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Homily stories

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

Some Americans alive today can still vividly recall the horror of Senator Joseph McCarthy's paranoid hunt for communist infiltrators in the 1940s and '50s, which ruined or stalled the careers of dozens of writers and entertainers who were labeled communist sympathizers. Only a handful of brave souls were willing to stand up against McCarthy and his anti-communist machine. Though most people objected to the senator's intimidation tactics of insinuations and innuendos, few wanted to risk the severe consequences of going against him. Ironically, McCarthy and his minions had become like the enemy they feared: oppressive and destructive. The lesson of McCarthyism, which is the lesson of the Salem witch trials and the Spanish Inquisition, is that there is no easy way to separate the wheat from the weeds; leave it for the harvesters at the end of the age, Jesus advises us in today's gospel, and in the meantime busy yourself with being a good seed. Those who try to sort out the sinners from the saints among us invariably get it wrong at least once or twice and end up condemning servants of God. What's worse, in their zealous pursuit of evildoers, they may cause others to sin, which, in Jesus' mind, is an evil in itself. A simple rule of thumb for every generation: no weeding, please.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

mccarthyism communist weeds seeds

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Homily stories

19 Jul 2020 - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Some Americans alive today can still recall the horror of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s paranoid hunt for communist infiltrators in the 1940s and ’50s, which ruined or stalled the careers of dozens of writers and entertainers who were labeled communist sympathizers. Only a handful of brave souls were willing to stand up against McCarthy and his anti-communist machine. Though most people objected to the senator’s intimidation tactics of insinuations and innuendos, few wanted to risk the severe consequences of going against him. Ironically, McCarthy and his minions had become like the enemy they feared: oppressive and destructive. The lesson of McCarthyism, which is the lesson of the Salem witch trials and the Spanish Inquisition, is that there is no easy way to separate the wheat from the weeds; leave it for the harvesters at the end of the age, Jesus advises us in today’s gospel, and in the meantime busy yourself with being a good seed. Those who try to sort out the sinners from the saints among us invariably get it wrong at least once or twice and end up condemning servants of God. What’s worse, in their zealous pursuit of evildoers, they may cause others to sin, which, in Jesus’ mind, is an evil in itself. A simple rule of thumb for every generation: Leave the weeding to the wiser One, please.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

mccarthyism judgment separate the wheat from the weeds

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Word of the Week

08 December 2024

Immaculate Conception

\i-'ma-kyə -lət kən-'sep-shən\

Dogma of the Catholic Church, since Pope Pius IX officially declared it in 1854, that Mary was “full of grace” and uniquely conceived without the stain (macula) of original sin. Not to be confused with the virgin birth of Jesus, a singular event for which Mary’s Immaculate Conception prepares.

Pronunciation Read more

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