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Exploring the word

03 Oct 2021 - Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

The first human words recorded in the Bible occur at the creation of the woman. The man had nothing to say about his own creation, perhaps subdued at the idea of conversation with the Creator. And then woman arrives on the scene, and the man, who has made no utterances apart from the day-in, day-out grind of inventing names for the animals, suddenly becomes positively poetic: “This one, at last, is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh!” Because naming things has been the only occupation of his short life thus far, he promptly names this newcomer. He is literal about it, too, imagination probably flagging after long hours of saying, “Bluebird, blackbird, yellow-bellied sapsucker . . .” The newcomer is simply heralded as “woman,” the one taken out of the man. What else can this fledgling male say about woman, in his limited experience? He has no idea yet how far out of man she can be. Men have had other names for women since then, and women have come up with plenty of things to call the men in their lives as well. Like scripture says, the two cling to each other, need each other, and sometimes come together as closely as a single life. A lot more poetry has come out of that union. Yet all too often, these two are also deeply divided, like a bone dislocated from its fellow bone, or flesh torn away from flesh. In many lands, times, cultures, and contexts, men and women have been so far from each other as to be virtual enemies of the other’s fulfillment. For the sake of accuracy, it should be said that patriarchy more often prevents the progress of women, because institutions are better than individuals at getting their way. Yet the scene at the close of Genesis chapter 2 is tranquil and hopeful. The man has found his woman. He seems enthusiastic at the proposition. This time, it’s the woman who has nothing to say about the situation in which she finds herself. “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” The Pharisees betray their patriarchal worldview when they put their question to Jesus. While it’s true that the ruling in Deuteronomy chapter 24 does presume that the man initiates divorce proceedings, the response of Jesus acknowledges that a woman might also divorce her husband. Josephus sides with the Pharisees in his description of who divorces whom, but Jewish texts from Egypt five centuries earlier suggest that Jewish women of the Diaspora, at least, had a procedure for divorcement. Roman women of the period certainly did, and Jesus (or Mark) was aware of that. What no one here mentions is that the circumstance of divorce described in Mosaic law is highly specific, not making the case for divorce so much as prohibiting a particular kind of remarriage, i.e., taking back an earlier wife who has had, in the meantime, a second husband. This particular wife has been “put away” twice because both husbands find “something obnoxious” about her, according to the Tanakh translation. (The NAB prefers “something indecent”; NRSV “something objectionable”; REV “something offensive”; the Douay and the KJV settled for “some uncleanness.”) My personal favorite is Today’s English Version, which says plainly “something about her he doesn’t like.” It’s not clear why a man would remarry such a woman, but this is no time for an analyst. This specific case regarding a vaguely unsatisfying woman was in time extrapolated into the full-scale machinery of chronic divorce. It is to this, we might imagine, that Jesus objects in such strong and absolute terms, throwing the Sixth Commandment into the balance for good measure. What’s lawful today Homiletic theory dictates that Sunday Mass is no time for catechesis. But when it comes to the church’s teaching on marriage (like Jesus, we don’t have teachings on divorce), so much misinformation abounds that it might be considered “good news” to offer clarifications. Matrimony is a sacrament of the church: a call to fidelity, a vocation to family life, a consecrated union for the betterment of the partners. The church is primarily concerned with the sacramental character of that bond and whether it is properly understood and lived out. Where a valid sacrament exists, nothing can diminish or deny it, just as consecrated bread and wine remains the Body and Blood of Christ, and the baptized remain baptized. Divorce, when it occurs, is not a sin. Marriages end for a lot of reasons that may include occasions and habits of sin, but the civil action of divorce does not negate a Catholic’s standing with the church. (The Council of Baltimore in 1843 did call for excommunicating the divorced, but that censure was removed by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1884.) Anyone convicted by a sense of moral wrongdoing, including individuals whose marriages have ended, should feel welcome to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation. Many believe they are automatically excommunicated if they remarry after divorce. The American bishops lifted that excommunication in 1977. Many fear that, should they pursue an annulment, it will “erase” their marriage and make their children illegitimate in the eyes of the church. Annulment is concerned with the validity of the sacrament and makes no claims about the reality of the civil marriage. The church concerns itself only with the sacramental bond. Applying the word “Let the children come to me” Jesus wasn’t setting a tender trap when he came down hard on the separation of husbands and wives. It is instructive that Mark segues immediately into Jesus welcoming the children, which is for church and society the fruit of marriage: to create a welcoming, nurturing environment for the next generation. Modern life (and its conventions and chemistry) has separated the institution of marriage from that of family. Marriage is now largely regarded as a matter of romance. Family is too often described in terms of choice, vanity, or affordability. Which catapults us into a generation in which we now find ourselves arguing the very definition of marriage. Somewhere in all this, the church is calling us to consider not gay bashing or a war on single moms, but the idea that matrimony is consecrated because life is sacred, and matrimony is the basket around which the next generation is woven. If we could all start there, we might get somewhere really good. Related scripture links Original teaching on divorce: Deut. 24:1-4 Upholding the absolute teaching on marriage: Luke 16:18 Exceptions to the absolute teaching: Matt. 5:31-32; 19:8-9; 1 Cor. 7:10-16 Other biblical uses of the teaching: Isa. 50:1; Jer. 3:1, 8 Catechism links Sacrament of Matrimony: CCC 1601-1658

Authors Alice Camille

patriarchy Divorce Adam and Eve church teaching on marriage Matrimony sacramental bonds

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It's good to be together

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Sacrament: First Communion Reading: John 6:35 IT'S SO GOOD TO BE TOGETHER. Everybody is here. All you wonderful children of our community are here with your families: mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts and uncles and cousins. Godparents and grandparents are here; a special welcome to all the grandparents with us today. We know you are instrumental in maintaining and passing on our Catholic faith and traditions to the next generation. “I am the bread of life,” Jesus says. What we celebrate today, what we celebrate every time we gather for Mass, for Eucharist, for Holy Communion, is the life of Jesus in us. We say it on Sunday; we’ll say it today when we recite the Creed together: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life.” That means it’s the Spirit of Jesus in us that gives us life. We can feel Jesus in us right now. Are you alive? Do you feel life in you? That’s the Holy Spirit of Jesus in us giving us life. We call it “Holy Communion” because it’s good to be together. That’s what “communion” means: being together. To celebrate this great gift, this gift of life in us, we eat and drink the very real Body and Blood of Christ, the sacred, living presence of Christ in the form of bread and wine. And today, dear children, you join all the grownups in this celebration, receiving this Holy Communion with us for the first time. Why do we call it “Holy Communion”? Well, first of all because it’s holy. It reminds us that the life we receive from God is holy; that the life in every living thing is holy. This holiness of life begins when our lives first begin in our mother’s body. (Thank you, mothers, for welcoming us into your bodies and into the world. And for bringing us to birth and bringing us up.) And “holy” means it’s from God. YOU are from God. Your life is holy. God created you and gave you the Holy Spirit of life. So when we receive the sacred Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion, we are reminded that we are holy and our lives are holy. And “holy” means that we honor and treasure this life, every life, because life is sacred. That’s why Jesus taught us to love our enemies, even to care for the people we don’t like. So when we hear about the poor people of the world who suffer from hunger, who have no place to live, who have to run from their homes because of war or gangs, we have to do something about it. We have to help. There are children just like you who are at the borders of America, on the other side of the wall, who have had to run from their neighborhoods in other countries because of violence or because their parents were too poor to feed them. They need our help because their lives are holy. And there is enough room and food and wealth in America to share with them and help them. (PAUSE) And our planet Earth, the place where we all live, needs our help. Earth is suffering from misuse and it will become too hot for us to live here. Our lives are holy and we must find ways to heal the Earth. We call it “Holy Communion” because it’s good to be together. That’s what “communion” means: being together. When we are together like this, like we are right here, with family and friends and neighbors together with us, we are in communion with each other. And it is good to be together. And together with us is God. Whenever we enter our church, we are in the presence of God, the very REAL Presence of God. When we assemble to celebrate Mass, God is with us. Jesus our Lord is present with us. When the word of God is proclaimed, right here where the reader reads the readings, Christ is present in the words we hear. That’s why it’s so important for us to listen carefully to the readings. It is God speaking to us from the Bible. God is even present in the priest because he welcomes all of us to the table of the Lord’s Supper and speaks the words of Jesus that make the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. And Christ is really present in the Holy Communion that we eat and drink together. Why? Because Jesus wants to be in communion with you and me. God wants to be the life in you and me. God wants to be together with you and me and all of us. Because it’s always good to be together.

Authors Father Paul Boudreau

sacrament First Communion John 6:35 First Holy Communion

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19 May 2024 - Solemnity of Pentecost, Cycle B

As a youth minister, I taught teens about that oft-overlooked third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. How else to prep them for the sacrament of Confirmation, after all? Many have called Confirmation a “mini-Pentecost,” each of us receiving the Spirit in a way similar to the disciples in the Upper Room. But as the bishop says in the Confirmation rite, we’re “sealed” with the gift of the Holy Spirit—it’s not as if the Spirit hasn’t been with us all along. I remember my own early seeking of the Spirit, expecting something as dramatic as the Upper Room. I attended a Charismatic Catholic prayer meeting, hoping for a momentous experience, but what I found was people tenderly whispering “thank you, Jesus” over and over. I went to a hymn sing where Pentecostal attendees quite naturally sang with uplifted arms during very moving songs. I came to realize that the Holy Spirit is just as present in the lector at Mass whose voice cracks with emotion while proclaiming scripture. It’s what causes worshipers to interject “Amen!” with powerful preaching. The Spirit stirs in us any time we “let go and let God,” when we lead with our heart instead of our head.

Authors Mary Lynn Hendrickson

seeking the spirit sacrament of confirmation

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Believe in forgiveness

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Sacrament: Reconciliation FORGIVENESS IS HARD. The hurt of offense or injury churns in my memory and calls forth resentment and bitterness from my heart. These feelings of hostility make me want to take revenge and be anything but forgiving toward the one who hurt me. I know I have to forgive. But you know what? I don’t have to forgive. I can instead carry the hurt, hold a grudge, nurse the resentment. I can burden myself with the bad chemistry that rises up in my body every time I see the unforgiven person or remember the unforgiven offense. And as it turns out, NOT forgiving is even harder than forgiving. It’s a daily reminder of things and people that hurt me. It calls forth from me the person I don’t want to be. Given time and the daily rehearsal of the grievance in my mind, the ill will in me can eventually evolve into hatred. And hatred is the hardest of all to bear. Here’s the problem: Forgiveness lies at the center of our Christian faith. We profess belief in the forgiveness of sins every time we recite the Apostles Creed in the Rosary or the Nicene Creed at Mass. In the Eucharist we eat and drink the living flesh and blood of our forgiveness. The chalice of Christ’s blood is poured out for us “for the forgiveness of sins.” The Lamb of God take away the sins of the world. There’s a lot of forgiveness happening. In the Eucharist we eat and drink the living flesh and blood of our forgiveness. The chalice of Christ’s blood is poured out for us “for the forgiveness of sins.” The Lamb of God take away the sins of the world. There’s a lot of forgiveness happening. That means there’s a lot of forgiveness in me because I am a sinner just like you. And that forgiveness is just aching to get out to forgive the sins of the world. So if I hold it in, I’m blocking that living push in me to forgive. And that puts me in an awkward position. When we’re absolved in Confession, the priest says that the Father of mercies has “sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins.” So Christ in me, who from the cross begged forgiveness for his accusers, his betrayer, his tormentors, his torturers, those who condemned him, the crowd who shouted “Crucify him!”, the soldiers who crowned him with thorns, tore off his robe, flogged him, hammered nails into his hands and feet and drove a spear into his side, lives in me FORGIVING! And I’m not going to FORGIVE??? You can see how that would put me in conflict with the Holy Spirit, the giver of life in me. This would not be good. If my relationship with God, the very foundation of my being and the source of my life, is essentially conflict, then what’s the rest of my life like? Psychologists tell us that we project onto others what’s inside us. So we wonder where all the conflict comes from in our relationships. We fight and argue with our spouses, our children, our parents, our in-laws, our siblings, our coworkers, our friends and neighbors. People tell me all the time. “I get so mad,” people say. “And I don’t know why!” Why!?! Because when it comes to forgiveness we are basically in conflict with God. The Lord is forgiving and we’re not. What are we to do? The same thing we always have to do: REPENT. That simply means to CHANGE YOUR MIND. You say you can’t forgive? I say you can. You CAN do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens you. What we need to do is practice what we believe. It’s like the guy lost in New York who asked a passerby, who happened to be a concert musician, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The musician answered, “Practice, practice, practice.” Forgiveness takes practice. It’s like learning to play the saxophone. When you first try to play, it sounds terrible. But you keep at it and practice every day and pretty soon you can play a little song. Stay with it and maybe in a year or so you’re having fun; you’re rockin’ and rollin’. Keep practicing and some day you’re Stan Getz or Kenny G! It’s the same way with forgiveness. Practice each day. Start off small. Forgive the little stuff: the people in the super market who block the aisle. Say in your heart, “I forgive you.” The guy who cuts you off on the highway: “I forgive you.” The co-worker who snaps his gum: “I forgive you.” Work your way up to the big hurts. Practice every day, “I forgive you” to the one who’s hardest to forgive. Even when it sounds phony, say it. Even when you don’t feel it, say it. Forgiveness isn’t a feeling; it’s a belief. Practice, practice, practice. Forgiving people changes everything. It calms you down. It brings you peace. It takes away your anger. Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

Authors Father Paul Boudreau

sacrament reconciliation Forgiveness practice

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It’s time to unwrap your gifts

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Sacrament: Confirmation I EXCITEDLY ripped the red Christmas paper off the large package my mom had placed in front of me. My jaw dropped in awe as I uncovered my favorite gift of all time: an Ohio State football helmet, complete with a jersey and football pants. My brothers shouted in excitement as they uncovered similar gifts. I realized I could enjoy the football gear not just by myself but also with them. Playing football in the backyard with my brothers was my favorite pastime, and these jerseys and helmets took it to the next level. To this day, they remain the best gifts I have ever received. The excitement and fun of those presents can never be replicated. Yet, I have received some spiritual gifts that, while I didn't unwrap them with the same outward joy and excitement, are infinitely more valuable. These gifts are the sacraments. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that sacraments “are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ” (CCC 1131). In this context, efficacious means that it does what it signifies. If a sacrament were merely a sign, it would be like a “Please wash your hands” sticker. It tells you to wash your hands, but it doesn’t make you do so because it's just a sign. On the other hand, when a priest says the words of absolution with his hand outstretched over you, your sins are, in fact, forgiven. It is effective, or efficacious. Sacraments are holy mysteries through which God imparts grace for us to share in His divine life. We have been given these gifts, and we must unwrap them so that they might fully benefit us. The sacraments are signs that not only direct us where to go but also show us that God is already here, in our midst, ever present, as close to us as our next breath. And now today, you make your Confirmation. Like my childhood gift that wasn’t just something for me, but also to share with my brothers, Confirmation will strengthen you for a greater purpose. It will empower you to live out your baptized faith with the support of the Holy Spirit. Through your Confirmation, you will receive the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and awe. Confirmation will strengthen you for a greater purpose. It will empower you to live out your baptized faith with the support of the Holy Spirit. Through your Confirmation, you will receive the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and awe. Scripture outlines the important connection between Baptism and Confirmation. The apostles would pray for the new believers “that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 8:14-17). Then they would “place their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.” This act of “laying on hands” is what will happen today, as the bishop anoints you. You will receive the Holy Spirit and all the spiritual gifts you need to live a life in Christ—to be a good person, a kind person, a loving person, a forgiving person, a wise person. Confirmation is one of the sacraments of initiation, along with Baptism and the Eucharist, that lays the foundation of our spiritual life. Through these three sacraments we receive God’s grace, that is, God’s many gifts and blessings, and partake in God’s divine life. As you grow in faith, remember the gifts you have received today. Don’t leave them unwrapped; instead carry them with you constantly—just like you would a favorite gift—just like I did with that Ohio State helmet. When you are worried or troubled, remember that the Holy Spirit has given you the gift of fortitude. The spirit will help you be brave and strong and make wise choices. Who wouldn’t want to unwrap such wonderful gifts! And as followers of Jesus, today confirmed in your faith, you will want to share these gifts with others. You will want to be a sign to others of Christ’s love. The divine life that flows through you is meant to be given to others. That’s what is so special about the sacrament of Confirmation. It gives you the strength and confidence to talk about your faith to others and spread to the Good News of God’s love. It’s time to open the gifts of your Confirmation. Let Christ transform you through this sacrament to bring his light to the world and become who God is calling you to be.

Authors Joseph Peach

sacrament confirmation

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12 Jan 2025 - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle C

Before celebrating his first Baptism, a newly ordained priest took special care to make sure everything was ready: his book of the rite, the oil, the candles, the white stoles. The Baptism seemed to go smoothly—he got all eight of the children’s names right—but as he was getting ready to read the concluding prayer, one of the grandmothers touched his sleeve and whispered gently, “You forgot to pour the water.” Sacraments have always been communal events. Luke sets the scene of Jesus’ Baptism by first describing the crowd: “The people were filled with expectation.” Everything we understand about sacraments tells us that it was the presence of the crowd—their energy and anticipation for what was to unfold, the prayers and wonderings held fervently in each heart—that allowed the flow of God’s grace to be made manifest in Jesus. This is how we can and must enter every sacramental experience: as full, conscious, and active participants, ready to be conduits for the flow of grace that God is continually pouring out. The celebrant leads, but the members of the community are essential, adding their prayers and intentions to the proceedings—and sometimes remembering what the celebrant forgot.

Authors Ann O'Connor

baptism sacraments sacramental experiences Participation Community

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Homily stories

12 Jan 2025 - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle C

Before celebrating his first Baptism, a newly ordained priest took special care to make sure everything was ready: his book of the rite, the oil, the candles, the white stoles. The Baptism seemed to go smoothly—he got all eight of the children’s names right—but as he was getting ready to read the concluding prayer, one of the grandmothers touched his sleeve and whispered gently, “You forgot to pour the water.” Sacraments have always been communal events. Luke sets the scene of Jesus’ Baptism by first describing the crowd: “The people were filled with expectation.” Everything we understand about sacraments tells us that it was the presence of the crowd—their energy and anticipation for what was to unfold, the prayers and wonderings held fervently in each heart—that allowed the flow of God’s grace to be made manifest in Jesus. This is how we can and must enter every sacramental experience: as full, conscious, and active participants, ready to be conduits for the flow of grace that God is continually pouring out. The celebrant leads, but the members of the community are essential, adding their prayers and intentions to the proceedings—and sometimes remembering what the celebrant forgot.

Authors Ann O'Connor

baptism sacraments sacramental experiences Participation Community

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