FranciscanMedia.org | Sunday Soundbites | 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday Soundbites

Sunday Soundbites is a weekly, 90-second radio homily based on the Sunday readings, written and read by Fr. Greg Friedman, O.F.M. Sunday Soundbites is also heard on Catholic radio stations around the country.

Program for Sunday, June 17, 2012
(11th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

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Transcript

The final lines of the award-winning film biography of Mahatma Gandhi have always been a source of encouragement for me. As his ashes are being scattered over the water, we hear Gandhi’s voice: “Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always.”Hello, I'm Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the Sunday Soundbite for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

I don’t know whether the movie gives us an accurate quote from Gandhi or not, but his words certainly build on Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel. There, he is giving us two parables about the Kingdom, both from the natural world. One tells how a seed, once planted by the farmer, sprouts and grows without our doing anything, yielding a harvest. The other is the familiar description of the mustard seed, which though the smallest of seeds, becomes the largest of plants.

The power of the Kingdom is what Gandhi is describing in the film’s closing words: “…the way of truth and love has always won.” Although he was a Hindu, Gandhi knew and respected Christ’s teaching. And like the great Indian leader, when we are tempted to despair at the oppression or violence in our world—whether on the global level or in our personal lives--we must remember that the Kingdom’s truth will prevail, and the love of God has overcome all, in Jesus Christ.

I’m Father Greg Friedman with the Sunday Soundbite, on the web at FranciscanMedia.org.

Meet Father Greg Friedman

Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, O.F.M., is creative director with the Media Production Team at Franciscan Media. He also hosts American Catholic Radio each week, and produces videos for www.AmericanCatholic.org, including the "Two-Minute Take." Father Greg wrote and directed Assisi Pilgrimage: Walking in Faith with Francis and Clare, which appeared on ABC-TV stations nationwide. He also produced the popular faith-formation series Catholic Update Video, used in parishes around the U.S. He currently serves as pastor of St. Francis Seraph Parish, located in the inner-city neighborhood of "Over-the-Rhine" in Cincinnati, Ohio. You can contact him at letters@franciscanradio.org.

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