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23 Aug 2015 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Many among his disciples heard this and said, “This is tough teaching, too tough to swallow.” Jesus sensed that his disciples were having a hard time with this and said, “Does this throw you completely? What would happen if you saw the Son of Man ascending to where he came from? The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making. But some of you are resisting, refusing to have any part in this.” (Jesus knew from the start that some weren’t going to risk themselves with him. He knew also who would betray him.) After this a lot of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him. Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: “Do you also want to leave?” Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God” (from John 6). Taken from The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition by Eugene Peterson (ACTA Publications, 2014 ); actapublications.com.

Faith Commitment

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Homily stories

23 Aug 2015 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

In the first frame of a comic strip by Tom Toles, a man slouched in an armchair watches TV and hears, “Worldwatch Institute says we need to stop consuming the planet immediately or we lose it. It’s as simple as that.” In the next two frames there is silence until, at last, the fellow—dare we call him “Everyman”?—responds: “Decisions, decisions,” and we laugh at his self-delusion. When Joshua asks, bare-faced, “Who are you going to serve?” the people answer as if it’s obvious: “Far be it from us to serve any other God!” In the gospel, Jesus asks the wrenching question: “Do you also want to leave?” and we can shake our heads at those who do walk away because Jesus’ demands are so hard. If only we humans were not so complicated. In daily life, most choices do not present themselves as “Am I going to serve the one God or not?” or “Am I going to stick with Jesus or walk away from him?” We just read them as ordinary choices, unrelated to our spiritual life. So in case we’ve missed the point that we often frame life’s questions a self-referential way, there is a footnote in the cartoon’s last frame where the question is restated in painful honesty: “How much longer am I going to need [the planet]?” To be part of this believing congregation today implies that your answers are, “Far be it from me to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods.” You are answering Jesus in your heart: “Lord, to whom shall I go but you?” The problem is that when you cross this church’s threshold, life instantly becomes so much more complicated and it’s easy to complain, “Decisions, decisions.”

Authors Father Larry Janowski O.F.M.

Commitment

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Homily themes

30 Jun 2013 - Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

One who sets hand to the plow. When Jesus used a plow as a metaphor for pursuing the kingdom of God, he had in mind exactly what Elisha was doing in the first reading: Driving a team of oxen before a plow. Plows in the ancient Near East, though, were lightweight affairs that needed constant attention. Looking back too often created the likelihood of fouling up the work ahead. In a way it’s ironic: Jesus said to put a hand to the plow and not look back while Elijah wanted to Elisha to leave the plow and not look back! Both, however, are calling for the same thing: a complete change of life to follow the way of God with total dedication.

Commitment Change

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Sign & sacrament

23 Jun 2013 - Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Identity is the crucial issue of our time. We cannot inherit it; we have to make it. In that sense we do indeed construct our reality. But as the African maxim says, “I am because we are.” No personal sense of identity is formed on one’s own. And what is identity if not another way of saying one’s purpose? The connection with vocation is clear. Many refuse to make final commitments—in any major life decision—precisely because they cannot convince themselves that one identity is enough or even possible. In a time of heightened individualism, it takes much more courage than ever to accept an identity or commit to a vocation. For identity and vocation, only a definitive embrace from the depths of conviction and trust will do. –Excerpted from Pastoral Trends by Bryan Froehle For more “Sign & sacrament” material, search the Prepare the Word database by today’s scripture reading, a particular theme, or a special occasion.

identity Commitment

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The inner word

18 Nov 2012 - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Jesus uses the fig tree to show how his return is as inevitable as the turning of the seasons. If he says something is going to happen, it will, in time, happen. Jesus keeps his promises. In scripture promise is an important part of God’s relationship with God’s people; it’s also known as covenant: a commitment on God’s part to humanity that also frequently involves humanity’s response. What promises has God made to you? How has God kept them?

covenant promises Commitment

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Exploring the word

14 Oct 2012 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

If you could ask God for anything—and in fact, you can—what would it be? Prayers are often unimaginative and circular. For example every day I pray for the well-being of various relatives and friends who are troubled. This heartfelt prayer is followed by all the things I was taught to pray for: world peace, leadership, the needy, the dead. Sometimes I include something along the lines of: Lord, help me to do the right thing today! Rarely do I put a creative intercession out there, asking God for my heart’s delight. According to the tradition upheld in the Books of Kings, Ecclesiastes, and Wisdom, Solomon as a young man prayed big—and got what he asked for. Maybe as a younger person I prayed bigger than I do now. I remember wanting to be a saint; perhaps I prayed for that. I don’t know if I have the courage to make that same prayer every day now. Perhaps many of this week’s presiders once prayed bigger, hoping to serve God in a grand way. Maybe many of us were once willing to throw ourselves into the arms of God and be carried off—to a degree that would frighten us now. As we grow, do our prayers shrink? Most prayers become specific, local, and perhaps too careful. I have to be prodded not to pray simply for my sick nephew but for all sick children and their parents and caregivers. Not only my president but leaders of countries I don’t know anything about. I pray for God to grant what I want—not to give me what the divine will holds out for me. Prayers I seldom pray are: Take me into your heart, Lord, and let me feel your divine love for the world with my heart. Or: Take my life, my future, my abilities, my dreams, my relationships, and do with them whatever you want! I am certainly not inclined to pray: Where I am wrong, let me see rightly. Where I am selfish, make me pure of heart and mind and body and spirit. It’s likely that the size of our prayers reflects the weight of our commitment, or at least the measure of our confidence in God. Jesus might pray: Let this cup pass me by; only not my will, but yours be done. That takes trust. Mostly I pray to get rid of the cup and neglect the little matter of faith in God’s benevolence. When the fellow ran up to Jesus and got down on his knees, he was asking a little question, really, and wanted a little answer: Eternal life, as defined by these rules. Jesus invites him to set his sights on something bigger. Alas, that’s not what the fellow meant by religion. Related Scripture links Paul’s perfection under the law: Phil. 3:4-6 Confessions of sin: 2 Sam. 12:13; Isa. 6:5; Luke 5:8 Prayer of Jabez: 1 Chron. 4:9-10 Solomon’s prayer: 1 Kings 3:6-14 Catechism links Material wealth: CCC 1905-1917; 1928-1942; 2401-2449; 2534-2550 Salvation: CCC 161; 169

Authors Alice Camille

prayers Commitment Rules Trust

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Confessing is good for the soul—and the collection plate

16 Dec 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

When the crowds ask John the Baptist in this Sunday’s gospel, “What should we do?” he answers by encouraging acts of charity and generosity. Apparently the Sacrament of Reconciliation encourages some generous behavior as well. People who recall being absolved of their sins are more likely to donate money to the church, according to research published in the journal Religion, Brain and Behavior.Researchers from the University of London's Royal Holloway college and the University of Oxford in England assigned participants two memory tasks. In the first,they were asked to privately recall a sin that they had committed in the past, while in the second they recalled attending confession for this sin or imagined doing so, if they had not rfeally confessed.Each participant was also given an opportunity to donate to a local Catholic church by placing some money in an envelope. For some participants this donation was collected before they recalled being absolved of the sin, whereas for others the donation was collected afterward.The results showed that recalling (or imagining) absolution strongly increased church donations, with the effect more pronounced in participants who believed in divine judgment and engaged in religious activities such as reading the Bible or praying.Dr. Ryan McKay of the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway said: “The results of our study suggest . . . that 'releasing' people from their sin has a positive pro-social effect” (that is, it encourages helping, sharing, donating, cooperating, and volunteering activities). “This indicates that the Catholic ritual of Confession [sic] is an effective means of promoting commitment to the church."Homily hint: “Back in the day,” the Saturday afternoon line for “confession” was especially long in the lead-up to Christmas. Point out that genuine rejoicing is only possible for those whose burdens are light and hearts are free. Remind folks that the healing power of Reconciliation is very much alive and available to them. Source: A news release by Paul Teed for EurekAlert

reconciliation religion brain and behavior ryan mckay absolution royal holloway university of oxford Sins confession sin commitment to the church

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Divorce drops, marriages more stable

07 Dec 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Though God’s work may take some time, “the Lord does not delay his promise” of salvation, the second reading tells us this Sunday. Those who take their time before promising “to have and to hold” end up with more stable marriages, one of the reasons divorce rates have fallen in recent decades, studies demonstrate. It is no longer true that the divorce rate is rising, or that half of all marriages end in divorce. It has not been for some time. Even though social scientists have tried to debunk those myths, somehow the conventional wisdom has held. Despite hand-wringing about the institution of marriage, marriages in this country are stronger today than they have been in a long time. The divorce rate peaked in the 1970s and early 1980s and has been declining for the three decades since. About 70 percent of marriages that began in the 1990s reached their 15th anniversary (excluding those in which a spouse died), up from about 65 percent of those that began in the 1970s and 1980s. Those who married in the 2000s are so far divorcing at even lower rates. If current trends continue, nearly two-thirds of marriages will never involve a divorce, according to data from Justin Wolfers, a University of Michigan economist. Some of the decline in divorce clearly stems from the fact that fewer people are getting married—and some of the biggest declines in marriage have come among groups at risk of divorce. But it also seems to be the case that marriages have gotten more stable, as people are marrying later. Ultimately, a long view is likely to show that the rapid rise in divorce during the 1970s and early 1980s was an anomaly. It occurred at the same time as the feminist movement, which caused social and economic upheaval. Today, society has adapted, and the divorce rate has declined again. The marriage trends aren’t entirely happy ones. They also happen to be a force behind rising economic and social inequality, because the decline in divorce is concentrated among people with college degrees. For the less educated, divorce rates are closer to those of the peak divorce years. Homily hint: It is encouraging to see marriages holding up better than a few decades ago. All committed relationships deserve our support, especially those couples who might be struggling. Lend a supportive ear and encouraging words where you can. Source: An article by Claire Cain Miller for The New York Times

Divorce Marriage Commitment

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A commitment to reversing church decline

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

The proportion of people who are Catholic is likely to collapse over the next two generations—unless, of course, the way we see and do church changes. We are currently living in the “lag time” after church life has ceased to be part of official culture and official society and before we as church have figured out what to do about that. Think about it: There are really no more “Catholic countries,” no more “Catholic cities”; even “Catholic families” cannot be taken for granted. A spouse might have been raised in a different faith tradition, or none; children might not attend church, or have joined other traditions. We live instead in a time marked by personal commitment. That has the great strength of being deeply internalized but also has a shadow side: Inevitably many will miss an opportunity to even encounter faith in a meaningful way. Mass-based institutions, whether Catholic schools or collective practices of other kinds, can give a certain minimum formation, but their roles have long since become diminished. In any case, such institutions were only effective insofar as they reflected official society, culture, and of course the family itself. Catholic schools are useless for formation if children do not already come from seriously Catholic families. The proportion of Catholics who attend church will always decline, and the proportion of baptized Catholics will always decline, if the only Catholics who attend and the only ones who baptize their children Catholic are ones who themselves were born Catholic. Simply put, in that imaginary church—and that is what it is—Catholicism, like any religion, is doomed to decline when official culture and official society no longer work to automatically make someone Catholic. And progressive diminishment is not healthy. It is not what it means to be church or a disciple of the Lord. Christianity, one might say, is not called to diminishment! But before trends of diminishment can be reversed, we need to catch up with the reality that being Catholic is no longer—and will not again become—axiomatic with birth, with culture, or with a whole society. We need to turn to the personal, to practice a conversation of the heart of individual persons, and in so doing build and renew an enduring community of faith. © 2010, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

diminishment Commitment

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About as close to eternal love as we get

14 Feb 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday is Valentine’s Day, a day to celebrate the many splendors of love and friendship. And now, 83 years after they tied the knot, John and Ann Betar are ready to share the secrets of love everlasting on social media. For the first time, the longest-married couple in the nation take to Twitter Valentine’s Day to field questions on love and marriage from young romantics hoping to learn the secrets of their success. The Betars were asked if they could shed a little light on the secret to a happy marriage before the Twitter event. “Really, it’s just about devoting your time to understanding one another,” Ann said. “Live within your means: Be content with what you have in life,” John said. “Oh, and always agree with your wife!” Homily hint: The Betars offer wise advice in suggesting that we “be content” with what we have in life. There is a restlessness to the world we live in that can infect even the strongest bonds. Guard, protect, and honor your commitments. In doing so, you honor the one who made an everlasting covenant with us. Source: Valentine’s Day ‘tweethearts’: America's longest-married couple to share insights on love

Love Commitment Marriage

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