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Homily stories

08 Nov 2015 - Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Few banks offer them anymore, but Christmas club accounts were once popular ways to save for holiday spending. You put away a small amount every week for a year, earned a tiny bit of interest, and couldn’t access the money until November. My grandmother did this for all 13 of her grandchildren. At Thanksgiving, she presented us with our holiday money. It was the same amount each year and it wasn’t much, but to a small child, it seemed like a king’s ransom. (Although one year, my cousin Daniel suggested we get a raise for inflation. His request was denied.) Strings—of a good kind—were most definitely attached to the gift. We were supposed to spend it on others—primarily on Christmas presents for our family. And we had to donate a portion of it to a charitable cause; we could choose how much and to what, which was an empowering decision for a kid. However, this wasn’t entirely a lesson about giving. Grandma said we could also buy something small—emphasis on small—for ourselves. We didn’t have to prove what we did with it, and she never asked, but knowing that it wasn’t an easy sacrifice for her to save that money made us want to do the right thing.

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

giving gifts

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The inner word

24 May 2015 - Solemnity of Pentecost, Cycle B

In the Pentecost Day reading from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul notes the different kinds of abilities and forms of service each member of the Christian community has. His point, however, is that all these gifts come from one place, “the same God,” and that they all exist for one purpose: the benefit of the community. Paul may have been responding to some people in the church of Corinth who were using their talents to advance themselves past others. Whatever the situation, Paul presents Christians then and now with a challenge: to recognize and cultivate the gifts you have and use them to do the most possible good for all.

Community gifts Pentecost

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Sign & sacrament

16 Nov 2014 - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Any gift from God is an occasion for our greatest praise. Christ, however, often reminds us that praise merely begins our acceptance of God’s grace. What follows is responsibility. The act of giving not only displays God’s love, but also God’s trust. Booker T. Washington touched upon the complex nature of this gift when he said, “Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him.” By taking responsibility for the gifts God has given us, we confirm both our faith in God and God’s faith in us. Look at the particular gifts you have been given and how you can use them to move the world toward God.

Trust gifts

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The inner word

02 Jan 2011 - Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Cycle A

In preparing to preach and preside at this celebration of the "manifestation" of the Lord, think of the ways you reveal the mystery of Jesus' presence and the power of his message in your ministry, especially your preaching. What more can I do to bring light to darkness in my own spirit as well as the hearts and minds of those around me? Epiphany is a kind of "second Christmas." What "gifts" do I have to offer, and how can I best use them? Do I do everything I can to welcome people, just as the magi from the East were welcomed at the cradle of the infant Jesus?

Epiphany Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Light darkness gifts

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Who's listening?

02 Jan 2011 - Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Cycle A

Many cultures celebrate "Little Christmas" on the feast of the Epiphany. For them, that is the day of giving and receiving gifts. During these "Twelve Days of Christmas," some people will have been thrilled by the gifts they've received. Others may have been disappointed. Some may have felt they were able to select just the right gifts for loved ones, others may feel that for one reason or another, the gifts they chose weren't received as they'd hoped. And some are already worried about the "Ghost of Christmas Past," which will show up as bills in their mailbox soon. Today's readings can help put all the gift giving and receiving in context, since the greatest gift of all was offered by God whose Son came to dwell among us.

Epiphany Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord gifts christmas presents

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The inner word

10 Oct 2010 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

If you refuse to accept a gift you have nothing for which to be grateful. What gifts do you accept regularly? What gifts have you refused? When have you felt most grateful for a gift received? Would anyone looking from the outside consider you a person who is thankful for the gifts you've been given? What encourages a sense of gratitude in you? Consider God's faithfulness. Even when we are unfaithful, he remains faithful. Why? Because, Paul tells us, God is love and can't deny himself. Remember that love as you preach. Who draws your pity? Whose appreciation of your kindness has surprised you most? Whose lack of gratitude has disappointed you? In what ways has your own gratitude or lack thereof surprised others?

gratitude gifts kindness

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Exploring the word

09 May 2010 - Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

After the departure of a loved one, what's left is often an assortment of odd things that become surprisingly meaningful. Whether the person in question has gone to war, moved away, or joined "those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith," their parting gifts are precious. I survey the articles I've been bequeathed over the years: my father's well-worn flannel shirt, a grandmother's rosary, a whimsical cutting board in the shape of a pig, and a song that moves me to tears whenever I hear its sounding notes. These items are not valuable. They aren't especially beautiful to behold. What makes them priceless is the connection each provides to an absent one whose presence once made all the difference. On the night before he suffered, Jesus knew that he was leaving his friends. They seemed obtuse to this reality—though not because they hadn't been forewarned often. So Jesus says it plainly again: He is going away, but only to prepare a place for when they follow. After a few uncomprehending questions—Where are you going? How will we know the way?—his friends gradually grow quiet to receive his parting words. What does Jesus say to them on this final night? He talks about love; most people do. He talks about the love he has for them, the love they bear for him, and how love remains even though he departs from view. Jesus also offers a most tangible parting gift: an Advocate Spirit to provide continuity of guidance and teaching so that they won't be lost after he's gone. Finally he leaves them peace. He doesn't just "wish" them peace: He hands it over like a paperweight to keep their hearts from being ruffled by fear and distress. What do the disciples do with these gifts of love, guidance, and peace? Not much, initially. Like many of us stunned by separation and lost in a sea of deep emotion, they flail about as if they had nothing to hold onto when Jesus is taken from their midst. That's not an uncommon thing to do with parting gifts. After my father's funeral I couldn't bear to touch his shirt or even see it. I put it away in a closet where it hung for nearly a year. But the next winter I took it out, happy for the reminder it provided. And I took to wearing it, to keep his memory close, to allow him to be present to me again. It will take a little while, not long really, for the disciples to find room for the parting gifts they receive from Jesus. But when they do—and when we do—what's unleashed is the most powerful memory of all. Related scripture links Jerusalem Council according to Paul: Gal. 2:1-14 Jesus on peace: Matt. 5:9, 21-26, 38-48, 6:25-34; Luke 6:27-36, 8:22-25, 12:2-9, 22-34 Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done: Matt. 6:9-13 Kingdom now: Mark 1:15; Matt. 4:17; Luke 17:20-21 Catechism links Nature of the church: CCC 763-776; 857-865; 871-913 Holy Spirit: CCC 243-248; 692-693; 727-741; 1099; 2623

Authors Alice Camille

parting gifts

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The inner word

20 Mar 2016 - Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord, Cycle C

Isaiah’s beautiful description of his vocation could serve as a call for all Christians and people of faith: a gift from God, the willingness of people to use that gift, and the fortitude to withstand hardship. Think in terms of your own faith life. What abilities has God given you? How have you shared them? When have you felt tempted to turn from them? Know that in the end, God is your help and you will not be put to shame.

gifts

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Homily stories

13 Nov 2011 - Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Working in my dad's grocery store as a teen, I was taught that the customer is always right and to smile at them no matter what. One day as I was at the cash register, a stranger asked me for change for a $20 bill and then a ten and then a five. I was responding with my dazzling smile when my brother slammed the register drawer shut. Then he told the customer to get out of the store right away. I was dumbfounded. My brother explained that it was a scam and that the register at the end of the day would be at least twenty dollars short. He was right. The next time someone tried it on me, my smile vanished as I told him to leave before my brothers and I called the police. There are times to be nice and times to be not so nice. The parable of the talents remind us how "nice" God has been to bless us with so much. But with those gifts comes an important responsibility: to use them and share them in a way that they are not squandered. Should it surprise us that God is disappointed? He has given us a beautiful world and the technology to enjoy it without destroying it. But we wantonly use up our resources not to aid those less fortunate but for our own temporary pleasure. Instead of making our world a better place, we are destroying it and anyone who stands in our way. With all that God has given us comes a responsibility. When you think about it, God is being more than fair.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

gifts talents responsibility

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Homily stories

28 Nov 2010 - First Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

OUR HOUSE was broken into recently while my family and I slept soundly in our beds. We woke when we heard noise on the back porch, but it was too late. The thief was gone along with a purse filled with cash, credit cards, and keys. A hundred "if onlys" went through our heads. If only we'd double-checked that the back door was locked, if only we'd hidden the purse from view, if only we'd woken sooner and scared the no-goodnik away, if only we'd been more prepared. But then, of course, came the gratitude we all felt: Thank goodness no one was hurt, thank goodness all the thief got was a purse, thank goodness we're not so desperate as to feel compelled to steal. Perhaps we were more prepared than we realized--not for preventing the theft, but for counting our blessings. Counting our blessings is an essential part of the Advent preparation. The more aware we are of the gifts we've been given, the more able we are to appreciate the gift of Love that is to come. We may not know the hour of Love's arrival, but we can rest assured that nothing can prevent love from reaching us if we are steadfast. Death and death-dealing acts will not prevail. The thief, the liar, the betrayer, the murderer will never have the last word. The last word is, was, and always shall be reserved for the first Word--who is Love

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

counting blessings advent gifts Love

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