Preach On, Preachers

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh the other day and heard a caller say that his priest was preaching about the HHS mandate and a parishioner got up and started yelling him. The priest didn't miss a beat but just kept on preaching. The angry man stormed out of church. The rest of the parishioners did not know what to do. There was sort of an uncomfortable laughter the caller reported. I couldn't believe what I was hearing - someone would actually yell at a priest in the middle of mass.  What has this world come to?  Read the transcript of this phone call.

My dad, Deacon Ken - an ordained deacon, preached about the topic of the HHS mandate, abortion and contraception a few weeks ago. I was SO proud of him for doing it. You just don't hear it enough from the pulpit.  Listen here.

The pessimist in me says that this might be part of why we're in the mess that we're in today. The government thinks they can walk all over the beliefs of our faith because they notice that our own members don't believe strongly in the beliefs of our faith. The optimist in me says that maybe the HHS mandate and the outcry it has caused has finally opened our eyes, ears, and hearts to hear this message.

Then today I read an article that Jen from Conversion Diary wrote for National Catholic Register about the priest at her parish not only preaching about the mandate, but going a step farther and explaining why the Catholic Church does not allow contraception in a very loving way. She said you could hear a pin drop in the church during the homily...but not afterwards.

When he finished, the church was still. The topic had been hotly debated all over the country in recent days, even among Catholics, and there was an electric silence as we all internalized what he had said. I think many of us also wondered how our fellow parishioners would react. There had been so much media speculation about practicing Catholics’ opinions on this issue, how would the thousand-plus people in this church, located in a politically liberal metropolitan area within the Protestant South, receive this homily? The question was unexpectedly answered when, as Fr. Jonathan returned to his chair at the side of the altar, the pews erupted in spontaneous, thunderous applause.
Read more here.

Amazing. Two completely different responses. I think the priest in Illinois who got yelled at deserved some applause from his congregation as well. I'm so proud of Deacon Ken, Fr. Jonathan and the Illinois priest...and all the rest who are standing at the pulpit preaching the Catholic church's teachings openly and without fear. Be sure and let them know that you feel the same way.

  Listen to:

 Deacon Ken's Homily

 Fr. Jonathan's Homily