24 October 1998,
I attended Sunday Mass this morning at a parish near Catholic Theological Union where I am spending a sabbatical year. It was Mission Sunday. I was sitting beside a family with a little girl about 5 years old who was busy during the Mass with her drawing and colouring book.
The priest began his homily by saying that he had never worked as a missionary. But he then told some stories of his friend’s missionary experiences. Towards the end he emphasized the need for our prayers for missionaries.
“If you say one our Father, three Hail Marys and one Gloria every night for the missions you will have said 7 our fathers 21 Hail Marys and 7 Glorias by the end of the week. By the end of the month you will have contributed approximately 30 Our Fathers, 90 Hail Marys and 30 Glorias to the missions. By the end of a year you will have reached 365 Our Fathers, 1095 Hail Marys and 365 Glorias.
At this stage I was wondering what was wrong with the guy. Was this a homily on mission or a mathematics class?
He finished strongly then with a question, “The question is – will you do this?”
“I will,” shouted the little girl, as the colouring book slipped to the floor.
So who can say what is a good homily!
by Fr. Frank Hoare
