Search

Results

Exploring the word

22 Jul 2012 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Sometimes the most important things are the least dramatic. Baptism, for most Catholics, happens at an age when we can scarcely appreciate it, yet it’s the start of our relationship with the community of faith that shapes every aspect of our lives as Christians. In a similar way parenthood is perhaps the most significant human relationship of all, and yet it’s mostly taken for granted. In 1994 President Clinton signed into law a national observance to honor parents, celebrated on the fourth Sunday of July. And here we are. Happy Parents’ Day. Parents are different than merely biological source points. They are the actual custodians of children and therefore may not share the same DNA at all. Because it’s so crucial to get parenting right, some of us seek re-parenting later on with mentors or therapists if the first custodians missed the mark. Even the most skillful and successful parents in the assembly will admit it’s not an easy job. It’s rarely convenient and always costly, but with the future in the balance would anyone argue that it’s not the most vital job to which we can commit the resources of our whole community? Full disclosure: I’m not a parent. Nor are many people here today. That, however, in no way absolves us from supporting, encouraging, and aparentssisting those who do take on this special responsibility. Shepherding is the issue in Jeremiah and in Mark. Do it badly (as the custodians of the nation and the religion did in Jeremiah’s time) and a generation may be lost to exile. Shepherd compassionately (as Jesus does) and a world might be saved. How often in church do we pray for church leaders, national leaders—and how rarely do we pray for parents? Yet they are the ones who shepherd our young ones long before popes and presidents can offer one word to them. We want the laws of this country to reflect our values and to responsibly defend life. And so they should. But it is the parents of this country, and the would-be parents, who hold the authority and responsibility of life in their hands every day. What can we as a community of faith offer them to prepare and equip them for this fundamental task? If this weekend’s homilist is hesitant to talk to parents about parenting, or to a community of families as one who lives celibately, then take this opportunity to delegate the task to someone who is particularly good at the vocation of parenthood. Someone who is both a skilled catechist and parent would be ideal to make the connections between the shepherd’s task and the guidance parents must offer. Proclamation, of course, is the start of support for parents. Then comes the fun part. Related Scripture links Good King Hezekiah: 2 Kings 18:5 The cry of the poor: Job 34:28; Ps. 34:16-18; Prov. 21:13 The parable of the lost sheep: Luke 15:1-7 Gospel shepherds: Matt. 2:6; 9:36; 10:5-6; 15:24; 18:12-14; 25:31-45; 26:31; Mark 14:27; Luke 2:8-20; John 10:1-30; 21:15-19 Jesus will lose none given to him: John 6:37-39 Catechism links Shepherds: CCC 525; 543; 553; 605; 754; 764; 881; 896; 1038; 1551

Authors Alice Camille

parents bill clinton parents' day

Restricted
The not-so-general welfare

08 Feb 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's readings Job laments his "months of misery, and troubled nights," while the psalmist tells how the Lord "sustains the lowly." Though economic misery is a fact, how those in distress will be sustained is another matter. Despite soaring unemployment and the worst economic crisis in decades, 18 states cut the number of people receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the main cash welfare program for families and children. Back in 1996, critics of the move to "end welfare as we know it," in President Bill Clinton's famous words, predicted this result. The trends raise questions about how well the revamped welfare system involving a great deal of state discretion is responding to growing hardships. Michigan cut its welfare rolls 13 percent, though it was one of two states whose October unemployment rate topped 9 percent. Rhode Island, the other, had the nation's largest welfare decline, 17 percent. Of the 12 states where joblessness grew most rapidly, eight reduced or kept constant the number of people receiving TANF. The program, which mostly serves single mothers, ended a 60-year-old entitlement to cash aid, replacing it with time limits and work requirements and giving states latitude to discourage people from joining the welfare rolls. While it was widely praised in the boom years that followed its creation, skeptics warned it would fail the needy when times turned tough. Even some of the program's staunchest defenders are alarmed. "There is ample reason to be concerned here," said Ron Haskins, a former Republican Congressional aide who helped write the 1996 law overhauling the welfare system. "The overall structure is not working the way it was designed to work. We would expect, just on the face of it, that when a deep recession happens, people could go back on welfare. "When we started this, Democratic and Republican governors alike said, 'We know what's best for our state; we're not going to let people starve,' " said Haskins, who is now a researcher at the Brookings Institution in Washington. "And now that the chips are down, and unemployment is going up, most states are not doing enough to help families get back on the rolls. Source: An article by Jason Deparle for the New York Times

states recession temporary assistance for needy families tanf welfare bill clinton unemployment ron haskins

Restricted
Touched by an angel

09 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Elijah is touched by an angel in this Sunday's reading from 1 Kings. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton has rarely been called an angel, but he seemed like one to two American journalists detained for nearly five months in North Korea. Laura Ling and Euna Lee were reunited with their families on American soil Wednesday morning after a carefully negotiated "rescue mission" involving Clinton. Although the White House and the U.S. State Department steadfastly insisted that the former president was on a "private humanitarian mission," the trip came about only after weeks of back-channel conversations involving academics, congressional figures, and senior White House and State Department officials, said sources involved in the planning. Ling addressed a crowd of news reporters and well-wishers that included Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore, who cofounded the television channel that employs the journalists. "Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea," Ling said. "We feared that at any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp. And then, suddenly, we were told that we were going to a meeting. . . . "When we walked in through the doors, we saw, standing before us, President Bill Clinton. We were shocked. But we knew instantly, in our hearts, that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end. And now we stand here, home and free." Clinton secured the women's release after meeting for several hours and attending a formal banquet with reclusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il. The highly unusual visit gave Kim--whose relationship with the United States has deteriorated steadily in recent months--a thin slice of the international legitimacy that has long eluded him. Source: An article by Glenn Kessler and Debbi Wilgoren for the Washington Post

bill clinton north korea prisoners kim jong il laura ling euna lee al gore

Restricted
Nobel Laureates call on nations to give peace a chance

29 Apr 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep,” Jesus says in this Sunday’s gospel, emphasizing the depth of his care and concern for the faith of his followers. Peace can be achieved if world leaders are willing to dedicate themselves deeply to making it happen and young people are encouraged to get involved, said leaders attending the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates 2012 in Chicago this week.Poverty, lack of education, and arms proliferation present daunting obstacles, speakers said, yet progress is possible if the commitment is there on the part of leaders and young people care enough to get involved. Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, ex-presidents Mikhail Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union and Lech Walesa of Poland, the Dalai Lama, and Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebad were among the Peace Prize winners attending during the three-day gathering of Peace Laureates and humanitarian organizations.Carter said that, as the last global superpower, the U.S. has a responsibility to be a leader in peace efforts and set an example to the rest of the world. Instead, he said, the U.S. is "too inclined to go to war" and is contemplating going to war again, "perhaps in Iran."It is the first time the Nobel Peace Prize summit has been held in North America. Former President Bill Clinton gave the keynote address Monday, during which he praised actor Sean Penn, who Wednesday received the 2012 Peace Summit Award for his work in Haiti. "Sean Penn, as I have always said, is not a drive-by celebrity in Haiti," Clinton said. "He is the only movie star I've ever known to move into a [muddy] tent for three months." Sources: Articles by Tammy Webber for The Huffington Post and Dahleen Glanton for the Chicago Tribune

bill clinton dalai lama jimmy carter nobel peace prize mikhail gorbachev lech walesa world summit of nobel peace laureates sean penn shirin ebad

Restricted