Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

Know Before You Go

Palm Sunday: True Humility, Hope, and Opposing the Death Penalty

Know Before You Go

In this Palm Sunday edition of "Know Before You Go," Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP, unpacks the powerful contrasts of the day: the joyful Triumphal Entry and the solemn Passion narrative. Why do we experience both as we begin Holy Week?

Fr. Scott delves into the concept of kenosis (Christ's self-emptying) from Philippians 2, revealing true humility as focusing on serving the world's needs rather than oneself. Jesus models this by embracing both the crowd's adoration and His impending suffering and death.

Linking the liturgy to current calls within the Church, Father highlights Pope Francis's emphasis during the Jubilee Year of Hope on abolishing the death penalty – a practice that contradicts hope and mercy, especially poignant as we remember Christ's own execution. He also touches on Isaiah's call to bring hope to the weary and marginalized.

Understand the significance of hearing the Passion on Palm Sunday and find encouragement to engage deeply with the upcoming Triduum liturgies (Holy Thursday & Good Friday). This reflection challenges us to move beyond ourselves and ask: What does the world need from me now? How can I serve?

#KnowBeforeYouGo #PalmSundayHomily #HolyWeek2025 #CatholicReflection #FrScottSteinkerchner #DominicanPreaching #Humility #Hope #DeathPenaltyDebate #Abolition #PopeFrancis #JubileeOfHope #TriumphalEntry #PassionNarrative #Kenosis #Philippians #Isaiah #CatholicAction #ServeOthers #Triduum #GoodFriday #HolyThursday #FaithInAction

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  •

    The Fifth Sunday of Lent

    This week, we explore God's promise of "something new" from Isaiah, St. Paul's relentless pursuit of Christ in Philippians, and the powerful Gospel story of Jesus, the woman caught in adultery, and the law written in stone versus the mercy written in sand.
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    The Fourth Sunday of Lent: Repairing What's Broken

    Join Br. Joe Trout, OP as he reflects on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent and how God works to make us better people. Time and again we see in the scriptures that the people God chooses are not necessarily the best people. They are not perfect, but God works with them to fix their faults and make them into better people.
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    The Second Sunday of Lent

    Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, in which Peter, James, and John go up the mountain with Jesus and he is transfigured before them, and God tells them, "This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him." As their faith was strengthened by this event, our faith should be strengthened as we journey through Lent, so that at the end of it no storm will be able to shake our faith in the God to whom we cling.

    Readings: Genesis 15:5-12,​17-18; Philippians 3:17-4:1; Luke 9:28-36
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    The First Sunday of Lent

    Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP breaks open the readings for the first Sunday of Lent, Jesus being led out through the wilderness for forty days to be tempted by the devil. The forty days serve as a chance for Jesus to solidify his faith so that he can easily resist the snares of the devil. May our Lenten journeys do the same.

    Readings: Deuteronomy 26:4–10; Romans 10:8–13; Luke 4:1–13

    (Photo of Second Temple in Jerusalem By Ariely - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4533576)
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    The Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Charlie Bouchard, OP breaks open the readings for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time with its warnings against hypocrisy. While this is always difficult, we can help by working on shortening the gap between who we are and who we want to be.

    Readings: Sirach 27:4–7; 1 Corinthians 15:54–58; Luke 6:39–45
  •

    The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time, explaining how sometimes God's words are hard to understand, and sometimes they are hard to do. It is easy to turn our backs on the needy and on our opponents, but it is important to nonetheless live up to our call as Christians.

    Readings: 1 Samuel 26:2, 7–9, 12–13, 22–23; 1 Corinthians 15:45–49; Luke 6:27–38
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    The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for the Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time, exploring how we can discern true prophets from false prophets. The Prophet Jeremiah reminds us to expect our faith to flourish like a tree planted by a river that fears no doubt. St. Paul reminds us to root our faith in the resurrection of Christ. And our Gospel is Luke's version of the Beatitudes, which matches each "Blessed are you" with a corresponding "woe are you" to that while he gives comfort to the poor, he also warns of the dangers that riches bring, and while he praises trues prophets, who always invite trouble on themselves, he warms against being false prophets, who get praised by all because they tell them what they want to hear instead of speaking God's truth, which is usually challenging.

    Readings: Jeremiah 17:5–8; 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16–20; Luke 6:17, 20–26
  •

    The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Jimmy Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time around the theme that, through no merit of our own, God moves us from unworthiness to worthiness. We can see this in the call of Isaiah the prophet, Peter's response to the miracle catch of fish by saying, "Leave me Lord, for I am a sinful man," and by Paul telling us that he went from persecuting Christians to being an Apostle solely by the grace of God. God does not define us by our flaws, but by our grace-fueled potential.

    Readings: Isaiah 6:1–2a, 3–8; 1 Corinthians 15:1–11; Luke 5:1–11
  •

    The Presentation of the Lord

    Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP breaks open the readings for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. As Jesus is presented in the Temple in Jerusalem, the prophet Anna sings his praises and the prophet Simeon declares that he can now die happy because he has seen the salvation God has promised. Can we allow Jesus to take away all our fears, even the fear of death?

    Readings: Malachi 3:1–4; Psalm 24:7, 8, 9, 10; Hebrews 2:14–18; Luke 2:22–40.

  • The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings on this Sunday which celebrates the Word of God Sunday, in which the people of God realize how they had wandered far from the obeying the Word of God, and were struggling to come back. But in Good News, in the New Testament, Jesus offers us a new way to fulfill this calling together.

    Readings: Nehemiah 8:2–4a, 5–6, 8–10; 1 Corinthians 12:12–30; Luke 1:1–4; 4:14–21
  •

    The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Charlie Bouchard, OP breaks open the readings for the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, where Jesus turns water into wine. This sign speaks of Jesus' divine authority, but it also speaks of how God wants everyone to have enough. Jesus was dealing with a real scarcity, but many people manufacture artificial scarcities to gain a financial, political, or spiritual advantage over others. These scarcities need to be eliminated.

    Readings: Isaiah 62:1–5; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; John 2:1–11
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    The Baptism of the Lord

    Fr. Brendan Curran OP breaks open the readings for the Baptism of the Lord. As John baptised Jesus in the Jordan River, we are invited to imagine being on the banks of the river searching our own souls for what we need to change in our own lives. What do we need to do to prepare a way for God to come more fully into the world? Can we embrace our own Baptismal call to be authentic witnesses of Christ?

    Readings: Isaiah 40:1–5, 9–11; Titus 2:11–14; 3:4–7; Luke 3:15–16, 21–22
  •

    Epiphany Sunday

    Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP breaks open the readings for Epiphany Sunday. In the first reading it is prophesied that all the nations will go up to Jerusalem bringing gifts of gold and frankincense. In the Gospel, the magi follow the star to Jesus and give him gold, frankincense... and myrrh, an incense used in divine worship and in burying Jesus, noting his divinity and the sacrifice of his life. In the second reading, Paul reminds us that Jesus came for everyone, both Jews and gentiles.

    Readings: Isaiah 60:1–6; Ephesians 3:2–3a, 5–6; Matthew 2:1–12
  •

    The Feast of the Holy Family

    Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Feast of the Holy Family, which celebrates Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, but which also calls all families to holiness. In the Gospel, Joseph and Mary move towards letting Jesus go, allowing him to be part of something larger than their own family, a practice we can all try in our own families.

    Readings: 1 Samuel 1:20–22, 24–28; 1 John 3:1–2, 21–24; Luke 2:41–52
  •

    The Fourth Sunday of Advent

    Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, which celebrate the coming messiah. The Prophet Micah promises that one day a ruler will come who will lead justly, not just for Jerusalem, but for the whole world, so that the poor might flourish. The letter to the Hebrews explains how the sacrifice of Jesus actually frees people from sin, unlike the sacrifices in the Temple. Then, in the Gospel of Luke, Mary believes that the time has finally come for these things to come true, helping to bring them about.

    Readings: Micah 5:1–4a; Hebrews 10:5–10; Luke 1:39–45
  •

    The Third Sunday of Advent

    Fr. Charlie Bouchard, OP opens up the readings for us for the Third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete ("Rejoice") Sunday. In the readings we are challenged to see the coming of our saviour and rejoice in that knowledge, and to ask "what must I do to help bring this great thing about?"

    Readings: Zephaniah 3:14–18a; Philippians 4:4–7; Luke 3:10–18
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    The Second Sunday of Advent

    Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for the Second Sunday of Advent, remembering our call to be messengers of hope for a weary world, as was the Prophet Baruch and John the Baptist. God will complete the good work already begun, and let it be done through us.

    Readings: Baruch 5:1–9; Philippians 1:4–6, 8–11; Luke 3:1–6
  •

    The First Sunday of Advent

    Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP breaks open the readings for the First Sunday of Advent, speaking of how to live in the time in between Jesus' first coming and his second coming. Paul says we are to grow the love of others in our heart and follow God more closely. Jesus advises us to stay awake and not be distracted by anxiety. When we do, we lean into the perfection of the second coming and pull away from the hopelessness of the world.

    Readings: Jeremiah 33:14–16; 1 Thessalonians 3:12—4:2; Luke 21:25–28, 34–36
  •

    The Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe

    Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe, showing the glory we hope for, and reminding ourselves how the reality we see is not what will be in the Kingdom of God. Thus, as the world struggles to become something better than it is right now, we do not despair at the destruction, but believe in the possibility of what will come.

    Readings: Daniel 7:13–14: Revelation 1:5–8; John 18:33b–37
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    The Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

    Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP breaks open the readings for the Thirty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, where both Daniel and Jesus predict that the world will fall apart, but God will gather the faithful from the ends of the earth and save them. When our world falls apart, we can fall apart with it in despair, adding to the pain, or we can remember that Jesus is still in the world, still bringing life out of death, and we can look for those signs, trust God, and be beacons of hope for others.

    Readings: Daniel 12:1–3; Hebrews 10:11–14, 18; Mark 13:24–32
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    The Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. James Marchionda, OP breaks open the readings for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. The readings include two widows who give their last pennies to the poor and are thus commended for their generosity. Such generosity is contrasted to the way rich people act and challenges our own response to the widow, the orphan and refugees who have nothing.

    Readings: 1 Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
  •

    The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, expanding on the center of God's law—the shema: love the Lord your God with everything, and love your neighbor as yourself. In the Old Testament and the New, this does not change, and it requires us to actually live according to our love in God and neighbor.

    Readings: Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34
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    The Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Fr. Brendan Curran, OP breaks open the readings for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, asking if we have eyes of faith to see the world as God sees it? A blind man could see that Jesus could heal him,while the others around him who were not blind did not. The prophet Jeremiah could see that God would rescue the poor and lame first, not the rich and powerful. Let us all ask God for the faith to see.

    Readings: Jeremiah 31:7–9; Hebrews 5:1–6; Mark 10:46–52
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