Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

7 May • Growing the church

A Word of Hope

Paul carries on preaching despite opposition in Philippi, while the disciples are sad at Jesus' departure. The first is an example of staying the course, which was good, and the second was an example of not wanting to change, which was bad. In the spiritual life, change is good when it supports growth and a greater ownership of the ministry of preaching the Good News. 

Acts 16:22-34 

The crowd joined in attacking Paul and Silas, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted in a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They answered, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’ They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay. He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God. 

(New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org)

A Word of Hope with dove

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    6 May • Using all God's gifts

    Lydia, a rich believer, invites the disciples to stay with her in her home and they accept. She is just one example of many benefactors that assist the apostles work, just as they assisted Jesus' work. To further the Good News, we need to avail ourselves of the gifts of all God's people, not just some.
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    5 May • The mystery of love

    We are called to love one another, and often this opens us up to suffering. But the mystery of the cross and resurrection of Jesus reveals that this suffering, which is painful, will be transformed into something beautiful, and so we can embrace it.
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    4 May • The world hated Jesus first

    Jesus told his disciples that if the world hates them, it hated him first. The Good News is that Jesus overcame that hate, as so can we. So we can confront the hatred in our world, rather than pretending it doesn't exist or has the last word.
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    3 May • Learning to believe

    On this Feast of the Apostles Philip and James, we hear a Gospel passage where they struggle to understand what their faith in Jesus means. We are all always doing the same, learning what it means to believe. Let's keep up the struggle.
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    30 Apr • The truest peace

    Jesus assures us that he gives us a peace that the world cannot give, to be reconciled to God. So it is good to wish for a peaceful life, and an end to strife and division, but it is most important to seek this kind of peace.
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    27 Apr • Continue to be amazed

    Philip asked Jesus to "show us the Father, and then we will be satisfied." Jesus replied that to see him is to see the Father, which Philip did not yet understand but will come to see over time.. Can we still be amazed at what Jesus has to teach us so that we can learn to proclaim him as boldly as did the apostles?
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    24 Apr • And so it begins... again

    In today's Gospel we hear that Jesus is the Light of the World. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear how Paul and Barnabas were sent out to spread that light to the world. In this Easter Season, it begins again as you and I are called to go out and bring that light to the world today.
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    23 Apr • Forced out

    The persecution of the early community forced it to spread out and to preach the Good News not only to Jews, but to Greeks as well, and great numbers became Christians. In the same way, our lives need to expand the witnessing of the Good News so that it reaches everyone.
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    20 Apr • Jesus' challenging message

    Jesus' teaching on eating his body and drinking his blood are very challenging to his disciples, and many decide to quit following him. Perhaps the Church's teaching on the Eucharist is not challenging to us, but are there other parts of Jesus' message that we simply tune out rather than challenging our own views?
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    17 Apr • Finding your part

    Though his role was to feed the widows and orphans, Philip left Jerusalem to avoid persecution and preached Christ to great effect in a town in Samaria. We all have official roles in our communities, but we have to discern to find what our real role is in helping to unfold the Kingdom of God.
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    16 Apr • Reunited with your enemies

    St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, looked up to heaven as he was being stoned to death and asked Jesus not to hold this sin against his executioners. If we hate our enemies or want them to be punished, then Stephen has a lesson for us, that we should instead look forward to reuniting with them in heaven some day.
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    14 Apr • The wounds of Christ

    The resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples and eats with them and still has the wounds in his hands and in his side. This is no "spiritual" resurrection, but bodily resurrection in which we can unite our our own bodily suffering with his, and be in solidarity with all those who suffer.
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