27 Sunday C - Faith and Responsibility - Homilies
Video Messages at the Bottom: One for 27th Sunday and the other for Pro-Life Sunday
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The Church works best we are advised when we see ourselves not as spectators but as participants.
Arthur Tonne tells about the seventeenth century St Francis de Sales. As a young man, Francis was seriously ill. It was felt certain he would die. He begged his professor, "Sir, arrange my funeral as you see fit. I only ask that after my funeral you give my body to medical students." The professor demurred. Bur de Sales persisted. "It is very consoling to me, as I lie dying," said Francis, "to think that if I have been a useless servant during life, I will be of some good after death."
Incidentally, it would be wonderful if we were useful in life and also after our deaths. Why not copy the style of de Sales? We need not be as generous as the saint. We can give our families the consolation of burying our bodies in the family plot. But why not make provisions now to donate our organs after death? Why not enjoy two resurrections? The auto decal correctly instructs us, "Heaven knows we need your organs here."
I have already made arrangements. In New York State, it is a very simple matter. One signs the back of a Driver License in the presence of a witness. Why not today find out what the law is in your own state? Surely, by the time the second resurrection of our respective bodies comes about, God will have figured some way to put us all back together again. In the meantime, we shall hear from a smiling Christ, "Well done, good and useful servant."
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The Church works best we are advised when we see ourselves not as spectators but as participants.
Arthur Tonne tells about the seventeenth century St Francis de Sales. As a young man, Francis was seriously ill. It was felt certain he would die. He begged his professor, "Sir, arrange my funeral as you see fit. I only ask that after my funeral you give my body to medical students." The professor demurred. Bur de Sales persisted. "It is very consoling to me, as I lie dying," said Francis, "to think that if I have been a useless servant during life, I will be of some good after death."
Incidentally, it would be wonderful if we were useful in life and also after our deaths. Why not copy the style of de Sales? We need not be as generous as the saint. We can give our families the consolation of burying our bodies in the family plot. But why not make provisions now to donate our organs after death? Why not enjoy two resurrections? The auto decal correctly instructs us, "Heaven knows we need your organs here."
I have already made arrangements. In New York State, it is a very simple matter. One signs the back of a Driver License in the presence of a witness. Why not today find out what the law is in your own state? Surely, by the time the second resurrection of our respective bodies comes about, God will have figured some way to put us all back together again. In the meantime, we shall hear from a smiling Christ, "Well done, good and useful servant."
10 Steps To A Balanced Ministry
By James Smith 
Ministry is an occupation where balance is often hard to find. While others punch a clock and work only one job, the minister is often times required to wear multiple hats and even work a secular job as well. Here are 10 points to consider to discover balance for your life and ministry.Stay focused
Your dedication to what God has called you to do will require stringent concentration. There are going to be many opportunities for you to become distracted. Stay Focused. Remain prayerful and know that God has called you to a work because of your uniqueness and giftedness.
26 Sunday C - Lazarus - God Turns Tables
Note: Video message from Fr. William Grim, mm at the bottom
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Introduction:
What parable would make a man with three doctoral degrees (one in medicine, one in theology, one in philosophy) leave civilization with all of its culture and amenities and depart for the jungles of darkest Africa? What parable could induce a man, who was recognized as one of the best concert organists in all of Europe, go to a place where there were no organs to play. What parable would so intensely motivate a man that he would give up a teaching position in Vienna, Austria to go and deal with people who were so deprived that they were still living in the superstitions of the dark ages for all practical purposes. The man who I am talking about, of course, is Dr. Albert Schweitzer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. And the single parable that so radically altered his life, according to him, was our text for this morning. It was the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
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The rich man of today's story was "a winner in this life," says James Tahaney, "and a loser in the next."
Dogs and cats in the United States eat more nutritious food than do the homeless in refugee camps in the third world. That chilling information is reported by The New York Times.
What a masterful storyteller and wordsmith the Master is. It boggles the mind to reflect how much He was able to squeeze into twelve verses. He is a teacher par excellence.
(James Gilhooley)
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Introduction:
What parable would make a man with three doctoral degrees (one in medicine, one in theology, one in philosophy) leave civilization with all of its culture and amenities and depart for the jungles of darkest Africa? What parable could induce a man, who was recognized as one of the best concert organists in all of Europe, go to a place where there were no organs to play. What parable would so intensely motivate a man that he would give up a teaching position in Vienna, Austria to go and deal with people who were so deprived that they were still living in the superstitions of the dark ages for all practical purposes. The man who I am talking about, of course, is Dr. Albert Schweitzer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. And the single parable that so radically altered his life, according to him, was our text for this morning. It was the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
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The rich man of today's story was "a winner in this life," says James Tahaney, "and a loser in the next."
Dogs and cats in the United States eat more nutritious food than do the homeless in refugee camps in the third world. That chilling information is reported by The New York Times.
What a masterful storyteller and wordsmith the Master is. It boggles the mind to reflect how much He was able to squeeze into twelve verses. He is a teacher par excellence.
(James Gilhooley)
NEW STYLE OF GREETINGS IN INDIA - HUMOUR
May your happiness increase like Petrol Price,
May your sorrow fall like the Indian Rupee, and
May your joy spread in your heart like
Corruption spreads in India ?!!!
25 Sunday C - Stewardship - Homilies
Gospel Reading: Luke 16:1-13
The passage is in two
movements:
- verses 1 to 7, the parable;
- verses 8 to 13, a collection of six sayings of Jesus, all connected with the parable.
- verses 1 to 7, the parable;
- verses 8 to 13, a collection of six sayings of Jesus, all connected with the parable.
Most people find this parable one of the most difficult to interpret, seeming
to condone the dishonesty of the steward. The main problem here is our tendency
to read the gospels and the parables particularly, in a rational, moralizing
way. We then find ourselves passing judgement on the parables: “a
touching story but ….” With this approach to our parable we have to do mental
gymnastics to explain how the master could “praise the dishonest steward”.
We are not meant to read parables in such a heady,
moralizing (basically self-righteous) way. We must enter freely into them
(“with a willing suspension of disbelief”), get a feel for the characters, and
gradually let them reveal some deep lesson about human living.
With this parable, for example, we must identify with the
steward, allow him to become a person whom we feel to praise, just like the
master in the parable did. If we look at him in that perspective, we find that
he is very likable, not efficient – “wasteful” as the parable says – but very
likeable. We imagine a person who knows how to enjoy life. He doesn’t like hard
work – “Dig? I am not strong enough” – but he likes people and enjoys the
company of his friends.
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