Br. Joseph Trout, OP

Discover St. Paul's profound insight: we don't just pursue God; we can pursue Him because He has already possessed us through His grace. Learn how understanding that our lives belong to God frees us to work for good without carrying the world's weight, trusting in His ultimate plan and the glorious inheritance He promises.

Explore the counter-intuitive connection between hope and vengeance in Catholic teaching. Br. Joe Trout explains how Jeremiah's cry reflects a deep trust that God is good and will not let evil stand unaddressed. Learn why this belief in divine justice, tempered by mercy, is crucial for maintaining hope in difficult times.

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.

Jesus was led into the desert to fast for 40 days, and only at the end of that fast are we told that he was hungry and needed to resist the temptations of the devil. Lent is a time to prepare to resist temptation when Lent is over.

The prophet Isaiah exhorts us against malicious speech which revels in the evil in the world and tears people down. Instead, we should mourn evil and seek God's help in making it better.

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