Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

21 Nov • Pointing to God

A Word of Hope

In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." His mother, Mary, lived in such a way as to always point to God rather than to herself. We should do the same.

Based on Matthew 12:46-50

While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’ But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?’ And pointing to his disciples, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’

(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)

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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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    20 Nov • Growing in our faith

    In today's gospel, we hear Luke's version of Matthew's parable of the talents, where a rich man goes away and leaves his money in the care of his servants. This versions stresses the need to invest the faith we have been given by proclaiming God's graces.
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    19 Nov • Christians in a pagan society

    In the Book of Revelation we hear a challenge for Christians living in a pagan society to hold fast to their faith, living in the world but not being of the world. We live in a very secular world. Can we live as Christians without caving in to the values of this secular world?
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    18 Nov • A complex encounter with Jesus

    In today's Gospel, a blind man hears that Jesus is coming and calls out to him. The crowd tells him to shut up, but Jesus calls him over and heals him. This is a complex story about the many ways we respond to God's presence in our life. Are we like the blind man, the crowd who tells him to shut up, or the crowd who is amazed at the healing? Which type of encounter do we want to have with Jesus?
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    17 Nov • We are stewards, not Masters

    In today's Gospel Jesus talks about the end times, when heaven and earth will pass away. What is revealed is that we are not masters of the world or even of our own lives. God is. We are only stewards of our little corner of it. The Good News is that when this time comes, God will collect and protect his faithful. So don't worry, just tend to the little part of the world that God has given you to be steward over. The Master will handle the rest.
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    16 Nov • Prayer as conversation with God

    Jesus told a parable of the unjust judge who finally gave a widow her due because of her persistence. God will also grant what we ask for, but seeks to have an ongoing conversation with us as we would with a friend. Also, as with friends, we cannot make demands of God but must trust that God loves us and will do what is right for us.
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    15 Nov • Albert the Great

    On this Feast of St. Albert the Great, Doctor of the Church, we remember how he integrated knowledge from theology, science, and politics, seeing no disparity between faith and reason. All of these realms of knowledge speak of the genius and imagination of God in creation. In the same way, we should let our knowledge of the world bolster our faith rather than setting these things in competition.
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    13 Nov • Healing the lepers

    Jesus healed lepers and allowed them to rejoin the wider society. Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrants to the United States towards the same end. May we follow their example and work to integrate into our society those who today cry out for mercy.
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    10 Nov • Every good deed matters

    Today we hear of the woman who gave two small coins for poor, which was everything she had. Jesus noticed her generosity and pointed it out to others. Perhaps he was even moved to be more generous himself. So let us together do all we can, encouraging one another to be more generous.
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    9 Nov • We are temples of God

    Today we celebrate the oldest church in Christianity, the Basilica of St. John Lateran. But our readings remind us that however important buildings are, when Jesus walked the earth he was God's temple. Now it is we, the baptised, who are God's true temples, called to be living stones, active in the world.
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    8 Nov • Hope as a mindset

    Paul reminds us that our citizenship is ultimately in heaven. Keeping this in mind moves us beyond optimism or pessimism and into a mindset of hope— that Jesus has already conquered death and whatever is happening here and now, in the end, Jesus triumphs over all.
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    5 Nov • Our hope is in Jesus, not politics

    We long for a political system that will be just and perfect, but it will never happen in this life. Jesus came not to fix everything in this world, but to open for us a better one in heaven. The effects of original sin are still in this world, and it can never be perfect, but if we can be life Jesus, not grasping for power but humbling ourselves for the sake of others, we will join him in heaven.
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    4 Nov • Listen to one another

    Can we be like Jesus, who emptied himself of his divine glory in order to come and be one of us. Can we listen to one another without needing to be right? Can we take a moment to just listen?
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    3 Nov • First, love God

    Jesus told us that the greatest commandment was to love God with your entire being. Whatever we do to pray, if we do it in a spirit of love for God, it will draw us closer to God.
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    31 Oct • Finding unity amidst differences

    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.
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    30 Oct • Enter heaven through the gate

    Jesus said that the gate to heaven is narrow. The Good News is that there is a gate, and further, we know what it is—to act out of our love of God. Such motivated actions will not only lead us to heaven, they will draw others tp follow.
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    29 Oct • Waking up your heart

    Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven as being like the leaven in dough that, though small, can grow and take over the whole measure of flour. Our hearts can grow with the love of God, but sometimes they get frozen. Let yours grow, and perhaps use the pope's new encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart to help.
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