Frustrated with homilies

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Monica37

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I really don’t want to start a thread on negativity, but I’m getting more and more frustrated with my options here. We are military and stuck where we are. There are 4 choices within an hours drive. I have been going to daily Mass during Lent and have been trying to not be negative, but i find myself getting angry during the Mass.
Sunday atmy usual parish, the homily was all about how anyone with a good heart gets to heaven including Muslims and Hindus, etc. He even make a joke that Christians think they are the only ones in heaven. Now, my husband is agnostic, so it seems to me that a homily like that would just reinforce to him that he does not need to be baptized or anything to get to heaven, just “be a good person” (he does attend Mass with me sometimes). Also, it worries me that a lot of teenagers in church that Sunday may say, “cool, I think Buddism sounds great and since I can get to heaven just by having a good heart, why not…” At dailyMass, another priest (different parish) is very passionate about immigration and told the middle school students basically that our government is being cruel and uncharitable by not allowing everyone in the country legally or illegally. He also said that immigrants do the work that Americans are too lazy and prideful to do. He never spoke of security issues or economic issues related to immigration. Furthermore, I think if he wanted to talk about tolerance and predjudice he should not have brought up that they will be seeing on the news about immigration. Couldn’t he have just talked about tolerance if that was his point?This same priest told these students one day that people who don’t want to give the sign of peace are just afaid of germs! I don’t mind people bringing up important issues, but I think it is important to do so in a way that allows for 2 sides of the story. On both of these occassions, I talked to the priest after Mass and about the immigration issue, he made it seem like a solely racial issue. I am not racist and race plays no part in my personal concerns about immigration.
I guess what I’m asking is to help me frame this situation in a way that does not leave me feeling frustrated. I do not go to Mass to feel that way. I am not saying that he should not talk about important issues of the day, but to make the kids feel like our government is bad and that Americans are lazy? These are kids who take what he says to heart because he is the priest. Because my daughter hears these homilies, I have to be put in a position where at home, I have to give her the rest of the story. I am uncomfortable contradicting the priest, but on some of these points, that is what it feels like. Sorry this is so long. Am I being overly nit picky here? I will respect your answers to that beacuse if I am, then I need to work on myself more. Thanks
 
Ya know, I have a friend who says, “There are many paths…” I tend to disagree with him.

I’m not an expert, but I don’t see the mother of Budha coming down to earth and asking people to pray…

This is all just another by product of VII…like the priest that told me to stop thinking of sins in term of mortal and venial…

Just stay faithful to the truth of the faith.
 
You are not alone. Our priest told us we will only be judged on how we treat others. Its nice if you come to church on a holy day but won’t go to hell if you don’t.He says he doesn’t go for all that religious stuff. People that disagree with him become the subject of a homily. He makes it no secret that he hates the rich, republicans and people that live in suburbs. The last bishop wouldn’t do anything except talk to him. He even told people to quit telling the bishop on him. I hope our next bishop is a hardliner. We are losing parishoners weekly.
 
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geojack:
You are not alone. Our priest told us we will only be judged on how we treat others. Its nice if you come to church on a holy day but won’t go to hell if you don’t.He says he doesn’t go for all that religious stuff. People that disagree with him become the subject of a homily. He makes it no secret that he hates the rich, republicans and people that live in suburbs. The last bishop wouldn’t do anything except talk to him. He even told people to quit telling the bishop on him. I hope our next bishop is a hardliner. We are losing parishoners weekly.
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You should ask him that if he feels so strongly about social issues why he hasn’t volunteered to take a parish in slum instead of in a nice comfy suburb/urban area where all he has to do is rant instead of putting his butt where his supposed convictions are? :rolleyes: He needs our prayers. All our priests, good and bad do!
 
“Honey, when Fr said such and thus, it made me want to follow up” and teach her how to use the CCC:
 
I was attending the main Sunday Mass at the Catholic chaplaincy of my college some 30 years ago, and the chief chaplain said a brief sentence about the readings, followed by: “And now I will go onto the real subject of this homily, which is sex.”

Ironically, the best homily that was truly such that I have ever heard was given by the abbott of a Trappist monastery where I was making a retreat. I am afraid I cannot remember the details, but it was succinct and to the point and was a brief but cogent commentary on the scripture, which is what they are all supposed to be.

At the last Catholic parish where I was the organist, a large suburban parish, the diocesan priests were terrible homilists except on one occasion: Holy Week. Then they preached well. Why? Because the pastor told them to actually prepare the homilies in advance and did so himself, something they normally did not do, so we normally got 25-minute rambling homilies. The supply at that church was from the local Franciscan novitiate, and they always gave good homilies (from priests, not novices), obviously because they had had a good instructor in homiletics.

I can understand a priest having doubts about an official church teaching or practice. They have no place in the pulpit, and even in private consultation the appropriate thing for him to say is “the teaching of the church is that…” not “I think that…” People who want to be validated for doing something wrong have plenty of resources outside the church for that.
 
I got some excellent advice from folks from this forum regarding this very thing. Everything from checking out the ladies room to saying the Rosary during the homily. I drag out my Rosary when the priest starts in about women as priests, etc, etc. It has worked well for me. My Dad made a point about the crazy homilies we have to listen to sometimes. He said, if Catholics only went to Mass to hear the homily the Churches would be empty. We are there to participate in the holy sacrifice of the Mass and to recieve the Eucharist.
 
kage_ar said:
“Honey, when Fr said such and thus, it made me want to follow up” and teach her how to use the CCC:
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Spot on reaction 👍

This thread mademe want to say the Prayer to St Joseph for Priests:

O illustrious patriarch St. Joseph, who carried the Infant Jesus in thy blessed arms and who, during the space of thirty years, lived in the most intimate familiarity with Him, take under thy powerful protection those whom He has clothed with His authority and honored with with the dignity of His priesthood, whom He has charged to continue His mission, to preach His Gospel, and to dispense everywhere His graces and blessings. Sustain them in their fatigues and labors; console them in their pains; fortify them in their combats; but above all, keep far from them all the evils of sin.
Obtain for them the humility of St. John the Baptist, the faith of St. Peter, the zeal and charity of St. Paul, the purity of St. John and the spirit of prayer and recollection of which thou, my dear Saint, art the model, so that, after having been on earth, the faithful dispensers of the Mysteries of thy foster Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, they may in Heaven receive the recompense promised to pastors according to the Heart of God. Amen.
 
Thanks everyone. I think I will start by praying the prayer of St. Joseph during the homily. It’s not always like this, it just seems that sometimes he gets too political for middle schoolers. He admitted the immigration issue was very complicated, perhaps he tried to oversimplify it. Who knows. I will try all of your suggestions. Thanks again
 
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slewi:
Ya know, I have a friend who says, “There are many paths…” I tend to disagree with him.

I’m not an expert, but I don’t see the mother of Budha coming down to earth and asking people to pray…

This is all just another by product of VII…like the priest that told me to stop thinking of sins in term of mortal and venial…

Just stay faithful to the truth of the faith.
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Neither of these are a product of Vatican 2; they are a product of dissenters after Vatican 2.
 
I whip out my rosary last Sunday, and started praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet…I had such a peace come over me, where as a few seconds earlier…I was getting so upset and distracted by what was going on…that I was losing my focus on the Blessed Sacrament. I was able to stay focused, and blocked out what was going on…and had a very blest Mass. This was the first time I did this…and I am doing it from now on…👍

Peace be with you…Pam
 
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