Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

10 Sept • Christ is All: Overcoming Division by Embracing God's Grace

A Word of Hope

Father Charlie reflects on Paul's letter to the Colossians, exploring the call to put to death old habits and embrace the new life won for us by Christ. Discover how to make room in your heart for God's grace and overcome division to love those around you. Learn about the transformative power of salvation and the invitation to live a life hidden with Christ in God. #Colossians #Salvation #Grace #Transformation #Catholic #Faith #FrCharlieBouchard #BibleStudy #Inclusion #Love #ChristianLiving #NewLife

Chapter Breakdown:

0:00 Introduction: Word of Hope - Wednesday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
0:11 Paul to the Colossians: Died and Raised with Christ
0:27 Our Lives Hidden with Christ in God
0:44 Doing Our Part: Making Room for Salvation
1:05 Putting Away Bad Habits: Anger, Slander, Lying
1:26 Making Room for Grace in Our Hearts
1:41 Christ is All: Overcoming Division
2:03 Opening Our Hearts to Others
2:26 Prayer for Awareness and Openness

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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    9 Sept • Knowing About Jesus vs. Knowing Jesus

    Father Peter Hunter, teaching philosophy in Jamaica, shares a thought-provoking reflection on St. Paul's message: It's more important to know Jesus than to simply know about him. Explore the meaning of discipleship, friendship with Christ, and how to deepen your personal relationship with Jesus. Discover the difference between academic knowledge and genuine connection in your faith journey.

  • 8 Sept • The Birth of Mary: Navigating God's Plan When Life Zigs and Zags

    Join Fr. Scott in Jamaica for a reflection on the Feast of the Birthday of Mary and the readings from Micah and Matthew's Gospel. Discover how God's plans unfold even when life takes unexpected turns ("zigs and zags"). Learn to stay attentive to the present moment and trust that God will bring a greater good, even when things don't go as planned. Perfect for those seeking spiritual guidance, biblical insights, and a deeper understanding of faith in everyday life.
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    7 Sept • Come Back to Christ

    Jesus calls for total commitment! Explore how St. Teresa of Avila's story can inspire us to embrace our weaknesses and find strength to return to God. with our whole heart. #Faith #Jesus #Commitment #Catholic
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    5 Sept • New Wine, New Wineskins: A Prophetic Challenge for Our Time

    Father Brendan Curran delivers a prophetic message about Jesus's parable of new wine and new wineskins, applying it to today's crises in Ukraine, Gaza, and US immigration policy. This Friday devotional from the Dominican Promoter for Justice and Peace doesn't shy away from difficult topics - it confronts how 'old wineskin' approaches to conflict and human rights are failing worldwide. Are you ready to be part of the 'new wine' of hope and transformation? This isn't your typical feel-good devotional - it's a call to prophetic witness in our broken world.
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    4 Sept • Go Deeper: Finding Hope When You Want to Give Up

    Feeling discouraged? Ready to give up? Father Brendan Curran shares a powerful message from the Gospel of Luke about Jesus calling his disciples to 'go deeper' after a night of empty nets. This Thursday devotional explores how God calls us to persevere through failed exams, financial struggles, health challenges, and social division. Join the Dominican Promoter for Justice and Peace as he reminds us that God never gives up on us, even when we're ready to quit. Perfect for anyone facing difficult times and seeking spiritual encouragement.
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    3 Sept • St. Gregory the Great: Lessons on Eternal Life and the Love of God

    In this reflection for the Memorial of St. Gregory the Great (Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time), Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom, O.P. shares the inspiring life and teachings of one of the Church’s greatest shepherds.

    Born into nobility, Gregory became governor of Rome before leaving it all behind to embrace monastic life. Later, as Pope, he strengthened the faith, wrote profound spiritual works, and reminded Christians that eternal friendship with God is our true treasure.
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    2 Sept • Building Each Other Up: Biblical Community and Mutual Encouragement

    Father Greg Heille from Aquinas Institute of Theology continues his reflection on 1 Thessalonians, moving from chapter 4's message of resurrection hope to chapter 5's teaching about being "children of light." He explores how Christians, while acknowledging that life can change instantly like "a thief in the night," are called to live differently because of their faith in God's goodness and transformative power. Drawing from Psalm 27, Father Heille emphasizes the importance of Christian community in supporting one another through life's struggles, encouraging believers to lift each other up and live virtuous lives together as they glimpse God's light "in the land of the living."
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    1 Sept • Finding Hope in Grief: A Catholic Priest's Reflection on the Death of a Friend

    Father Greg Heille from Aquinas Institute of Theology reflects on grief, faith, and resurrection following the recent death of his Dominican community brother. Drawing from 1 Thessalonians 4, he explores how Christians can maintain hope while grieving, sharing his personal struggle with loss despite having strong faith in resurrection since age 16. Through the lens of the Good Samaritan parable, Father Heille emphasizes how believers can express resurrection faith by lifting each other up during times of need and loss, even when we can only see God's presence dimly in this life.
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    31 August • True Humility is Not Hiding Your Gifts

    Fr. Samuel challenges common misconceptions about humility in this insightful homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Drawing from Sirach and Luke's Gospel, he reveals that true humility isn't about hiding our gifts or making ourselves small, but about being "grounded" - knowing who we are and operating within our God-given strengths. Learn the etymology of humility (from "humus" - ground), practical advice from Jesus about banquet seating, and why embracing our calling is actually an act of humility, not pride.
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    30 August • Bonds of Love Beyond Marriage

    Recorded at the National Diocesan Vocation Directors Conference in Huntington, New York, Fr. Samuel draws from St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians and Genesis. His homily explores why "it's not good for the man to be alone" applies beyond marriage to all human relationships, including celibate religious life. Learn how God reveals His love through our love for one another and why even vocations directors need fraternal support. A thoughtful reflection on community, loneliness in ministry, and the universal human need for connection.
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    29 August • Challenging One Another to Holiness

    Fr. Louis Morrone, OP, Provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great, shares insights from the recent General Chapter in Krakow, Poland. Drawing from St. Paul's teaching that "God's will for you is your holiness," this homily explores what it means to live lives of integrity and how we're all called to preach to one another through our daily witness. Learn about the Dominican Order's renewed focus on four key groups in their preaching mission and how every Christian is called to share in this work of evangelization.
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    28 August • An Honest Look at Yourself

    On the Feast of St. Augustine (August 28), Father Luke Barder draws powerful parallels between the divisions Augustine faced in the early Church and contemporary religious and cultural debates. This timely homily explores how Augustine's journey of self-discovery and humility offers wisdom for navigating today's polarized world. Learn how Augustine learned to navigate through church divisions through honest self-reflection and how his example calls us to see with God's eyes in all humility rather than our with our own righteousness.
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    27 August • St. Monica: The Saint of Hope for Struggling Parents

    Father Luke Barder reflects on St. Monica's feast day (August 27) and her powerful example of hopeful persistence in prayer. As we continue through Jesus's challenging words to the Pharisees, St. Monica shows us how to see our loved ones—and ourselves—through God's eyes of mercy and hope rather than despair. This homily offers comfort to parents struggling with wayward children and anyone facing long seasons of unanswered prayer. Learn how Monica's 25 years of faithful intercession for Augustine models the heart of Jesus for the lost.
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    26 August • Evangelization is Sharing Your Friendship With God

    St. Paul told the Thessalonians he came to share not just the gospel, but his very self. This powerful homily reveals how the gospel is fundamentally about friendship - friendship with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and friendship with fellow believers. Learn why authentic evangelization requires vulnerability and personal sharing, not just facts about God.
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    24 August • The Narrow Gate is a Broad Minded Inclusivity

    Again from Abruzzo, Italy, Fr. Jimmy looks at Jesus' injunction to enter through the narrow gate in light of the first reading from Isaiah—that God came to gather people from every nation—concluding that the narrow gate is to have a broad minded view of inclusivity. We are not to have a narrow view of who is saved in our church, nor allow a narrow nationalism in our country—a challenging perspective!
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    23 August • Practice What You Preach with Integrity

    Today's reflection is from the Abruzzo Mountains in Italy, where Fr. Jimmy is visiting his ancestral homeland. Jesus tells his followers that they should do everything the religious leaders say, but they should not follow their example because they do not practice what they preach. Fr. Jimmy ties this to Pope Francis' warnings against clericalism, and also applies it to leadership outside the Church, noting that political leaders should also see themselves as servants, and not as entitled to special treatment. In the same way, each of us needs to practice what we preach.
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    22 August • What do You Love?

    This Friday reflection celebrates the Queenship of Mary, which falls one week after the Assumption, exploring how Mary represents the completion of Christ's mystery fulfilled in humanity. Fr. Bob begins with a brief sung prayer to the "Holy Queen" before explaining how Mary, as the most perfect one who offered herself completely to God's invitation, becomes the sign of completeness - as Mother of God, she is Queen of Heaven since Christ is King. The reflection then connects to the Gospel's question about the greatest commandment, noting how Jesus chose Deuteronomy 6 ("Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul") over the more obvious first commandment from Exodus. The speaker emphasizes a profound insight: what we are truly devoted to, what we genuinely love and believe in, is what we obey - love becomes the non-negotiable of our lives.
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    21 August • Bargaining vs. Conversion

    Today we hear the troubling story of Jephthah's vow from the Book of Judges and Jesus's parable of the wedding banquet, exploring our tendency to make bargains with God rather than seeking true conversion. Speaking from St. Catherine of Siena House in Grand Rapids on the memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Father Keller examines how Jephthah's tragic sacrifice of his daughter reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what God desires - God never wants human sacrifice but seeks our heart's conversion. The Gospel's wedding banquet parable reinforces this theme, showing how people reject God's invitation by prioritizing worldly concerns, and how even those who attend the banquet can be spiritually unprepared (symbolized by the man without a wedding garment). Father Keller warns that even faithful churchgoers can fall into the trap of trusting in their own works or worldly things rather than centering their lives in God.
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    20 August • Beyond Comparison to Gratitude

    In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the landowner who hired workers all throughout the day, but in the end, paid them all the same. This parable strikes us differently depending on if we identify with the ones who got more than they expected or less. Of course, the parable is about getting into heaven, something none of us has earned, so we should all see ourselves as given more than we deserve and simply feel gratitude, but sometimes we still get into a spirit of comparing ourselves with others, and that always eats away at our happiness. Which will you do today?
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    18 August • Gradually Overcoming Sin

    Father Charlie reflects on the Scripture readings for Monday, August 18th (20th week in ordinary time), examining the challenging theme of human nature's tendency toward repeated sin. Drawing from the Book of Judges, where the Israelites repeatedly fell into idolatry despite divine guidance through judges, and the Gospel story of the rich young man who approached Jesus seeking salvation, Father Charlie explores how we all struggle with habitual sins that seem impossible to overcome. While acknowledging the disappointing cycle of confession and repeated failure that many experience, he offers hope through the Gospel's message that true transformation comes not just from following commandments, but from a genuine conversion of heart that allows God's grace to gradually replace our patterns of sin with acts of charity, love, and trust in God.
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    17 August • What is Your Passion?

    Speaking from a beautiful garden in Madison, Wisconsin, Fr. Scott connects his friend's retirement passion for gardening with the spiritual call to passionate prophetic action. Using Jesus' words about lighting fires and Jeremiah's willingness to face persecution, he challenges viewers to identify what they're passionate enough about to risk everything for. Addressing current world crises like Gaza and Ukraine, he calls for moving beyond comfortable inaction to light the fires of change our broken world desperately needs.
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