Curated homily anecdotes and with videos from Fr. Tony Kadavil related to Sunday’s readings; Also includes Fr. Tony’s commentary, and Children illustrations/object sermons.
You probably don’t recognize the name, Rita Antoinette Rizzo. Rita was born on April 20, 1923. She had a rough childhood which she spent mostly in poverty. When she was a young woman, Rita decided to become a nun. At 21 she entered the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, a Franciscan religious order for women.
She believed that God was calling her into television ministry. At the time she didn’t know anything about television except how to turn one on. But she prayed about it and decided to go ahead with the project, believing that everything would fall into place. With only two hundred dollars and a handful of other Sisters, she became the only woman in religious broadcasting to own a network.
She went on to found a new house for the order in 1962 in Irondale, Alabama, where the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), is headquartered.
In 1996 she initiated the building of the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady of the Angels monastery in Hanceville, Alabama. This Sister, Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation, although she died, semi-paralyzed and unable to communicate, is seen by millions of people on her prerecorded twice-weekly program, Mother Angelica Live.
Her network, EWTN, is available 24 hours a day everywhere in the world. Visitors to the EWTN complex in Irondale, Alabama or the Shrine in Hanceville, cannot help but be impressed with what God has accomplished using this little nun – a monastery, network facilities complete with satellite dish, a print shop and a Chapel.
PREACHING ANECDOTES: James A. Garfield, prior to serving as President of the United States, was president of Hiram College in Ohio. One day a father asked Garfield if there were a short-cut whereby his son could get through college in less than the usual four years. He wanted his son to get on with making money.
The college president gave this reply,
“Of course there is a way; it all depends on what you want your boy to do. When God wants to grow an oak tree, he takes 100 years. When he wants to make a squash, he only takes two months.”
At Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, the President read for us an entry from the diary of Private Martin Treptow. We were ready to hear such energetic words. Private Treptow was an obscure World War I hero. The new President read this entry from his journal:
“America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure. I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended upon me.”
Part of the reason we get discouraged is that we are victims of bigness. Cities vie with each other to claim the greatest growth and the fanciest entertainments. Corporations are proud when their company occupies the tallest building in the city. Every day we read in our newspapers about famous people doing famous things. We have mega-malls, mega-churches, and mega-storms.
In contrast, Jesus spoke of the importance of small things: a mustard seed, a cup of cold water, a widow’s mite, a kindness done to the least of people. Jesus knows what we too often forget: the size of the bush and the healthy spread of the branches depend on the vitality of the seed.
When it comes to the seed of the Kingdom of God, Jesus speaks of it with an unshakable confidence, hands holding the future – and the seed, and you. That’s how much God trusts you to go on planting the seeds: a mother’s prayer, a father’s encouragement, a little girl’s joy, a young boy’s imagination, a Vacation Bible School teacher.
In the movie, Oh, God! God, in the person of George Burns, has prevailed on Jerry, (John Denver), the assistant manager of a supermarket, to carry God’s message to the world. Toward the end of the film, Jerry is lamenting to God that nobody seems to be listening to the message. He tells God that he thinks that they have failed. But God doesn’t see it that way.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” God says. “You never know; a seed here, a seed there, something will catch hold and grow.”
Since the acceptance God’s rule by human beings is a very slow process, there is the danger of discouragement and hopelessness among preachers, evangelizers, and believers. The conviction that the growth of the Kingdom of God is the work of the Holy Spirit, with our humble cooperation, should make us optimistic in continuing our work of bearing witness to Him. We can all plant tiny seeds in the form of words of love, acts of encouragement, and deeds of charity, mercy and forgiveness. Parents and teachers can plant a lot of seeds in the minds of their children and students. The Holy Spirit will touch the hearts of the recipients of these seeds sown by us and He will effect the growth of the kingdom in their souls and lives. As the apostle Paul once said of his ministry, “Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7).
The seeds may be little acts of kindness which take root and bear fruit. Oscar Wilde tells of an incident that had profound meaning for his life. He was being brought down from his prison to the Court of Bankruptcy, between two policemen, when he saw an old acquaintance waiting in the crowd.
“He performed an action so sweet and simple that it has remained with me ever since,” wrote Wilde. “He simply raised his hat to me and gave me the kindest smile that I have ever received as I passed by, handcuffed and with bowed head. Men have gone to Heaven for smaller things than that. It was in this spirit, and with this mode of love, that the saints knelt down to wash the feet of the poor or stooped to kiss the leper on the cheek. I have never said one single word to him about what he did … I store it in the treasure-house of my heart … That small bit of kindness brought me out of the bitterness of lonely exile into harmony with the wounded, broken, and great heart of the world.”
In a restaurant, a family of five bowed their heads in prayer before beginning to eat. One of the children, a girl of about ten, expressed thanks for the entire family in a hushed voice, her head bobbing expressively.
A few moments later a couple, on their way to pay their check, paused at the family’s table.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anyone do that,” said the man, extending his hand to the father.
The father smiled and replied, “It was strange at first, but we always express thanks at home before we eat. The children continued it when we went to restaurants, so we just went along with it, and now it’s our way.”
The woman who had come up to the table patted the little girl on the shoulder and obviously touched, looked at the mother and said, “Don’t ever stop. It means a lot to those around you.”
In December of 1955, an Afro- American seamstress by the name of Rosa Parks stepped into a crowded, segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama and sat in an empty seat reserved for whites. When the bus driver ordered Rosa Parks to move, she said, “No.” She was then arrested, handcuffed, and jailed. This incident triggered the Civil Rights Movement.
Under the leadership of Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King Jr., a bus boycott and other non-violent demonstrations were organized that eventually led to the abolition of racial segregation laws in transportation, housing, schools, restaurants, and other areas.
When Rosa Parks said a simple “No” to a startled bus driver, she started something far more significant than anyone could possibly have imagined in 1955. At a freedom Festival in 1965 she was introduced as the First Lady of the Civil Rights Movement.
Someone has noted that masterpieces come from the smallest beginnings. From eight notes come every hymn, song, and symphony ever composed. Arguably the greatest piece of music ever written is Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony – all of it from eight notes. All Western literature is born from the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. From them came the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.
In the Midwest, they plant more corn than mustard seed. One variety of corn is called Golden Bantam. Apparently, all the Golden Bantam corn in this country came from one stalk discovered on a Vermont hillside. How it got there is anybody’s guess. But appreciating its special qualities, the person who discovered it carefully preserved its seed and planted it year after year. Now it is available to the whole world.
Pope John XXIII was one of the great leaders of the last century. Someone said that he ended his prayers each night by saying to himself, “But who governs the Church, Angelo? You or the Holy Spirit? Very well then, sleep well, Angelo.”
Thomas Edison’s teacher said he could never amount to anything and advised his mother to take him out of school.
Winston Churchill was admitted to school in the lowest level classes and never moved out of the lowest group in all the years he attended Harrow.
Albert Einstein seemed so slow and dull that his parents feared that he was mentally deficient.
One observer has said, “Great minds and high talent, in most cases, cannot be hurried and, like healthy plants, grow slowly.”
On the one hundredth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, John McCutcheon drew a famous cartoon. He showed two Kentucky backwoodsmen standing at the edge of a wood in the winter. One asks the other, “Anything new?” The other man replies, “Nothing much. Oh, there’s a new baby over at Tom Lincoln’s. But you know, nothing significant ever happens around here.”
Centuries before that someone might have asked in Bethlehem, “Anything new?” And the answer might have been, “No, nothing new. Oh, they say a woman named Mary had a baby in a stable last night. But nothing significant ever happens around here.”
A man walked into a store. To his great surprise he found Christ behind the counter. He asked, “What do you sell here?” Christ replied, “You name it.” “I want food for all, good health for kids, adequate housing for everyone, and abortion to cease.” Gently Jesus answered,
“Friend, I do not sell finished products here, only seeds. You must plant them and water them. I will do the rest.” (Fr. James Gilhooley).
An old song says, “If you can use anything Lord, you can use me.” And old litany says, The next time you think God can’t use you, remember:
Noah was a drunk
Abraham was too old
Isaac was a daydreamer
Jacob was a liar
Leah was ugly
Joseph was abused
Moses was murderer and had a stuttering problem
Gideon was afraid
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer
Rahab was a prostitute
Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
David had an affair and was a murderer
Elijah was suicidal
Isaiah preached naked
Jonah ran from God
Naomi was a widow
Job went bankrupt and was depressed
Peter denied Christ
The Disciples fell asleep while praying
Martha worried about everything
The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once
Zacchaeus was too small
Paul was too religious
Timothy had an ulcer.
Lazarus was dead!
View More Homily Starter Anecdotes compiled by Fr. Tony
Fr. Tony’s 8-minute Homily in 1 page
Meeting John Malkovich
Pentecost, C
Passing the Baton
Ascension of the Lord, C
Peace of Mind and Heart
6th Sunday of Easter, C
“I wouldn’t do that
for a million dollars”
5th Sunday of Easter, C
Whatever Happens, Don’t Let Go
4th Sunday of Easter, C
Do You Love Me?
3rd Sunday of Easter, C
Divine Mercy
2nd Sunday of Easter, C
The Butterfly and the Cocoon
Easter Sunday
Veronica Wipes Face of Jesus
6th Sunday of Lent, C
The Scarlet Letter
5th Sunday of Lent, C
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