Often our comfort becomes our great excuse for avoiding the difficulties of living the Gospel. we do not want to be uncomfortable, we do not want to sit in our discomfort as we examine our lives. We are so often like the pharisee in the Gospel. Can we instead sit in the midst of discomfort, embracing it for the sake of Jesus Christ, who calls us not to comfort but to greatness? For the daily readings, see the USCCB ....
Sep 17, 2020•6 min•Season 3Ep. 30
Often Paul's ode to love in Corinthians becomes something sentimental and soft, but the martyrs today remind us that love is anything but soft. Love is the driving and motivating force of our Christian witness. Without love all our actions, no matter how great, are wooden and they will ring hollow to those who witness them. Love alone is credible. Today is the Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs For the daily readings, see the USCCB ....
Sep 16, 2020•9 min•Season 3Ep. 29
Br. Joseph van Havermaet, O.P. preaches on Romans 14:7-9 for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Br. Joseph challenges us all to remember that our divisions and even the bonds of death do not separate the members of the Body of Christ. No matter what we go through, the life of Christ is open to all of us. "...whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s."
Sep 14, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 27
How often are we overwhelmed by pain and suffering? How often do we find ourselves flinching in the face of pain in the lives of others and even in our own lives? The Cross of Christ, and the Passion of Jesus, offers us grace and courage in approaching pain and suffering. Through the Cross we are given strength to face all the trials that come our way. Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross For the Daily Readings, see the USCCB ....
Sep 14, 2020•5 min•Season 3Ep. 28
Br. Andrew Martin Del Valle, O.P. preaches on Sirach 27:30-28:7 for the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Br. Andrew Martin breaks open the book of Sirach, and invites us to ask: how willing are we to forgive? It is easy to hold onto old grudges, but with forgiveness God has shown us, we are called to more. "Remember your last days, set enmity aside..."
Sep 13, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 27
What words and beliefs form the foundation of our lives? Are we building our lives on the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ, who gives us his own life and who guides us? Or do we still cling to the words of the world and what they offer? The world is often like a blind guide, but we are called to follow the enlightened guide who is Christ. As Christians we are called to build our lives on the Word which endures. Are we ready to do that? For the daily readings, see the USCCB.
Sep 11, 2020•4 min•Season 3Ep. 26
There should be something different about the love of a Christian. We're called to bless those who curse and persecute us. To give our tunic and our cloak as well. But how often do we fail to love with God's own love? How often do we disregard, abuse, and hate those whom we should love simpy because they are different in some small way? That is not how God loves. For the daily readings, see the USCCB ....
Sep 10, 2020•6 min•Season 3Ep. 25
For the daily readings, see the USCCB .
Sep 09, 2020•3 min•Season 3Ep. 24
Have you ever seen a miracle? A question often asked to people of faith, and one where our gut reaction often is to say no. And yet, haven't we? Haven't we seen miracle after miracle everyday of our lives? For the daily readings, see the USCCB .
Sep 07, 2020•8 min•Season 3Ep. 23
Br. Dominick Jean, O.P. preaches on Romans 13:8-10 for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. It's easy to talk about love in generalities and abstractions. What does it mean to love your neighbor in flesh and blood?
Sep 06, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 22
Sometimes, it's clear what God wants from us. Usually, it isn't. What are we to do in such cases?
Sep 06, 2020•8 min•Season 3Ep. 21
Today the Dominican Order remembers all those who support our way of life. Our life, devoted to preaching and the salvation of souls, is only possible through the generosity of others. Through their witness, we are able to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. This day we honor them and pray for them in a special way with a special liturgy. May they be blessed a hundred-fold in Heaven.
Sep 05, 2020•5 min•Season 3Ep. 20
So often we do not know what the future holds. We have plans and expectations but those are all too easily threatened. But while we don't know what our future holds, we do know who holds it. Our Lord in his providential care is always working for our good. But do we trust him enough to let Him? For the daily readings, see the USCCB .
Sep 04, 2020•6 min•Season 3Ep. 19
Jesus calls us out into deep waters. It is there that we will find our greatest fulfillment and our greatest challenge. If we are to answer that call, like the Apostles did, we need to dive into the depths of self-surrender, placing ourselves into the hands of the Lord. We are called out into the depths, but our God is with us. Do we trust Him enough to surrender to Him? Today is the Memorial of Pope St. Gregory the Great. For the daily readings, see the USCCB ....
Sep 03, 2020•4 min•Season 3Ep. 18
In the Gospel, Jesus does some flashy things. He teaches and preaches, just yesterday he cast out a demon, and today he heals Simon Peter's mother-in-law and everyone in the town of Capernaum. But what is the most important thing? Because it's not any of these. It's something more basic, more fundamental. Listen in to Deacon Ben's homily and find out exactly what the most important thing is. For the daily readings, see the USCCB.
Sep 02, 2020•5 min•Season 3Ep. 17
Jesus provides a model of servant leadership. He gives up many good things for the sake of his mission, in order that he might bring to us our Salvation. What are we willing to give up in order to live our mission as Christians fully? For the daily readings, see the USCCB .
Aug 31, 2020•4 min•Season 3Ep. 16
Br. Hoang Nguyen, O.P., reflects on the second reading for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Romans 12:1-2. As Christians we are often swimming upstream against the culture of the world. The Mind of Christ, which St. Paul in Romans encourages us all to have, helps us to see what in the world needs to change. But what about the good that is in the world? St. Paul calls us to reflect on all that is good and pleasing and perfect and to make it our own. There is much in the world which we Christians...
Aug 31, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 15
"Offer it up" A phrase familiar to many Catholics, but Deacon James Martin Nobles asks us this Sunday if we've really taken that phrase to heart. Do we understand what it means to offer it up? What it means to sacrifice and to give the Lord Jesus our everything? Or is it just another trite and tired phrase we Catholics like to say? Listen as Deacon James Martin walks us through the liturgy itself, where our prayers and sacrifices are lifted up to God Our Father. Readings come from Cycle A for th...
Aug 30, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Br. Peter Lewitzke O.P. preaches on Jeremiah 20: 7-9 at Vespers for the 22nd Week of Ordinary Time. If God wants our best, why is it that so many of his followers have hard lives. Br. Peter shares his own experience of feeling misled by God and by his own Catholic Christian faith, and discovering an invitation to 'fall in love' with God. That invitation exists for all of us: will we accept it?
Aug 29, 2020•8 min•Season 3Ep. 13
As we remember the life and martyrdom of John the Baptist on this feast day, we are also forcibly reminded of the great richness which is the Communion of Saints. Within the halls of Heaven are blunt confessors of faith like John the Baptist. There are theologians who grappled with nuanced questions about nature of God and being. There are preachers who were able to rouse people to joy and also to make them weep. The saints show us the richness and diversity of God's Kingdom. Each of us in our o...
Aug 29, 2020•6 min•Season 3Ep. 12
The Gospel asks us to stay awake and aware and it seems as though the entire world in recent days, weeks, and months has been forced awake by disasters, a global pandemic, and racial tensions. And it is now when we are awake that God calls out to us, it is now that God speaks to us, shouting in and through our pain so that we might hear what it is we are to do and to preach in these difficult days. Are we listening? Today is the Memorial of St. Monica . For the daily readings, see the USCCB ....
Aug 27, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 11
God loves us just as we are, but His Love does not stop there. He loves us, in fact, too much to leave us where and how we are. He seeks to give us His very self and so be transfigured in imitation of Him. Do we let God love us enough to change us? For the Daily Readings, see the USCCB .
Aug 26, 2020•3 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Often we can confuse niceness and pleasantness with Charity. But niceness never seeks to correct for fear of giving offense. Charity does correct and fiercely at times too. Often instead of seeking after charity with one another, we settle for niceness out of fear. But that's not the Gospel and that's not what Jesus asks us to do. Today is the Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle For the daily readings, see the USCCB ....
Aug 24, 2020•4 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Br. Greg Dunn O.P. preaches on Romans 11:33-36 at Vespers for the 21st Week of Ordinary Time. Br. Greg shares an experience from a family camping trip, which drew him to consider the search for God in his life. In each human heart is a hunger for God. By loving God and the people around us, and by accepting the treasures Jesus left us, we can search more and more successfully. "Oh the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God."
Aug 23, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Our Lady while reigning now in Heaven with her Son, did not have an easy life on earth. Her life is for us a model and example of sacrifice and what it truly means to offer up our sufferings for the salvation of the world. We are called in these difficult days, when certain demands and sacrifices are required of us, such as wearing a mask, to take Mary as our model and to say with her "let it be done." If Mary was sure of anything in her life it was God. Let us place our trust in God and offer u...
Aug 22, 2020•7 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Jesus lays out for us the great commandment: To love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as our self. But what does it mean to love our self? When is our self-love selfish and when is it spiritual? Some key insights are provided into cultivating proper self-love and, using the example of Pope St. Pius X and some of his reforms, we can see how the Eucharist strengthens and informs this love. Take a listen. August 21 is the Memorial Feast of Pope St. Pius X . For the daily reading...
Aug 21, 2020•6 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Rebellions and refusals are what mark the history and the response of God's People to God's promises. This failure is one we all share. But the prophet assures us in the first reading that it is not through us that God proves his holiness and makes great His Name. God alone does that. God alone is faithful and true at all times and that goes especially when we are unfaithful. He has never abandoned us and he even invites us, the entire world, into his banquet through Christ. But are we willing t...
Aug 20, 2020•5 min•Season 3Ep. 7
The logic and arithmetic of God's mercy is not so easily discernible to us as we so often like to believe. The Gospel today reminds us that God is Himself the Prodigal Employer, who gives to each out of his own generosity. We are meant to rejoice and to take delight when sinners return to the Lord and receive the reward of Divine Life. But instead often we can become envious because God is generous. God's mercy comes to us powerfully when we recognize our need for it. And we all need it. Let us ...
Aug 19, 2020•4 min•Season 3Ep. 6
This week in the Sunday Gospel, the love of Jesus Christ is on full display showing us exactly who our God is and who we are called to be. Preaching for a weekday prayer service, Br. Dominick Jean, OP, takes these readings and weaves them together to show 1) God's compassionate and Providential care for us all 2) How he supports and feeds us and 3) how he calls us all to be like the disciples and to participate in his magnificent work, sharing his blessings with the world.
Jul 30, 2020•12 min
Do we realize how amazing ordinary people are? God has given the world many natural gifts; he's given human beings many natural gifts, and he's made us amazing. And God offers us many gifts even more marvelous. Dcn. James Pierce invites us to let Jesus into our lives; let him make us more than ordinary, more than amazing.
Jul 12, 2020•21 min•Season 3Ep. 4
