PAN DE LA SEMANA

17 th Sunday Year C July 28, 2013 All About Relationships! The three readings today somehow remind me of Oliver Twist and his intense, heartfelt, and plaintive request: “Please sir, I want some more!” It was a prayer like no other … a prayer poor Oliver Twist had to do when the lot fell on him to do so. It was, of course, a prayer quite unlike that of Abraham, who besought the Lord’s mercy on his own, unbidden by no one else, inspired from within and not from without, driven by charity and not by mere personal need – or, for that matter – of somebody else’s desire and want. Oliver’s request was plaintive enough, heart-rending to be sure, except to Mr. Bumble, of course, whose job it was, not to grant favors, but to make those unfortunate waifs and orphans toe the line. All hell broke loose when Oliver uttered those famous words, as far as I can remember of the musical. The prayer went unanswered, and the favor was left ungranted. The ...

Catholic Homily / Sunday Reflection 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C July 25, 2010 The little, the seemingly insignificant, the few, and the powerless … those who don’t seem to count; the perpetual underdogs; those whose lives don’t make waves: the widows, the orphans, the poor, and the lowly … these are those who can make a difference, those whose presence – and persistence – can mean life, fullness of life both for themselves and others, or the utter lack of it for everyone. I refer to the “power of one.” I speak of the riches behind the widow’s mite, the force of puny David’s stone that spelled defeat of the mighty Goliath. I point to the authority of the twelve – the Lord’s “few, good men” whose conviction and faith, despite the onrush and crushing weight of the worldly power of kings, emperors, and tyrants over the past two thousand years. The faith that we celebrate this morning in this church and all over the world is a testimony of the power of these “few good men”...