Sunday, August 11, 2013

Homily: 5 Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me


Here it should be noted that no priest thinks, in the seminary "I can't wait to preach on sexual sins, or to tell people they need to get annulments."  It isn't fun, and not something anyone looks forward to.  But no one thinks when they get married "I can't wait to have a difficult but important conversation with my spouse" and no one, during the pregnancy of their wife, thinks "I can't wait to have all the hard conversations with my child."  Are these rules and stipulations about receiving the Eucharist the end of the story...or the map that one has to follow to enter into a vast and marvelous and wonderful life?

I turn to G.K. Chesterton: "On the view that priests darken and embitter the world: I look at the world and simply discover that they don’t.  Those countries in Europe which are still influenced by priests, are exactly the countries where there is still singing and dancing and coloured dresses and art in the open-air.  Catholic doctrine and discipline may be walls; but they are the walls of a playground.”

5 comments:

  1. Father John,
    I shared your homily with my Divine Mercy Cenacle group of women this evening. Our topic this evening was on the Eucharist, so it was a perfect addition to what we were talking about. Thanks for posting your homilies with all of us.

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  2. I loathe videos in blogs.

    Write out what is said. Humbug! You lost me as a result

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  3. Humbug? That made me laugh this morning!

    As to your point
    1) I don't preach from a text. If you want to type my homilies out and put them up as text, feel free
    2) Photos are the most clicked on, followed by videos. A DISTANT DISTANT third is text. A recent study found that videos are shared TWELVE TIMES more than text and links combined. Most people don't read text anymore, so I post the videos.

    Whereas I lost you by posting it as a video, posting the text would lose many more people.

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  4. Keep on keepin' on, Fr. John. God bless you and your work.

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  5. "Walls of a playground" love that - nothing more fun than to be a Catholic - no one has more humor than us! And the jokes about Cath. Guilt ? Are based in truth and a healthy fear of God are part of why I love the Faith.
    Keep the videos coming- you have the Irish gift!
    Mary H

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