Theologian in Training Posted September 21, 2005 Author Share Posted September 21, 2005 [quote name='Carrie' date='Sep 21 2005, 10:57 AM']Thank you for posting that Deacon. [right][snapback]732506[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Your welcome God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philothea Posted September 21, 2005 Share Posted September 21, 2005 Fabulous. I usually get annoyed with homilies that focus on current-day events, but that was perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted September 21, 2005 Author Share Posted September 21, 2005 [quote name='philothea' date='Sep 21 2005, 12:58 PM']Fabulous. I usually get annoyed with homilies that focus on current-day events, but that was perfect. [right][snapback]732612[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Thank you. After I gave it to the practicum class I was waiting for all the criticism, and the only thing I got was that using such a personal reference does not always work all the time. Which is true, and which I understand, but it just seemed to fit with this. Otherwise, there was more praise than critique. I have been definitely working on trying to polish my approach to writing a homily, and am still miles away from that point, but I can see a little bit of development, just by looking at previous homilies. Thanks again God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted September 21, 2005 Share Posted September 21, 2005 theo, thank you for that...i wished you would've been able to give that sermon...who knows which lives it would have touched! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted September 21, 2005 Author Share Posted September 21, 2005 [quote name='Lil Red' date='Sep 21 2005, 04:07 PM']theo, thank you for that...i wished you would've been able to give that sermon...who knows which lives it would have touched! [right][snapback]732862[/snapback][/right] [/quote] There is always next year Thanks God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted September 24, 2005 Author Share Posted September 24, 2005 I have just spent the past couple of hours trying to put together a homily, but for some reason am having an incredibly difficult time. If you could offer a prayer or two I would much appreciate it. I don't think I will continue with this struggle tonight though and am just going to bed. I am beginning to really not like writing homilies because it just takes too much :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted September 24, 2005 Author Share Posted September 24, 2005 So, I guess when you can't think of something to say, the easiest thing to do is give a little meditation on the Holy Name of Jesus. This is the best I could come up with. Like a word spoken so often it loses its meaning and decreases in power, so has the holy name of Jesus become. And, like any name it carries with it the memories of that person, and with it we remember not just who the person was but what that person did. Yet, when we think of Him we think of the crib, we think of the miracles, we think of the cross, knowing that no other person in history did the same, no other name reminds us of the same events, only Jesus. It is a name when spoken brings consolation, fear, and great love, a word the Word that became flesh to redeem us and bring us to salvation. It is the name most frequently spoken during Mass and whose life we remember and imitate during the course of the Mass. Countless books have been written, and people have fought over that name It is a name that in invoked in all seven sacraments and used frequently to cast out demons It is a great name, evoking more memories than any other name in history, and at the same time, it is also a name that is sadly abused and used as lightly as any other name, as any other word. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Paul is telling us that the name is so strong and so powerful that those in heaven, the angels and saints, those on earth, us here, and even those in Hell should bow at the name of Jesus. No simple name, no simple word to have such power and such strength in that one word: Jesus. In the year 1893, a Carmelite nun from Tours is believed to have received a prayer from Jesus Himself, in which to honor and adore the holy and sacred name of Jesus, which I leave you with now: May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most mysterious and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified in heaven on earth and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of our Lord Jesus Christ in the most Holy Sacrament of the altar. Amen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted September 24, 2005 Author Share Posted September 24, 2005 Despite the fact that I thought I was saying absolutely nothing, I got a lot of positive feedback on this homily. I modified it a bit, and just added the intro now, since I ad libbed the gist of that when I was in the pulpit. At the seminary, during certain times at Evening Prayer, we pray an excerpt from Paul’s letter which was our second reading today. There is one line in particular that I really love, and would like to offer a little meditation on now. “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Like a word spoken so often it loses its meaning and decreases in power, so has the holy name of Jesus become. Just like any name, it carries with it the memories of that person, and with it we remember not just who the person was but what that person did. Yet this name is different, and the memories more powerful. We remember the manger, a star, and a crib, we remember miracles and healings, we remember the garden, the violence, the cross. We remember how the dead were raised and how He destroyed death, knowing that no other person in history did the same, and that no other name recalls the same events. It is a name that when spoken can bring both consolation and fear, disgust and great love. It is the name most frequently spoken during Mass and whose life we remember and imitate during the course of the Mass. Countless books have been written, and people have fought over that name It is a name that is invoked in all seven sacraments and used to cast out demons. A name so strong and so powerful that not just those in heaven and on earth, but even those in Hell should bow at the name. A name meek and humble enough to dwell in our altars, strong and powerful enough to still the sea The name above every other name that at the name every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth. No simple name, no simple word to have such power and such strength in that one word the Word that became flesh to redeem us and bring us to salvation that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted October 4, 2005 Author Share Posted October 4, 2005 I have my preaching practicum class again tomorrow and need to preach. It is also the homily that I will be preaching this Sunday as well. If you could maybe offer a prayer or two on my behalf, to help me focus and preach what God wants them to hear, I would be much appreciative. Thank You God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted October 4, 2005 Share Posted October 4, 2005 theo, very nice homily! sometimes the short and sweet ones are just what we need to hear! God bless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philothea Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 Prayers, of course, but I think you need them less than you think you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted October 5, 2005 Author Share Posted October 5, 2005 [quote name='philothea' date='Oct 4 2005, 09:43 PM']Prayers, of course, but I think you need them less than you think you do. [right][snapback]746235[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Not true, I have spent the last two hours trying to come up with anything....all to no avail. I don't know what I am going to do if I cannot get something together at least for tomorrow....maybe recycle an old one that dealt with the same Gospel reading...who knows. God Bless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philothea Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 [quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Oct 4 2005, 09:27 PM']Not true, I have spent the last two hours trying to come up with anything....all to no avail. I don't know what I am going to do if I cannot get something together at least for tomorrow....maybe recycle an old one that dealt with the same Gospel reading...who knows. [right][snapback]746354[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Hmm. I wonder if your internal editor isn't being too picky, and rejecting ideas before you get a chance to really consider them. Seriously, from what I have seen of your posts here, if you just randomly chatted you'd be interesting and inspiring. You might want to try writing the stupidest, lamest, most boring homily ever, and see if it doesn't turn out to have a redeeming aspect or two that you can use. I am sure there is some way around that block... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theologian in Training Posted October 5, 2005 Author Share Posted October 5, 2005 So, I preached to the practicum class today. One guy came up to me to pay me two very great compliments. First, he said, on the comments he wrote that I am the best homilist in our class and second, that while I was preaching he was thinking that if he ever became pastor and needed someone to do a talk he would call upon me. I thanked him for the compliments, but don't know if I feel the same way. I will post what I have, though I am not sure it is complete, and even told the practicum class the same, to which they gave me a few suggestions. Enjoy! God Bless In today’s second reading Paul seems to be boasting that he can live humbly and in abundance, well fed and hungry, in poverty or in wealth without being affected in any way, completely self-sufficient and reliant upon no one. A secret, as he says, that he has learned, a secret that he shares with us: to attain self-sufficiency is to realize that we are not self-sufficient at all, but entirely reliant upon something someone greater to whom we owe our entire independence. He says it simply and, almost in passing, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” A seeming paradox: that in order to do anything we have to rely upon God who can do all things. To say in complete simplicity: my will is Your will. That I only want what God wants and want God to want what I want. It is why Paul was content with whatever he endured and why the Saints were able to perform great miracles and were untroubled and undisturbed when sick, dying, or experiencing many trials. It is the ultimate expression of ultimate love: to give everything, our very wants and desires and to let them be God’s alone. Granted, it sounds a bit abstract and ideal but is, as many saints have said, the key to sanctity and the secret to a happy life. And, this is the struggle we face each and every day, to want to do what God wants despite our own inclinations to do something else. St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, put it this way: Tell him: Lord, I want nothing other than what You want. Even those things I am asking you for at present, if they take me an inch away from your Will, don't give them to me. It sounds so simple, yet the most difficult thing for us to do, because, in giving our will to Him, we are saying, as Mary said “Be it done unto me according to your word.” And that is scary, because it implies a lot, it implies that He will take our life and do with it as He pleases and, what’s more, we are saying we will readily accept that. To accept His will then is both an invitation and a command, a test of true fidelity, of not just saying yes, but yes I believe, and I trust so much so that I will offer everything to You, and when I do, when I reach that point I too can say, as St. Paul says: “I can do all things in Him strengthens me,” to which I often add, “and absolutely nothing without You.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philothea Posted October 5, 2005 Share Posted October 5, 2005 [quote name='Theologian in Training' date='Oct 5 2005, 02:38 PM']So, I preached to the practicum class today. One guy came up to me to pay me two very great compliments. First, he said, on the comments he wrote that I am the best homilist in our class and second, that while I was preaching he was thinking that if he ever became pastor and needed someone to do a talk he would call upon me. [right][snapback]747256[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Very nice! I don't know about the rest of your class, but I would not be at all surprised if you were the best homilist in the class. You're already better than... oh... 90% of the priests I hear. When people start asking you to do talks I hope you don't get too stressed over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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