Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

28 March • The Greatest Commandment in Lent

A Word of Hope

Join Fr. Louis, Provincial for the Dominicans of the Province of Saint Albert the Great, for a powerful Lenten reflection on the great commandments to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Fr. Louis delves into how we can express our love for God through the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, emphasizing the importance of genuine generosity and attentive listening to God's presence.

Furthermore, Fr. Louis emphasizes the crucial connection between loving ourselves and loving our neighbors. He encourages viewers to recognize and accept their own gifts and challenges, enabling them to extend that same acceptance and love to those around them.

This video offers spiritual guidance and encouragement for those seeking to deepen their Lenten observance and strengthen their relationship with God and their community. Discover how to live out the greatest commandment and share a word of hope with others.

Keywords: Catholic homily, Lent, love, greatest commandment, Fr. Louis Moroni OP, Dominican, Gospel reflection, Christian teaching, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, neighbor love, self-love, spiritual growth, religious video, biblical interpretation, word of hope, lenten reflection.

Hashtags:

#CatholicHomily #Lent #Love #GreatestCommandment #FrLouisMoroni #Dominicans #GospelReflection #ChristianTeaching #Prayer #Fasting #Almsgiving #NeighborLove #SelfLove #SpiritualGrowth #ReligiousVideo #BiblicalInterpretation #LentenReflection 

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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    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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    27 Oct • Seeing with eyes of faith

    A blind man heard Jesus was coming and so cried out, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!" The crowd tried to quiet him. Jesus healed him. Who could see more clearly who Jesus was, the blind man or the crowd? Can we see with those eyes of faith and trust that God can heal us?
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    26 Oct • Bad things happen to good people

    Sometimes bad things happen to good people and it is not their fault. Jesus , though innocent, was brutally killed. But when this happens, we can know that God it at our side at those times, and Jesus can identify with those who suffer. Perhaps we can ask God about it when we get to heaven, but in this life the best we can do is walk with others who are suffering.
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    24 Oct • The reality of divisions

    Jesus told his disciples that he came to bring not peace, but division. Jesus was seeking change, and that change would be opposed, bringing about divisions. In our world, we certainly still have the divisions, as any reference to politics will show, but do we want to heal them? Do we want to make a better world, or are we fighting just to fight?
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    23 Oct • Life happens. Adjust.

    Jesus told his disciples "if the owner of the house had known.. he would have been prepared.." But we all know what is best for us, and yet we are never prepared for all the twists and turns that life throws. May God give us the patience to adjust to the twists and turns of life.
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    21 Oct • Riches in heaven

    In the parable of the rich man who built barns to preserve his wealth we are reminded that the best things in life are given as gift to us from God, and not creations of our own hands. Thus, whether we succeed or fail in this life, we can rely on the work of grace to save us.
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    20 Oct • The greatest

    In today's Gospel we hear Jesus tell his disciples that among the Gentiles, rulers lord their power over their subjects, but that it cannot be that way with his disciples. Among them, the greatest is the one who serves the rest. In this elections season we hear much bravado from some who seek to sit in the seats of honor, but God would choose as leaders those who work to serve others rather than those who aggrandize themselves.
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    19 Oct • Hope in the midst of destruction

    In Paul's Letter to the Ephesians he asks that our hearts be enlightened to know the hope that belongs to being called by God. In our world still torn apart by war, can we let our hearts be lifted up to find a new way forward that brings forth life rather than destruction?
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    18 Oct • The still-too-small Kingdom of God

    Today we celebrate the Feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist, who worked with Paul to spread the Christian Church around the vast Roman Empire. 2000 years later, the Roman Empire is gone but the Church remains—but now, like then, the Church struggles to be heard amid the noise of the wider society. May our life in Christ animate us to be sign of the Kingdom of God so that it might spread throughout our society and around the world.
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    17 Oct • Can we change?

    In today's Gospel, Jesus again condemns the Pharisees for being on the side of those who killed the prophets, demanding that they change on the inside, hear his critique, and thus change the way they behave. They do not listen to him. Are we open to Jesus' challenge to change our hearts, and will this change be reflected in new actions that show our love for God, for ourselves, and for those most in need?
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    16 Oct • Are we a burden or a blessing?

    In today's Gospel, Jesus condemns both the Scribes and the Pharisees because they love honor and legalism more than helping others. In the first reading St. Paul tells us that we should look at the fruits of our actions to know if they are in line with the Spirit: are our actions full of love, joy, and patience, helping others live better lives?
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    15 Oct • Get outside of yourself

    In the Gospel today, Jesus challenges the Pharisees to see beyond themselves, helping others by giving to the poor rather than worrying about being seen as adhering to externals such as following the letter of the law. Then they will be right with God. This is an ongoing challenge to you and me, that today we might give alms and be made more as God would have us be.
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    14 Oct • Our faith must always grow

    In today's reading, Jesus tells his detractors that they will be condemned because they have closed their minds to a greater truth about God that he was teaching. Are we open to learning something new about God, or might Jesus level the same charge at us?
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