Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

31 Oct • Finding unity amidst differences

A Word of Hope

St. Paul advises us to to stand against the power of the devil. God unites, the devil divides. In this election season, we must not give in to division, even though we must in truth acknowledge differences. The key is to see that God created us all to be united. Then we are motivated to to get to know one another and come to understand our various motivations and opinions, so we can love one another despite our differences.

Based on Ephesians 6:10-20

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

(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

Every day the Chicago Dominicans offer "A Word of Hope" video to bolster our faith through these trying times. We welcome any feedback you have at hope@opcentral.org . You can see them all below, or you can see other preaching by a particular person by clicking on his name, and you can have them emailed to you each morning by signing up for our email service:

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    2 July • Let God lead us to justice

    God promised to punish Israel for its injustice, and Psalm 5 cries out, "the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful" and promises that they will not stand before him, and then asks, "Lead me O Lord in your righteousness." If only we will turn and trust God, he will save us from whatever storm threatens us and lead us to justice.
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    1 July • Cross over to the other shore *** Bonus Video ***

    Today we have a bonus video from Fr. Greg Heille—a very challenging message from the prophet Amos, who chastises the people from building their prosperity on the backs of the poor. However, Amos also acknowledges that God stole the land from the Amorites to give to them, and thus, blessings seem to almost always come at the expense of others. Perhaps, to make sense of this, we need to cross over to a new understanding, crossing over to the other shore where God lives.

  • 29 Jun • Who is God to you?

    Jesus asked Peter, “But who do you say that I am?” This question is important for every one of us to answer: Who is Jesus for us? Who is God for us? And, we are also called to pass our answers on to others.
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    28 Jun • Jesus has made us worthy of God's love

    A leper came up to Jesus saying, "“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” Jesus replied, “I do will it. Be made clean” and the man was healed. Jesus also wills us to be worthy of God's love, and so we are. Share this Good News today with someone who needs to hear it.
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    27 Jun • Simply try to be faithful

    Jesus rejected people who claimed to to great deeds in his name, embracing instead people who listened to his words and acted on them. We do not have to have success in our ministry, we simply need to listen to Jesus and to try to be faithful to his words.
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    26 Jun • The gift of the Bible

    In our scripture today, Hilkiah rejoiced because he found a long lost book of Moses in the Temple in Jerusalem. But there was also consternation, because the new book showed how far they had strayed from their own tradition. For us today, reading the Bible often reminds us in a helpful way of what God wants for us.
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    24 Jun • Moving on...

    John the Baptist was not named after his father, Zechariah, because he was not to follow in his father's footsteps. Instead, he was the herald of something new, The Reign of God in Christ Jesus. Do we have sufficient faith to say yes to God when asked to break with the past and move in a new direction?
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    22 Jun • God or mammon?

    Jesus famously said that we cannot serve two masters, God and mammon. If we serve God first, then we can have healthy attitude towards our own material goods, not clinging to them, but using them to help those who do not have enough.
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    19 Jun • Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving

    Jesus told his disciples to practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving not so that others might see, but with sincerity, knowing that God will see these righteous deeds. These are the basic actions of every Christian disciple, all of which direct us back into right relationship with God.

  • 18 Jun • Respond to your God-given gifts

    Jesus said to love our enemies. We do that not because they deserve it, but as a response to the love of God already poured out on us in our own lives. We show our thanks for God's unconditional love in the way we live, by loving others unconditionally.
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    17 Jun • Do not resist an evildoer

    Jesus said, "you have heard, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil." This is a difficult saying for us to embrace. It is difficult not to retaliate against evil, but God says "no." To help, imagine what God thinks looking at the devastation in the cities of Ukraine and Gaza.
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    16 Jun • Let God be God

    In Jesus' parables of the Kingdom of God, he teaches us that God is always working within us in hidden ways to bring about great things. We just need to trust that grace, and let God be God.
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    15 Jun • Speaking with integrity

    Jesus said not to swear to the truth but to simply let our "yes" be yes and our "no" be no. In this world, we accept that people lie and therefore need these markers that this time we are not lying. But in the Reign of God, everyone will simply speak the truth all the time, and so we should move in that direction now.
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    13 Jun • Anger against a brother or sister

    The law says "thou shalt not kill", but Jesus adds that even if we are angry with our brother or sister we are liable to judgement. Even more radically, if our brother or sister has reason to be angry with us, we also need to heal that division before we come to the altar. Relationship is a two way street.
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    11 Jun • Salt and Light for the whole world

    Jesus told his disciples that they are to be the salt of the earth and lamps on a lampstand. Thus, we are called to bring the light of Christ to everyone around us that is struggling with darkness, or to allow others to shine their light on us if we are in darkness.
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