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29 Jul 2012 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

This week’s Letter to the Ephesians, though probably not composed by Paul, captures his spirit and his consistent call for unity: One body, spirit, hope, faith, baptism, and God of all. But, Paul warns, true Christian unity can only be achieved by living the threefold virtues of faith, hope, and love with humility, gentleness, and patience. How well do you live out this trinity of Christlike values? Examine your strengths and weaknesses. What can you do to share your spiritual and material gifts with others so that they and you are satisfied.

letter to ephesians Faith Hope christian values

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Who's listening?

24 Jul 2011 - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

On what do people put value? The readings today speak to this question. God praises Solomon for seeing how longevity, riches, property, and revenge are so much less important than the gift of understanding to know what is right. The gospel parables tell of people who sold their possessions to gain what was of greater value. And Saint Paul also says something about value: the need to trust that God's plan of salvation will carry all who believe to their predestined glory. For those who believe, the gains and losses, goods and evils of everyday life pale in comparison with a deeper life lived in the kingdom, wisely and well.

solomon value god's plan Salvation

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Romney’s religion called a cult

16 Oct 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Despite being an outsider to those of the Jewish faith, the Persian king Cyrus is called to a leading role by the Lord, this Sunday’s first reading reveals. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, is running to lead the Republican Party in the 2012 presidential race, and injecting a potentially explosive issue into the campaign last weekend, a prominent Texas pastor said Romney is “not a Christian” and called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a “cult” at a major conference of Christian conservatives. Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress introduced Rick Perry as a "genuine follower of Jesus Christ” at the “Values Voter Summit” Friday in Washington, D.C. and made his comments about Romney’s faith later when questioned by reporters. In the past Jeffress has also criticized other faith traditions, including Catholicism, which last year he called “that cult-like pagan religion.” The comments about Mormonism raised immediate suspicions that the attack might have been a way for surrogates or supporters of Perry, the Texas governor who has stumbled in recent weeks, to gain ground by raising religious concerns about Romney. The Perry campaign sought to put some distance between Perry and Jeffress, stating that the governor “does not believe Mormonism is a cult.” When Romney addressed the same summit Saturday, he never uttered the word “Mormon.” He spoke of the nation’s “heritage of religious faith and tolerance” but not of his own faith. Romney did, however, feel compelled to amend his prepared remarks by denouncing religious bigotry and taking on those who introduce what he called “poisonous language” into the political arena. The psalmist this Sunday encourages listeners to “worship the Lord” and to “give the Lord glory and honor.” When Romney sought the Republican nomination for president in 2008 and his faith became an issue, he assured people that he worshipped Jesus as Lord, but failed to persuade many evangelicals. The Catholic Church does not refer to Mormonism as a cult, but in 2001 the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded in the affirmative to a query about whether Mormons entering the Catholic Church needed to be baptized again, stating that baptisms performed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are to be considered invalid by Catholics because the faith traditions are so distinct. Sources: Articles by Whit Johnson for CBS News, Richard A. Oppel, Jr. and Erik Eckholm for the New York Times,Philip Rucker for the Washington Post, Alonso Gaskill for the Neil A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarshipat Brigham Young University, and Religion News Service

church and state church of jesus christ of latter-day saints mormons mitt romney values voter summit rick perry robert jeffress

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New venture to offer ethical ads to Catholic websites

30 Sep 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Untroubled by outsiders invoking his name to do good deeds, Jesus points out in this Sunday’s gospel that no one who speaks ill of him will be able to use his name to accomplish anything of merit. Catholic website managers who are concerned that meritless or offensive advertisements that do not represent Catholic values may show up on their sites if they use automatic ad-generator programs have a new option: AdEthic, a web advertising platform that aims to provide Catholic websites with positive and wholesome advertising messages.According to Andrea Salvati, a manager at Google Italy who will take the role of CEO at AdEthic in October, the platform wants to tap into the vast Catholic online market that has so far been unable or unwilling to use advertisements. Many Catholic webmasters are concerned that inappropriate advertisements, such as sexually related content or messages from "bogus religious groups," will be displayed on their pages by context-sensitive automatic ad generators such as Google's AdSense, said Father Paolo Padrini.Padrini, who launched an “iBreviary” prayer app for smartphones last year, will head the ethics committee that will ensure the Catholic values of the platform's ad partners. "We want to offer highly selected, high-quality, controlled advertisement to the Catholic online world," he said.AdEthic will also offer Catholic websites the chance to monetize their traffic while supporting charity at the same time. Part of AdEthic revenues will be used to fund charitable projects. "We want to turn the concept of advertisement upside down," said Padrini, transforming it from something that "aims exclusively at profit to something that promotes solidarity."AdEthic will start operating in Italy but aims eventually to expand to other countries. It hopes to attract websites with at least 2 million monthly users to its network by the end of 2012. "We will start selling advertisement space then," Salvati said.Homily hint: Raise awareness in the congregation of the amount of questionable advertising on the internet—offensive ads as well as scams abound online—and how parents of younger and impressionable children in particular need to be web savvy in order to help their kids separate the wheat from the chaff online. Source: An article by Alessandro Speciale for Religion News Service

internet advertising adethic paolo padrini andrea salvati catholic values catholic websites

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Martyred archbishop hailed by pope

08 Feb 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

All that Saint Paul does he does “for the sake of the gospel,” we hear in this Sunday’s reading from 1st Corinthians. Pope Francis Tuesday affirmed that assassinated Salvadoran Archbishop Romero died for the sake of gospel values, not political ideology. The designation of Romero’s martyrdom opens the door toward beatification and possible sainthood for the iconic figure of the bloody civil wars that tore Central America apart and deeply divided the Catholic Church in Latin America a generation ago. Homily hint: Monseñor Romero, as he was affectionately known by his flock, led a deeply divided church and nation that suffered great violence and repression. He lost his life standing up for gospel values and speaking out for the poor in his charge. He serves as an inspiration for pastoral leaders everywhere. For more on Romero’s martyrdom, see: Pope Francis Declares Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero A Martyr; Archbishop Oscar Romero declared a martyr by Pope Francis

the poor martyrdom gospel values archbishop oscar romero

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Fewer Americans losing their jobs

12 Apr 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the early church, “there was no needy person among them,” the reading from the Acts of the Apostles this Sunday informs us, as the first believers cheerfully relinquished “mine” for “ours.” In modern times, those in need due to job loss apply for unemployment benefits. The good news is that the past month has seen the lowest number of such applications in almost 15 years, signaling continued strength in the U.S. labor market and economy. Homily hint: Our “social net” is a set of public programs designed to assist those facing economic challenges as they try to make a better life for themselves and loved ones. In many ways it is based on biblical values of community love and charity. Let’s make sure that this net remains intact—we never know when it might be one of us who needs support. For more on unemployment claims, see: Jobless Claims in U.S. Over Past Month Lowest in 15 Years

Charity christian values joblessness social net

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Homily stories

19 Aug 2012 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Wisdom or foolishness? Those are two of the choices scripture offers this week. How to live wisely and well is a timeless question for Christians. Fortunately the words of Jesus and the gospel stories that depict him in action are timeless guides, as relevant today as when they first happened. Jesus lived and taught values that we can use to govern our own choices today. Here are a few of the most fundamental: Mark 8:36: There is no profit in gaining the world if you lose your soul along the way. Mark 4:14-20: Cultivate the Word carefully so that it can bear fruit in your life. Watch out for distractions! Matthew 22:36-40: Begin and end with love. Matthew 7:12: Dust off the Golden Rule and practice it. Matthew 5:43-44: Everyone loves their friends, nothing special there. Try loving and blessing your enemies! Mark 10:42-43: Service is the path to greatness. Don’t believe you are up to the job? Luke 11:9-10: Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.

Authors Daniel Grippo

Wisdom christian values golden rule love your enemies Service

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Homily stories

01 Jan 2012 - Octave Day of the Nativity of the Lord; Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Cycle B

There is always a market for nostalgia. Depending on our age, we look back at the '40s or '60s or even the '80s as the "good old days." On the internet and in specialty stores, we can listen to music from Guy Lombardo to the Jackson 5. We can purchase lava lamps and bean bag chairs. We can play with Slinkys and Barbie and Pong. Things are in fashion one day and out the next. Family values, at least the phrase, has come back into style more as a political statement than a way of living. It is incredibly easy to look at the past and see simpler, better times. Our memories have a way of erasing the negative and smoothing the rough edges. This is especially tempting to do during the holiday season as we look to a new year filled with resolutions about the future. The secret is to take what is right about the past and make it part of our new reality. That is what Jesus' mother Mary does. By reflecting on all that has happened to her within the traditions of her faith she is able to make the presence of our Savior a reality in our world, thus fulfilling a promise of the past and giving us hope for the future. And so we must model our lives on that same challenge Mary's life makes. The traditions of our faith stand ready to help us find our salvation in the future. What we believe is far more than a nostalgia for the past. It is a challenge for the future.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

family values nostalgia Mary Faith

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Homily themes

06 Feb 2011 - Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Saint Paul tells the Corinthians how he preached not a message of sublime wisdom, but simply the gospel of the crucified Lord. It points out the sometimes paradoxical truths of Christianity. Start with one of the biggest of all: The invisible, almighty God chose to become a human being. Another big one: Humans had the Son of God in their midst, and they killed him. In this week's second reading, Paul talks about how from weakness comes a message of power, "so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God." God's ways put our ways in a radical perspective and invite us to deal with one another as God--not our values of prestige, money, and power--would have us do.

Wisdom power values

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Homily themes

14 Feb 2010 - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain. Faith and hope make up two of the most important Christian values. Today’s scripture shows why. Saint Paul replied to those in Corinth who deny resurrection by seeing where their argument would lead them. Basically, he says, without belief in resurrection, nothing about being Christian makes sense. If you don’t believe the dead will rise, he said, then you couldn’t have believed that Christ rose from the dead, and therefore your faith is groundless. And without this set of beliefs, you wouldn’t have much hope. Faith in God, though, gives meaning to your life. It helps you to see life is more than it appears. Homily points The gospels share a lot of common points, but there’s a reason why we have four versions. The evangelists differed as a result of their sources, audiences, and intentions, but audience may have been the principle factor. Luke’s Beatitudes are focused on economic injustice, and we can’t soft sell this message because for Luke, it is the message. Blessings and woes aren’t things God uses as rewards and punishments. They result from our active choosing.

Authors Joel Schorn

christian values Resurrection gospels beatitudes

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