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The inner word

24 Jun 2012 - Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, Cycle B

Where does God or your faith “amaze” you? The neighbors and relatives of Elizabeth were amazed not only at the fact that the new baby was going to have a name different from his ancestors but also that Zechariah confirmed it by being released from his muteness—and the first thing Zechariah did was to burst forth blessing God. So, again: Where has God amazed you? Helped you to say something? What do you bless God for today?

zechariah elizabeth amaze

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Exploring the word

15 Aug 2010 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Cycle C

IT'S A HAPPY coincidence when the Solemnity of the Assumption falls on a Sunday. We get to share this delightful hour together in a way that's not possible mid-week, weary after work or on a hurried lunch break. The gospel reading is a rare one: Have you noticed there are no men in it? The focus is entirely on two women, pregnant women, an elderly lady and a girl. Their coming together is joyful, and the news, for a change, is all good. It's noted that the house Mary enters belongs to Zechariah. And the promises made to Abraham and "the fathers" become the source of celebration. The babies to be born, it's true, are both boys, but in this special hour we've entered a male-free zone in the Bible. The action involves women, the dialogue is entirely theirs, and the prenatal scene is deeply charged with estrogen! By the way, I want to hear from every preacher who uses the word estrogen in the assembly. But even if you don't, the unusually feminine energy in the visitation between Mary and Elizabeth is palpable. It reminds us that when it comes to salvation history, women are there. And not only "there" waiting to clear the dishes, but engaged, decisive, leading the prayer and the charge toward God's will being done "on earth as it is in heaven." We rarely get behind the curtain to the Bible's ladies room. We don't often enter the "Red Tent," as Anita Diamant says in her retelling of the patriarchal stories from the perspective of their wives. If you read the books concerning Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi, or Judith and her unnamed but trusty maidservant, you get another glimpse into the headstrong, powerful women who weren't content to sit on the sidelines of scripture but earned top billing in their generations. And you know, we don't have to retreat into biblical times to find such women. Look around every parish assembly. How many administrators, religious educators, parish council members, Eucharistic ministers, lectors, acolytes, music ministers, and contributors to the financial bottom line are women? If there were ever a Sunday when the women didn't show up, I think it would be obvious how crucial a role they play in "salvation present." If every mother stopped teaching her children their prayers at night, there would be no church in a generation's time. Saint Paul knew his churches across the Gentile world depended on his collaboration with women. That's why he insisted on making them heads of churches, like Lydia near Philippi, and partners in his own ministry of proclamation, like Prisca in Corinth. Women are not afterthoughts in the story of salvation. Even God assumed the essential nature of their cooperation. Related scripture links Creation story: Gen. 1:1-31 In the beginning was the Word: John 1:1-5, 14 King David dancing: 2 Sam. 6:14-15 The ark of rescue: Gen. 6-9, also 1 Pet. 3:20-22

Authors Alice Camille

Mary elizabeth anita diamant Assumption

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In other words

20 Dec 2015 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly, You’re so blessed among women, and the babe in your womb, also blessed! And why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears, The babe in my womb skipped like a lamb for sheer joy. Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true! (from Luke 1) Taken from The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition by Eugene Peterson (ACTA Publications, 2014); actapublications.com; 800-397-2282.

Mary elizabeth

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Homily stories

20 Dec 2015 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

We work so hard at Christmas. We spend time and money to make it beautiful, enjoyable, tasty and memorable, so it’s easy to think of it as something we do rather than something God does for us. Both Mary and Elizabeth are acutely aware of their ordinariness, their own “lowliness” as two women who know that the miracle happening in them is because of the favor and grace of God. This should take our breath away and stop us in our oh-so-busy pre-Christmas tracks. Jesuit poet Richard Stanley gets it right imagining Mary and Elizabeth at the Visitation: Elizabeth! Elizabeth, I ran all the way, / you may not believe me. . . I feel as big / as all outdoors. I will somehow feed / the hungry and the sore; that there is balm enough in me / for every pain; or anyone who’s bent with shame, my eyes alone might make straight again. Saint Francis of Assisi says we’re all “pregnant” with Christ as “mothers of Christ when we carry him in our heart and in our body by divine love and with a pure and sincere conscience. We give birth to him through holy works which should shine forth as an example for others.”

Authors Father Larry Janowski O.F.M.

Works Mary elizabeth

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Homily themes

20 Dec 2015 - Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

In the Gospel of Luke the Holy Spirit seems to be filling people all over the place. At the announcement of the coming of Jesus, the angel Gabriel told Mary, “The holy Spirit will come upon you.” John the Baptist was “filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.” When Mary visits Elizabeth, the latter became “filled with the holy Spirit” before she spoke. Later the adult Jesus would begin his ministry at the synagogue in Nazareth with the words: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” In Book Two of Luke’s account the disciples get the Spirit in a big way at Pentecost (Acts 2). Where is the Spirit showing up today, and who is it filling now?

john the baptist Mary elizabeth

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Opening remarks

25 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"For the world in its present form is passing away," we hear in this Sunday's reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians. President Obama quoted from First Corinthians in his inaugural address, as he made clear that change was on the way. "We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, 'the time has come to set aside childish things,' " he said in a reference to 1 Corinthians 13:11. "The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness," Obama said. The president signaled his intent to move away from the sharply partisan approach that has dominated political discourse in recent years. "What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them-that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works . . . ," he said. Obama stressed reconciliation in his address. "Because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve," he said. "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. . . . To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." Evoking President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Obama also stressed responsibility and service. "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility-a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world." Obama encouraged a sense of solidarity with earlier generations of everyday Americans, "obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long rugged path toward prosperity and freedom. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West: endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth," Obama said. "For us they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg, Normandy and Khe Sanh." Obama's chosen poet, Elizabeth Alexander, picked up on the same theme in her reading. "Sing the names of the dead who have brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and lettuce," Alexander read. "In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun. On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp-praise song for walking forward in that light." Source: An article by David Rogers for Politico.com and the inaugural address text published by the Associated Press

barack obama inauguration day first corinthians inaugural address elizabeth alexander

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U.S. scientists win Nobel Prize for Medicine

11 Oct 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the reading from the Letter to Hebrews we hear that the word of God is sharper than any sword, "penetrating even between . . . joints and marrow." Three U.S. researchers have been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their penetrating analysis into the health of cells and how chromosomes are protected against degradation, work that has proven important for understanding of cancer and other diseases, as well as aging. Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak will share the $1.4 million prize for research on structures at the end of chromosomes called telomeres and an enzyme that forms them, called telomerase. Some scientists speculate that telomeres could play a role in the aging of organisms as a whole. In addition, the telomerase enzyme appears to be overactive in most human tumor cells, lengthening their lives and allowing them to grow out of control. Efforts are now being made to turn that idea into a cancer therapy, including vaccines against cells with overactive telomerase. Certain inherited diseases, in contrast, are characterized by defective telomerase, which results in damaged cells. Source: An article by Carolyn Y. Johnson for the Boston Globe

aging telomerase telomeres jack szostak carol greider elizabeth blackburn chromosomes nobel prize in physiology or medicine cells cancer

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Sleepy seniors? Not so, study suggests

07 Feb 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“You built up strength within me,” says the psalmist in praise of the Lord this Sunday. While a good night’s sleep is necessary for strength and well-being, a study released Monday indicates older people need less sleep than they may have been led to believe by pharmaceutical companies selling sleep aids. “Healthy aging appears to be associated with reductions in the sleep duration and depth required to maintain daytime alertness,” researchers said. Elizabeth Klerman of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School and her colleague Derk-Jan Dijk of the Surrey Sleep Research Centre in England compared the sleep habits of those over 60 to those under 32. Those studied did not have any sleep disorders and didn’t complain about lack of sleep. Subjects went through various rounds of sleep and wake periods under varying conditions and were tested for sleepiness during the wake periods. The bottom line was that the seniors simply needed less sleep--about 1.5 hours less. Younger subjects slept for an average of 9 hours compared with 7.5 for older people. The results have implications for seniors who think they have insomnia. “There are definitely older people with insomnia,” Klerman said. “However, there may also be some older people who ‘create’ insomnia if they believe that they need 8 to 9 hours of sleep and therefore spend more time in bed [lying awake] than needed . . . . [and] they may start using medications needlessly,” Klerman said. Researchers warn, however, that many people in modern society suffer from sleep deprivation, which can lead to accidents on the job, higher risk of falls, and even death in elderly people. Source: An article by Robin Lloyd for LiveScience

medications senior citizens sleep aids seniors derk-jan dijk elizabeth klerman sleep

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Queen for a day in New York City

11 Jul 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday’s gospel, a scholar asks Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Set up to promote neighborly relations among the world’s nations, the United Nations received a visit Tuesday from Queen Elizabeth II, who last addressed the organization in 1957. The queen applauded the body’s peacemaking efforts. The 84-year-old Elizabeth squeezed in three stops in a whirlwind visit to New York City. After addressing the U.N. she paid homage at the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and at a garden memorializing British citizens who died in the attacks. In an address of just eight minutes, Elizabeth told a packed hall: “In my lifetime, the United Nations has moved from being a high-minded aspiration to being a real force for common good.” The queen recalled the dramatic changes since her last visit, when the United Nations had 82 members (it has 192 members now). “The achievements of the United Nations are remarkable," she said. "You have helped to reduce conflict, you have offered humanitarian assistance to millions of people affected by natural disasters and other emergencies, and you have been deeply committed to tackling the effects of poverty in many parts of the world.” Her speech, however, was not "to reminisce" but instead to focus on the hard work required ahead "if we are truly to be united nations," she added. "It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.” Source: Articles by N.R. Kleinfield for the New York Times, Colum Lynch for the Washington Post, Cheryl Sullivan for Associated Press, CNN, and Newsday

united nations queen elizabeth 9/11

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Elizabeth Edwards’ passing moves millions

12 Dec 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak,” urges the reading from the Book of Isaiah this Sunday. Enfeebled by her six-year battle with incurable cancer, Elizabeth Edwards died Tuesday. Edwards drew praise from many quarters for her courageous and graceful response not only to cancer but to the widely publicized infidelity of her husband, one-time presidential candidate John Edwards. Edwards' public battle with cancer--a diagnosis revealed the day John Edwards lost his vice-presidential bid in the 2006 election--earned the lawyer and mother of four a unique measure of respect, sympathy, and visibility for a politician's wife. She was widely seen as a loyal partner and trusted adviser determined to fight through personal hardships, as the couple had done with the death of their 16-year-old son, Wade. This Sunday’s reading form the Letter of James encourages fortitude in the face of hardship. The true extent of Elizabeth Edward’s hardship was only revealed when her husband’s affair with a campaign worker, which resulted in the birth of a child, was made public. Edwards later acknowledged that she had known about the affair even as she continued to support her husband through his failed 2008 bid for the presidency. Source: Articles by Patrik Jonsson for the Associated Press and by USA TODAY

cancer elizabeth edwards john edwards infidelity

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