Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

Videos

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

26 Nov • The right questions

Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple and his disciples naturally wanted to know when it would happen and what signs would accompany it. Jesus told them that many will claim to have answers, but they should not believe them. We have many questions, but we should not accept easy answers to many of them. The question that really matters is how to best live today, and that changes day by day.

25 Nov • The widow's mite reconsidered

Jesus noticed a widow putting a small amount of money oint he temple treasury and told his disciples that she has put in more than all the rich people because she has given all she has to live on. In the context of Luke's Gospel we see that Jesus was not so much praising her generosity as he was condemning the temple system that rested on the backs of the poor "devours the houses of widows." The Good News for us is that God is not asking us to kill ourselves in helping others, but to do what we can with the riches given to us.

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

3 Oct • Finding the deeper truth

Job's friends "know" he must have sinned if God's hand is against him. Job "knows" that he will see his vindication with his own eyes, and so he and his friends talk across each other. The deeper truth of the Book of Job is beyond either of these positions. The point of the Synod on Synodality is to get to the deeper truth beyond what either "side" thinks, because that deeper truth can transform us, our Church, and our world.

29 Sept • Cast it away, but not so far away

We have two sayings of Jesus today, one of inclusion and one of exclusion. The deeper truth lies somewhere in between.

You can find out more information about the Oct. 24 Provincial's Dinner at: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/knch6p/event/provincialsdinner2024/

Based on Mark 9:38–43, 45, 47–48;

The Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Scott Steinkerchner, OP breaks open the readings for the Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, where Peter goes from his great confession of faith in Jesus, "You are the Messiah!" to being called "satan" by Jesus just four sentences later. Faith is a fickle thing, and we learn from the Letter of James that it must be lived out to be real. In living it out, there will be ups and downs, but if we stick to the task of living out our faith we will eventually find its fullness.

Readings: Isaiah 50:4c–9a; James 2:14–18; Mark 8:27–35