Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

(I Peter 1:18-25; Mark 10:32-45)

Renaissance bishops were no less notorious than Renaissance popes for “lording it over their subjects.”  Church reform in the Council of Trent included bishops governing no more than one diocese and residing within that diocese.  In today’s gospel Jesus indicates serving the members of their diocese is essential as well for successors to the apostles.

Most bishops today render such care.  One bishop stood out among his peers for such service twenty-five years ago.  Bishop Kenneth Untener of Saginaw, Michigan, sold the bishop’s palace after his ordination.  He then stayed with pastors in rectories for extended visits to parishes.  When Untener discovered how dissatisfied parishioners were with rambling homilies, he resolved to give homiletic workshops.  Bishop Untener traveled throughout the country showing priests how to limit homilies to one point and four minutes. 

As Jesus wanted his disciples to care for the faithful, he wants all of us to serve one another.  This rule especially to those in positions of authority.  Whether we are baseball managers or baby-sitters, our principal concern should be modeling Jesus’ way of leadership.  We should be slow to criticize and quick with gratitude.  We should be patient and kind, never rude or demeaning.  Like Jesus, we should be ready to make sacrifices for the good of our charges.

Friday, April 5, 2024

Friday within the Octave of Easter

(Acts 4:1-12; John 21:1-14)

Ken Untener was bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, for twenty-four years.  He was a gifted preacher with a fine sense of humor.  More importantly, he was dedicated to the service of Christ’s flock.  A number of years ago a book of his homilies was published posthumously.  It was entitled My Name Is Ken and I Will Be Your Waiter a Long, Long Time.  The name of Jesus might be substituted for Ken to understand today’s gospel.

Like a waiter, Jesus provides food for his guests.  He will be serving his disciples until the end of time.  His food will nourish them so that they might go out and tell others about God’s love.  In today’s gospel his food is bread and fish, the same that he fed to the multitudes on the hills of Galilee.  These are symbols for his very self – his body and his spirit – that sustain his disciples in hardship and bring them true happiness.

As we come forward to receive Jesus’ body and spirit, we identify with Christ’s disciples.  We should also identify with them by telling others of Jesus’ ever-gracious care.

 

Friday, April 21, 2017

Friday within the Octave of Easter

(Acts 4:1-12; John 21:1-14)

Ken Untener was bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, for twenty-four years.  He organized the diocese so well that he found time to give workshops on preaching nation-wide.  Two years ago a book of his homilies was published posthumously.  It was entitled My Name Is Ken and I Will Be Your Waiter a Long, Long Time.  The name of Jesus might be substituted for Ken to understand today’s gospel.

Like a waiter, Jesus has food prepared for his guests.  He will be serving his disciples until the end of time.  His food will nourish them so that they might go forth and tell others about God’s love.  In the gospel his food is bread and fish.  These are symbols for his very self – his body and spirit – that sustain his disciples in hardship and bring them true happiness.

We come forward to receive Jesus’ body and spirit in the Eucharist.  Doing so, we identify with Christ’s disciples.  We then have to go out to others telling them of God’s ever-gracious care. 

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

(Hebrews 12:18-19.21-24; Mark 6:7-13)

In workshops on preaching the late Ken Untener, bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, used to say that the homily should last no more than four minutes. Untener reasoned that mass in a Catholic church has much that speaks to the people besides the homily. The readings themselves are usually self-evident. The stained glass windows tell their stories. The hymns relate a message. And the prayers convey much meaning.

The Letter to the Hebrews today refers to the Christian liturgical assembly – what we call the mass. Like Bishop Untener’s description of mass in a Catholic church, it speaks of a setting of peace and light. It is where we meet Christ in a unique way. The mass differs dramatically from the Hebrew assembly in the desert. That was a terrifying experience because God had to soften and shape an unruly lot so that they may live more like His people.

Still, sometimes we grow weary of the mass and feel tempted to skip it for a Sunday. If the irregularity becomes a norm, we would be making a mistake worse than riding in a car with faulty brakes. It is not that everyone in church is a saint, but we come here to be reminded that sainthood is our destiny. Even more importantly, here we listen to the Word of God and receive the nourishment of Christ’s body so that we may act as we are destined to become.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

(Galatians 1:13-24; Luke 10:38-42)

Bishop Ken Untener believed that homilies should be short. In workshops around the country he told priests that the Catholic Church is so rich in reminders of the faith that the people do not need long sermons. Rather, he advised, preachers should take from the gospel the truest truth that they can ascertain and tell that to the people. St. Paul seems to do precisely this in the first reading today.

What’s important to Paul is not his life as a Jew or his acquaintance with the apostles. No, he insists that the critical event of his life, which gives meaning to everything that he is and does, is his encounter with the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He does not elaborate on the nature of the meeting, but he does indicate that it made him an apostle with the special mission of preaching the gospel to foreign nations or, as it is translated in the reading, “the Gentiles” – that is most of us.

Protestants often talk about coming to know the Lord Jesus, which leaves many Catholics wondering what they mean. Blessed John Paul II, however, encouraged us to develop a relationship with Christ. We encounter Christ in one another, especially in the poor who trust themselves implicitly to the Lord’s care. We meet him also in listening to the Gospel and even more profoundly in the reception of Holy Communion. It is the summation of these events contemplated over years that most of us have a sense of relationship with the Lord. Like for Paul then, he becomes the whole point of our existence.

Homilette for Thursday, February 5, 2009

Memorial of St. Agatha, virgin and martyr

(Hebrews 12:18-19.21-24; Mark 6:7-13)

In workshops on preaching the late Ken Untener, bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, used to say that the homily should last no more than four minutes. Untener reasoned that mass in a Catholic church has much that speaks to the people besides the homily. The readings themselves are usually self-evident. The stained glass windows tell their stories. The hymns relate a message. And the prayers convey much meaning.

The Letter to the Hebrews today refers to the Christian liturgical assembly – what we call the mass. Like Bishop Untener’s description of mass in a Catholic church, it speaks of a setting of peace and light. It is where we meet Christ in a unique way. The mass differs dramatically from the Hebrew assembly in the desert. That was a terrifying experience because God had to soften and shape an unruly lot so that they may live more like His people.

Still, sometimes we grow weary of the mass and feel tempted to skip it for a Sunday. If the irregularity becomes a norm, we would be making a mistake worse than riding in a car with faulty brakes. It is not that everyone in church is a saint, but we come here to be reminded that sainthood is our destiny. Even more importantly, here we listen to the Word of God and receive the nourishment of Christ’s body so that we may act as we are destined to become.