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On this feast of the beheading of John the Baptist, we remember that Herod was "interested" in John, but not enough to keep from beheading him to save face. Are we just "interested" in the things of God, or are we willing to change the way we are in the world to help bring them about?

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, in which Jesus tells us he is only here for the Children of Israel and Paul tells us he is here for the Gentiles. WHo are we here to serve?

God gave the Israelites a land to inherit as their own. Let us acknowledge that we receive a rich inheritance from God and from our ancestors, and that this is a good thing.

Jesus tells us to pick up our cross and deny ourself. To do that, we need to own our self and have a dynamic sense of our self as capable of making choices and following Christ.

Br. Joe Trout, OP speaks to us of God's surprising generosity, going beyond anything we expect or deserve, and he asks us to ponder the ways that God has been good to us in our own loves.

On the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Br. Joe Trout, OP notes that these great apostles were not perfect people, yet in leading the Church they brought us closer to God. In the same way, we should not demand perfection from our current leaders, but should expect them to lead us all towards God.

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time with a surprising insight into prayer—that God ultimately hears our prayers and vindicates us, but often not right away,. Thus, serving God can be painful and entail suffering, but it is still the path to eternal life and joy, so brace yourself for it if you want to walk this path.

Br. Joe Trout, OP recalls how the authorities of Jesus' day sought to trip him up by asking him trick questions, and how Jesus refused to play their games. In the same way, we should not feel a need to respond to people who are just looking for a fight.

Br. Joe Trout, OP unpacks the complex story of Jesus cursing the fig tree, wrapped around the cleansing of the Temple, with a note about prayer at the end. Confused? You won't be after today's episode of A Word of Hope: https://www.opcentral.org/hope

Br. Joe Trout, OP recalls how Paul and Barnabas were horrified for being worshipped as gods themselves, and asks us to think about how we define "success" in our own lives.

Br. Joe Trout, OP looks at the struggles in the early church to build a community that is just and effective, and asks us each to ponder our own roles in the present-day church.

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for Good Shepherd Sunday, explaining how God protects us and frees us from sin so that we can join in the salvific work of God and have life more abundantly. Also, we enter into this state through Jesus, who is the gate, though the Sacraments.