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Homily stories

17 Jul 2011 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Perhaps Jesus told the parable of the weeds and wheat because he was also worried about weeding too soon. That is, people can have the tendency to rush to judgment about the worth of others. There are countless people, late bloomers, who would not have made the grade in their profession or field if the decision to eliminate them had come too soon. After all, Michael Jordan was cut from his high-school basketball team. Thomas Aquinas was thought to have been too slow-witted to be a scholar. And Blessed Solanus Casey, whose fame as a spiritual guide became known worldwide, almost didn't make it through his first months of seminary. In the spiritual realm, especially, it may be difficult to determine which are the weeds and which are the wheat.

weeds wheat michael jordan thomas aquinas solanus casey judgment

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Egyptians to their president: Let your people go

06 Feb 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Egyptian people have endured some harsh experiences in the past week as they have risen up with a purpose that echoes the instruction in this Sunday’s first reading to “remove from your midst oppression” and “satisfy the afflicted” so that “your wound will quickly be healed” and “light shall rise for you in the darkness.” They want President Hosni Mubarak and those in his regime to resign immediately, but Mubarak has only offered not to run for reelection in September. The government struck back at its opponents on Wednesday, allegedly unleashing waves of pro-government provocateurs armed with clubs, stones, rocks, and knives in and around Tahrir Square in a concerted effort to rout the protesters who are calling for an end to Mubarak’s near-30-year rule. Egypt's health minister said the violence killed at least one person and wounded nearly 600. Several foreign journalists attacked by pro-government forces were among the injured. The military, which has stayed mostly on the sidelines during the weeklong unrest, broadcast a message on state television Wednesday night warning people to evacuate, saying that “violent groups” intended to burn down the square. Some fear the military will now get involved, heightening violence. In the face of calls from leaders in Washington and Europe for peaceful and rapid political change, the Egyptian foreign ministry released a defiant statement in state news media saying that such calls from “foreign parties” had been “rejected and aimed to incite the internal situation in Egypt.” After years of tight state control, protesters emboldened by recent unrest in Tunisia took to the streets and have mounted a once-unimaginable series of protests across the nation of 80 million people--the region's most populous country and the center of Arabic-language filmmaking, music, and literature. In related developments Jordan's King Abdullah II fired his government Tuesday in the wake of street protests and asked an ex-prime minister to form a new cabinet, ordering him to launch immediate political reforms. In the face of growing protests Yemen's president Ali Abdullah Saleh also announced political reforms and said he won't seek another term and his son won't be his successor, though in the past he has reneged on a similar promise. Source: Articles by Jamal Halaby, Sarah El Deeb, and Hadell Al Shalchi for the Associated Press, msnbc.com, Borzou Daragahi for the Los Angeles Times, and Anthony Shadid, David D. Kirkpatrick, and Kareem Fahim for the New York Times

egypt yemen ali abdullah saleh abdullah ii jordan hosni mubarak

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Homily story of the week

10 Jan 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The place where John the Baptist lived, conducted his ministry, and baptized Jesus is no idyllic respite. Called, then and now, Bethany Beyond the Jordan, on the Jordan side of the Jordan River, it’s a hot, dusty plain under unrelenting sun, a shelterless wilderness of tangled reeds and rock, swarming with biting flies. It was here, at nearly 1,400 feet below sea level, the lowest place on earth, that the heavens opened for the prophet Elijah, as he ascended on a fiery chariot a stone’s throw from where Christ would one day be baptized. Once again, on the occasion of that baptism, the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and God spoke to his beloved. And centuries earlier it was also in this same spot that Joshua had led the Israelites, who had wandered for so long in the desert, across the river and finally into the Promised Land. Bethany Beyond the Jordan is also called Bethabara, which means “place of crossings.” It’s fitting that it’s physically unpleasant, because transitions, especially ones of such magnitude as these, are never easy. But if you are willing to bear the demanding, uncomfortable process of change, imagine what awaits you on the other side!

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

the jordan transitions Desert

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Homily stories

09 Jan 2011 - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle A

Every year millions of Christian pilgrims come to the Jordan River to be baptized, rebaptized, renew vows, and so on. The river, however, is not only a spiritual locale but a physical place as well--and a place with problems. The baptisms occur in a two-mile stretch of the river that's pretty much the only spot that can handle human interaction, reports Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. Environmental advocates say water use on the part of Israel, Syria, and Jordan has reduced the historical flow of the river, which is holy to half of humanity, by 98 percent. And the remainder is a mix of sewage water, agricultural runoff, and salt water. To get clean fresh water for baptisms, the water authority built a dam and pumps in water from the river's mouth Pilgrims to the Jordan, however, seem blissfully unaware that the sacred river is a polluted trickle of its former self. "Being baptized . . . in the Jordan River, which is where Jesus was baptized, was just awesome. Words cannot explain how I felt," one said. When Jesus was baptized, "he came up from the water." For some of his followers, though, the conflicting demands of development and religious tourism, aggravated by inadequate stewardship, means at this point there isn't much water left to come up from.

Authors Joel Schorn

baptism jordan river holy water

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Homily themes

11 Jan 2009 - Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Cycle B

Bulletin insert The first mention of the Jordan River in Hebrew scripture is when Abraham and Lot parted company: “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw that the Jordan valley was well-watered everywhere like the garden of the Lord” (Gen. 13:10-11). Jacob was renamed Israel at the ford of the Jabbok River, a tributary of the Jordan (Gen. 32:22-28). In Joshua 3 the Jordan, like the Red Sea, miraculously divides, allowing the Israelites to cross. As it was very difficult to ford the river at that place and in that season, the sudden cessation of the Jordan’s flow was regarded as miraculous. The crossing of the Jordan is recorded as one of the great miracles of God (Psalm 114:3). The river acquired a sacred character, and the miraculous crossing was often recounted in later times. For example, its waters were expected to heal Naaman (2 Kings. 5:10-14), and the prophets Elijah and Elisha accomplish similar miraculous crossings. –Jewish Heritage Online Magazine

jordan river miracles Water

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Homily stories

17 Apr 2022 - Solemnity of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter Sunday), Cycle C

Michael Jordan is consistently ranked among the greatest basketball players of all time. He was the lead player on the six-time championship-winning Chicago Bulls team of the 1990s. He won every honor and accolade of his sport. His net worth is in the billions. But his story doesn't start there. The wins and glory and fortune and fame were a culmination of years of hard work—learning the fundamentals of the game, pushing himself to improve, promising his college coach that "nobody will ever work as hard as I work," learning from his Bulls coach the strength of teamwork and inner calm, and constantly expecting "great things" of himself and others. If we only look at the end results, we miss the fullness of the narrative—the history of failures and successes, the lessons learned and the witness given. The same holds true of Easter. Yes, we bask in the glory of Christ's Resurrection. But never forget Jesus' backstory: his humble birth, inclusive ministry, and message of love. That's what you'll need to know—and follow—to achieve the great things of this day.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

michael jordan

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Homily stories

17 Dec 2023 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

“Who are you, Michael? That will be the defining question of your life. And I think you already know the answer, and that's why we're all here.” That is the question sports marketing legend Sonny Vaccaro asks basketball legend Michael Jordan in the movie Air, as Vacarro is trying to get Jordan to sign a shoe deal with Nike. “A shoe is just a shoe until somebody steps into it,” says Sonny, or as Jordan’s mother explains even more presciently, “A shoe is just a shoe until my son steps into.” Jordan personified greatness. Vaccaro knew it, Jordan’s mother knew it, and Jordan himself knew it. “The rest of us just want a chance to touch that greatness,” says Vaccaro. “We need you in these shoes not so you have meaning in your life, but so that we have meaning in ours. Everyone at this table will be forgotten as soon as our time here is up—except for you. You're going to be remembered forever, because some things are eternal. You're Michael Jordan, and your story is going to make us want to fly.” In a similar way, John the Baptist recognized Jesus’ greatness early on. He saw who Jesus was and would become. And John knew his role was to point the way to perfection. Follow John’s lead.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

john the baptist michael jordan perfection

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Quotes

07 July 2024 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

We must often draw the comparison between time and eternity. This is the remedy of all our troubles. How small will the present moment appear when we enter that great ocean. —Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton My attitude is that if you push me toward something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength. —Michael Jordan

elizabeth ann seton michael jordan

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