Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

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)

See all the Word of Hope videos at http://opcentral.org/hope

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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    17 Aug • Beyond sour grapes

    In ancient Israel there was a saying, "Fathers have eaten green grapes, thus their children’s teeth are on edge." Children often reap the consequences of their parents actions, but God wants to banish this saying because with repentance and grace, God can always open up new possibilities.
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    14 Aug • Finding common ground

    Jesus recommends a process of correcting our brothers and sisters in which we first go to them alone, then, if they do not agree, bringing in one or two more , and only later bringing in the whole church is he or she does not listen. We could use this kind of prudence in our own day in dealing with our polarized politics. We should start our conversation with those with whom we disagree by finding common ground where we can agree, and then moving forward from there.
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    13 Aug • Devouring scripture

    The prophet Ezekiel relates a curious vision in which God bids him to physically eat the word of God. We, like him, are invited to metaphorically eat the word of God in scripture, taking it into ourselves so that we might get the most out of it.
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    12 Aug • Humility in small things

    Though Jesus was God, he was humble enough to accept not being recognised for who he was. If we have this sort of humility, even though we might be slighted in a thousand ways, we can find peace in our own day. Let Jesus be our guide.
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    11 Aug • The bread come down from heaven

    Jesus said, "I am the bread come down from heaven," and he still comes to us today through the Eucharist, in which the bread and wine are transubstantiated into his body and blood. As St. Augustine said, when we worthily partake of this sacrament, the Eucharist does not become part of us, we become part of Christ.
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    10 Aug • A grain of wheat

    On this Feast of St. Lawrence, Fr. Jordan relates that the Gospel passage chosen for Lawrence is the same one he used for his solemn vows when he gave his life to the Order of Preachers. Is there a scripture passage that describes your life's work?

    Based on John 12:24:

    Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
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    9 Aug • Take up your cross, for eternity

    Jesus tells us, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." In this, Jesus sets us free from all of the goods of this life, so that we might get something better—eternity with him in the life to come.
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    8 Aug • Bringing the Good News

    On this Feast of our Holy Father Dominic, we remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah (52:7):

    How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
    who brings good news,
    who announces salvation,
    who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’,

    While these certainly apply to St. Dominic, given the needs of our present day, all of us should hear God asking us to answer this call, to proclaim to a weary world that our God reigns.
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    7 Aug • What the world needs now is hope

    The Prophet Jeremiah offers the people hope that, despite everything, God still loves them with an everlasting love. Do you need to take that message more to heart? Do you need to take that message to someone you know who has lost hope?
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    6 Aug • Listen to Jesus

    On this Feast of the Transfiguration, we remember that great event where Jesus' clothes were transformed dazzlingly white and God spoke through the cloud "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Listening to Jesus is the heart of Christianity, and God gives us these spiritual experiences not to rest in them, but to strengthen us as listeners who act on what we hear.
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    5 Aug • Our hope lies in truth

    The prophet Hananiah told the people what they wanted to hear. The Prophet Jeremiah told them the truth. Do we search for the truth or listen to those who tell us what we want to hear? The truth is sometimes comforting and sometimes challenging, but our hope can only lie in the truth. So if you want hope, search for the truth.
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    4 Aug • Trust God to lead us forward

    After God led the people out of Egypt, they complained because they were hungry. So God gave them manna and quail to eat in the desert. Can we trust that God will provide and go forth into the unknown with confidence, or do we drag our feet and long for a past that is gone?
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    3 Aug • Haunted by sin

    John the Baptist was a prisoner of Herod and was ultimately beheaded because he reminded Herod of a past sin that he could not get beyond. We do not have to be haunted by sin because we have the great Sacrament of Reconciliation.
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    31 July • Take the Word of God deep into your heart

    The prophet Jeremiah said to God, "When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart," Our prayer for you in bringing you A Word of Hope every day is that you too will devour the Word of God such that it could transform you as it has so many great saints, such as St. Dominic, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Alphonsus Liguori.
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    30 July • You and I are the good seed

    In today's Gospel, Jesus explains to his disciples the parable of the weeds and the wheat growing together, assuring them that, even though there are trials and weeds may be choking them, they were meant to be good seeds, planted to bring a good harvest for God, and that will happen if they remain faithful and trust God. You and I are also good seeds, planted by God to bring about a good harvest.
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    29 July • Purpose Over Pain

    When Jesus arrived after Lazarus' death, Martha called out to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." But her pain was turned to greater joy and great faith when her faith in Jesus led to the resuscitation of her brother. In modern times, we hear of Annette Nance Holt, who responded to the death of her 16 year old son, who died shielding another from bullets in a drive-by shooting, by starting an organisation that encourages people to work for an end to gun violence rather than simply living with the pain of its consequences. You can learn more about Purpose Over Pain at https://purpose-over-pain.org .
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    25 July • Standing with Jesus

    The mother of James and John asked Jesus if they could sit at his right and left in the Kingdom. Jesus asked them if they could drink from the cup he drank from, and they said they could. While Jesus could not give them these positions in the Kingdom, he promised they would drink from his cup, and they both suffered for the Kingdom as he did, but in very different ways. We cannot know where witnessing to the Kingdom will lead us, but we trust God to make the most of our lives if we do.
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