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Gain unforgettable insight into 22 parables from leading Catholic historian, author and homilist Fr. John Jay Hughes.

Who hasn't heard of the Good Samaritan? Even people with little knowledge of the New Testament know that a good Samaritan is someone who comes to the aid of a person in need. But did you know that those who first heard Jesus tell the story were shocked when they learned the identity of the hero-- as shocked as we would be by a story that made a hero out of a bomb-planting terrorist?

You surely know also the parable of the farmer sowing seed in different kinds of soil, where little of it came to fruition. We usually read it as a story about these different soils. When Jesus first told the story, however, he had something quite different in mind. What was the message Jesus originally intended to convey?

Did the younger brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son come back home just to put a roof over his head and food on his table? Or was he truly sorry for wasting everything his father had given him? And didn't the elder brother, who stayed home and always worked dutifully for his father, get a raw deal?

These are just a few of the questions you will find the answers to in this fascinating discussion of Jesus' parables. You will also discover the reason why Jesus chose parables as his favorite form of teaching.

Based on the work of scholars, and incorporating what Pope Benedict XVI writes about the parables in his book Jesus of Nazareth, Fr. Hughes’s presentation is straightforward and easy to follow. You will enjoy these talks, whether you are a minister or layperson.

With this order you will receive, free of charge, a detailed Electronic Study Guide. With your confirmation email, you will receive a link that will take you to this Electronic Study Guide, which includes outlines for each topic, review questions and suggested readings for further study. The link to access this Electronic Study Guide will also be included on the case of your CDs or DVDs. You are allowed to print up to 7 copies of your guide. Simply click on the link, or type it into your browser, to access the file.

About Your Presenter

Father John Jay Hughes, the son and grandson of Episcopal priests, has been a Catholic priest since 1968. He says that his goals as a speaker are to "feed the mind, move the heart, and stir the soul." He is the author of 11 books, and earned his doctorate in theology at the University of Muenster, where his teachers included Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI.

Father John Jay Hughes speaks not just to the head but also to the heart, the fruit of over a half century of pulpit ministry. The son and grandson of priests in the Episcopal Church, he served six years as an Episcopal priest himself. Father Hughes says,"I've heard some horrible preaching (haven't we all?). But in my youth I also heard great preaching that fed my mind, moved my heart and stirred my soul. Whenever I go into the pulpit, I am mindful of two imperatives. First, the Church commissioned me to preach Good News. And second, I am there to respond to the request made in John's gospel, chapter twelve, by 'some Greeks' to the apostle Philip: 'Sir, we would like to see Jesus.' I love being a priest: it's all I ever wanted. I invite you to join me on this Journey through the Parables. I can promise that you won't be bored."

Fr. John Jay Hughes has just published his autobiography, No Ordinary Fool: A Testimony to Grace (Tate Publishing, 344 pp, 24 photos, $19.99). Eugene Kennedy calls it: "The most profound memoir of a spiritual search since Thomas Merton's Seven Storey Mountain." Papal biographer George Weigel's 1000-word Foreword calls it "a most dramatic life."

 

Topic Titles

• Parables: What and Why?
• The Sower and His Seed
• Joy in Heaven
• The Merciful Father, the Two Lost Sons
• Two Men Went Up to the Temple
• Which Did What the Father Wanted?
• I Canceled Your Entire Debt
• I Want My House to Be Full
• Law or Love?
• Surprised by Joy
• I Knew You Were a Hard Man
• Will the Son of Man Find Faith?
• Bargainers and Beggers
• Warning'and Encouragement
• The Rich Fool
• The Man God Helped
• Everlasting Punishment?
• Journey's End