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Homily stories

14 Oct 2018 - Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Many years have passed since the market crash that triggered the Great Recession. How soon most people forget—but not me. I was one of the many Americans who lost pretty much everything, and I was forever changed by it—for the better. I spent my 20s and 30s chasing the American Dream, doing what I thought I was supposed to do: climb a career and make a nest egg—and indulge in far too much consumption and expensive frivolity. It seemed like anything was possible in those heydays, like hitting it big on real estate and the stock market and the latest sensational startup that was hiring. Given my out-of-whack priorities, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my job wasn’t meaningful or satisfying, and my personal life was equally unhappy. But I was stuck in what I’d worked so hard to build, weighed down by the wrong accumulations, and I couldn’t move forward on my own. So God took it all away—my home, my possessions, my savings—and set me free. I learned the hard way that the pursuit of happiness is the storing up of spiritual treasures, and no matter how much time passes, I pray I keep opening up to possibilities of everlasting value.

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

american dream spiritual treasures possessesions

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Homily stories

30 Jul 2023 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

As the long days of summer stretch out before us, do yourself a favor and spend time on a beach if at all possible—a quiet beach, a beach made for long walks and deep thoughts. If you give yourself the rare treat of sun, sand, and solitude, you will eventually uncover treasures buried deep within you. But be sure to heed this advice from Anne Morrow Lindbergh writing in Gift from the Sea: “The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. To dig for treasures shows not only impatience and greed, but lack of faith. Patience, patience, patience, is what the sea teaches. Patience and faith. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach—waiting for a gift from the sea.” So slow down and let go of the jumbled mix that makes up a modern life. Let the world drift by. Do nothing beyond soaking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the beach. Then, like a pristine seashell that grabs your attention, you will stumble upon pearls of divine wisdom, and you will see the way ahead with perfect clarity.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

treasures beach patience ann morrow lindbergh gift from the sea

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Homily stories

30 Jul 2023 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Remember the story of The Wizard of Oz? Four characters—the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and of course Dorothy—are in search of what they believe will make them complete. The Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Man needs a heart, the Cowardly Lion seeks courage, and Dorothy just wants to go home. Together they make a perilous journey to the Land of Oz where they encounter a wonderful wizard who shows them that everything they desire is already in their possession. To awaken them to this truth, the wizard gives them outward signs of their inward realities. The Scarecrow gets a diploma, the Tin Man a testimonial, the Cowardly Lion a medal for bravery, and Dorothy finds out that home is where her heart is. Like our four heroes, we are all in search of the treasure of life, the priceless pearl of fulfillment. It is for this reason that God made us. “I came that you might have life,” Jesus says, “and have it to the fullest” (John 10:10). All that we seek is within us. But to obtain this buried treasure of God’s kingdom, it is necessary to divest ourselves of worldly attachments. The seekers of the parable sell all that they have. What good are the wealth, power, security, and comfort of this passing world if we never achieve the real treasure of God’s lasting kingdom?

Authors Father Paul Boudreau

the wizard of oz treasures priceless pearl

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