was suspended for wearing a rosary to school says he did so in remembrance of his younger brother, who died while clutching it after a bicycle accident. A federal judge Tuesday ordered Oneida Middle School in New York State to reinstate Raymond Hosier pending a hearing into whether the suspension violated his civil rights. Hosier originally received a one-week suspension for refusing to take off his prayer beads or hide them under his shirt two weeks ago. Hosier, saying he won't go to school without the rosary, was suspended again last week when he returned to school with it. Other school districts have punished students for wearing rosaries. In February a 14-year-old boy in Haverstraw, in southeastern New York, was suspended a day for wearing a rosary. And in Texas a Dallas high school student was told to stop wearing her rosary in September 2008. In recent years rosaries worn by celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Dakota Fanning, and soccer star David Beckham have made the Catholic prayer beads popular as jewelry. Source: An article by the Associated Press

Civil rights raymond hosier rosary beads rosary oneida middle school

Restricted
Beatification of Cardinal Newman raises eyebrows for some . . .

19 Sep 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“No servant can serve two masters,” Jesus says in this Sunday’s gospel about human loyalties divided between God and money. During a visit to Great Britain this Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century English churchman who struggled with deeply divided spiritual loyalties before converting from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. Newman remains a problematic figure within the Anglican church he left, and the pope's beatification of him could heighten tensions between churches already divided over many issues, including the thorny question of loyalty to the papacy. Vatican officials insist the pope's action isn't another slap in the face to a church already hobbled by internal divisions, noting that the process began in 1958. They call Newman a bridge figure who foreshadowed the Second Vatican Council and could help heal the wounds of division. The preparations for the pope’s trip have suffered a number of setbacks, and thousands of tickets remain unsold for the large open-air Masses. Meanwhile, secular groups have led protests against the expense of the state visit at a time of public sector cuts. Further complicating matters midweek, Cardinal Walter Kasper, a senior aide to the pope who recently retired as the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, abruptly pulled out of the visit after embarrassing quotes surfaced in an interview he gave this week to a German news magazine, Focus. In an article headlined “A Third World country,” he was quoted as saying: “When you arrive at Heathrow you think at times that you’ve landed in a Third World country.” His secretary, Msgr. Oliver Lahl, said the remark was a reference to the diverse, multicultural population of Britain. Kasper was also quoted as saying that Britain was a “secular and pluralist” country “rife with atheism” in which there was a “distance from God.” Source: Articles by Nick Squires and Martin Beckford for Telegraph.uk.co and Nicole Winfield for Associated Press

great britain benedict xvi walter kasper john henry newman beatification

Restricted
. . . Beatification raises hope for others

19 Sep 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Just as Saint Paul was “teacher of the Gentiles,” campus ministers in the U.S. hope Cardinal John Henry Newman’s beatification will help them make the British scholar, philosopher, and writer more familiar to today's college students. Newman, who died in 1890, established the Catholic University of Ireland (now University College, Dublin) and wrote the widely influential The Idea of a University, a series of lectures in which he examines the role of religion and morals in a university setting and liberal versus professional education. He is often associated with campus ministry because of his emphasis on students developing and integrating their faith and intellect. He also advocated that Catholic students who attend public universities be given a place to gather to support and encourage one another in their faith. Contemporary Newman centers—where Catholic college students meet for liturgies, prayer, service work, discussion groups, and socializing—are located on the campuses of many public university campuses. Barbara McCrabb, assistant director for higher education at the Secretariat of Catholic Education of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, described Newman's beatification as a great opportunity for Catholic colleges and Catholic campus ministry programs to gain a deeper understanding of him. This summer she surveyed campus ministry programs around the country and found that many of them were linking campus programs to the beatification with special lectures, liturgies, courses, and events. Father Eric Nielsen, director of St. Paul's University Catholic Center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, said Newman has had more of an influence on those who lead campus ministry today than the students themselves. In part that's simply because "it's a rare student who would pick up Grammar of Assent [one of Newman's books] and get excited about Cardinal Newman," he said. Nielsen hopes sainthood is not far off for Newman because it would raise his profile even more and likely promote his writings to college students. But in the meantime ministry leaders continue to take up Newman's challenge to help students integrate faith and intellectual study and ultimately "bring Christ to the world." Source: An article by Carol Zimmermann for Catholic News Service

john henry newman beatification college students newman centers

Restricted
Catholic schools get high marks, set high standards

30 Jan 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Teachers are often called upon to act as peacemakers, who are among those praised and blessed by Jesus in this Sunday’s gospel account of the Beatitudes. Catholic school teachers deserve our praise for their often tireless work on behalf of young people. There is no better time to show that appreciation than this coming week (Jan. 30-Feb. 5), which is Catholic Schools Week. The theme this year is “Catholic Schools: A+ For America," celebrating the fact that Catholic schools are an added value (“a plus”) for the nation, according to the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA). Because of their traditionally high academic standards and high graduation rates, all supported by strong moral values, Catholic schools and their graduates make a definite contribution to American society, the NCEA said. “What may not be as widely recognized are the outstanding successes recorded by students of low-income families and students from the inner-city," said Karen Ristau, president of the NCEA. "That’s certainly a plus for many portions of the American population.” Marie Powell, executive director of the Secretariat of Catholic Education at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted: “This year nearly 30 percent of the nation’s 2.1 million Catholic school students come from minority populations. Enrollment of students who are not Catholic has increased to 14.5 percent, an indication that many diverse families seek the benefits of a quality education with moral underpinnings.” Schools typically celebrate Catholic Schools Week with Masses, open houses, and activities for students, administrators, faculty, school staff, the community, and families. The 7,094 Catholic elementary and secondary schools make up 44.4 percent of all private schools in the United States. Source: Press releases by ncea.org

beatitudes karen ristau catholic schools catholic schools week national catholic education association ncea marie powell minorities

Restricted
The story of a winning team, a sore loser, and a tie

30 Jan 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

After being fired simply for wearing a tie honoring his recently deceased grandmother’s favorite football team to work on Monday, John Stone may fit the Beatitude’s description of one who has been persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Fortunately, he now has a new job with an employer who perhaps matches the Beatitude’s potrait of the merciful. Stone was fired Monday from his job as a car salesman at Webb Chevrolet in the Chicago suburb of Oak Lawn for wearing a Green Bay Packer’s tie to work the day after the Packers beat the hometown Chicago Bears in the NFC championship game. He explained to his boss that his grandmother, a longtime Packers fan, had died days before the big game. But that kind of sentimentality didn't impress dealership manager Jerry Roberts. Roberts acknowledged he fired Stone for wearing the tie but said the dealership has done promotions involving the Bears and was afraid the tie could alienate the team's fans and make it harder to sell cars. Enter Guy Cesario, general manager of Chevrolet in Homewood. "We're always looking for good sales value and John strikes me as someone who has really good family values and he's excited to work," Cesario said. Stone says he was never told about the promotions, and as far as regrets, the 34-year-old father of two says he doesn't have any. Speaking of Roberts, Stone said, "If I had never worn this tie, I would never know his true feelings about me." Source: A report by Gerry Hearne and Muriel Clair for WGN-TV News

beatitudes john stone green bay packers jerry roberts

Restricted
Man who saved other lives fights for his own

10 Apr 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday the readings are filled with testimony of how God can restore life. A San Francisco Giants baseball fan who dedicated his life as a paramedic to saving those near death is in critical condition after being nearly beaten to death when he wore a Giants’ jersey to a Dodgers game in Los Angeles. Bryan Stow, 42, from Santa Cruz, California, has signs of brain damage and remains in a medically induced coma with half his skull removed to allow his injured brain to swell, his cousin John Stow told reporters. He was slammed to the ground while walking through the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the game and repeatedly kicked in the head. The father of two young children and a fervent Giants fan, Stow attended the team’s game against the Dodgers with two other friends, all proudly wearing their Giants jerseys. While exiting the game Stow became separated from his friends and then was attacked. When the other two men rushed to his aid, they were beaten as well. Police are sorting through dozens of leads in an effort to track down the attackers, including a tip that the duo accosted another group of fans before attacking Stow. "This is a top priority. We have been receiving a steady stream of leads," Los Angeles police Capt. Dave Lindsay said. The event has devastated Stow's close-knit company, which provides emergency service across the country. The fact that he has dedicated his life to saving others make this event even more heartbreaking, his cousin said. "I got a phone call from him the first time he had ever saved someone," he recalled. "The person was dead on arrival from a heart attack, and Bryan was able to work on him and save his life. That was a pinnacle for Bryan. All the work and everything he went through and he was able to bring someone back. It was the most gratifying feeling he ever had." Source: An article by Tori Richards for AOL News

san francisco giants los angeles dodgers beating bryan stow

Restricted

← Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next →