Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

18 July • "I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice"

A Word of Hope

In our Gospel today, Jesus argues with the Pharisees and declares definitively that God desires mercy more than following the letter of the law. In our dealing with ourselves and with others, are we more concerned about making sure that everyone is following the rules or about helping the people who are suffering?

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Welcome from Fr. Scott at St. Patrick’s, South Bend
00:19 Dominicans Assisting Between Pastors
00:31 Jesus vs. the Pharisees – Law vs. Mercy
00:40 Sabbath Scene: Disciples Pluck Grain
00:51 Pharisees Object to Breaking the Sabbath
01:00 Jesus Clarifies the Law’s Flexibility
01:07 “I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice”
01:20 Pharisees Miss the Point of Mercy
01:27 Law and Sacrifice Must Serve Mercy
01:39 Innocence of the Disciples – Feeding the Hungry
01:56 Feeding the Hungry Is Never Wrong
02:06 Mercy: Meeting Real Human Needs
02:14 Law Has Its Place, But Not Over Compassion
02:27 When Law Must Yield to Love
02:35 Seeing the Suffering of Others
02:45 Mercy as the Heart of Christian Action
03:01 Applies to Personal Life and Public Policy
03:14 Governing with Compassion Over Legalism
03:23 Let All Laws Serve Mercy and Healing
03:39 A Call to Be People of Mercy
03:48 That’s What God Desires Most

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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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  •

    23 Feb • Stop judging and you will not be judged

    Jesus challenges his disciples to love their enemies. This is difficult, but we can start with some of the other challenges he makes, such as, "stop judging and you will not be judged." This includes to stop judging ourselves so harshly so that our hearts might soften towards others as well.
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    22 Feb • The Chair of Peter

    Today we celebrate The Feast of the Chair of Peter, the office of the pope, and hear Jesus promise to give the keys of the kingdom to Peter and to the church so that the gates of Hades will not be able to prevail against it. Today, we still celebrate the blessings of this great gift a by being in communion with one another in the church.
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    21 Feb • Lose your life to save it

    In today's Gospel, Jesus challenges the crowd that those who wish to become his followers must be willing to lose their lives in the process so that they might find life. This new life in Christ will be worth the struggle and the sacrifices. What are we willing to sacrifice for it?
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    20 Feb • God's ways are not our ways

    In today's Gospel, Peter is reminded that God's ways are not our ways when he confesses that Jesus is the Christ but then rebukes Jesus when Jesus says that he will be rejected and killed for it. When God is doing something we don't expect or even want, it is time for us to trust that God has greater plans than our own. This can be disturbing, but it ultimately leads to a greater blessing.
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    16 Feb • Seeing the Kingdom of God

    In Luke's version of the Beatitudes, Jesus matches "blessed are you poor" with "woe are you rich," because riches obscure the Kingdom like a thick fog obscures a view. Jesus came to blow away the fog and reveal God's compassion which is available to all, but best seen by those who hunger for it.
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    15 Feb • The abundance of God's compassion

    4000 people (1000 from all four directions) came to hear Jesus preach for three days, and in the end, had no food. Before they left, Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes so that there was an abundance of food for all, symbolizing the abundance of God's blessings for all the world. We carry on this mission today when we as Church and individually feed those in need.
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    12 Feb • What makes us pure or impure?

    Jesus taught his disciples that nothing that enters us from without can make us impure. Rather, the malice and bad thoughts in our hearts that come out in our words and actions make us impure. This is a call to us to let go of the superficial things of religion and examine our own hearts and actions.
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    9 Feb • Graced to be more

    After a miraculous catch of fish, Peter tells Jesus, "Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man." Instead, Jesus invites him to be his disciple and opens him up to be more than he thought he ever could be. That is what grace can do for us.
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    9 Feb (extra) • Journey of self-discovery

    In an extra video for today, we hear about the call of the Prophet Jeremiah. God knows Jeremiah better than he knows himself, and Jeremiah will discover his own strengths as he lives out this call. Let us find ourselves by following our call.
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    8 Feb • Shepherds needed

    Today we celebrate the great Saint Josephine Bakhita, a former slave who converted to Christianity and joined the Canossian Sisters, and was known as a saint in her own day because of her faith and cheerfulness. In today's Gospel, Jesus and the apostles try to get away to a quiet place, but the crowd finds out and are assembled when they arrive, so Jesus teaches them because "they are like sheep without a shepherd." In our troubled, chaotic times, the world needs more shepherds.
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    7 Feb • Grace restores possibilities

    Herod had John the Baptist killed because he felt cornered by previous bad choices. Sin reduces our possibilities, leading us into one bad choice after another. Grace opens us up to see the infinite possibilities for the good that exist at any moment.
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    6 Feb • Repentance for the sake of healing

    Jesus sent out the twelve two by two to proclaim repentance and to heal people. Most of us know something in us is not what we want it to be. This call of repentance is a joyful wake up call to us that Jesus is ready to help us overcome our own darkness.
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    5 Feb • Collaborate in your own healing

    In today's Gospel Jesus returns to his hometown. After being initially impressed, the town turned suspicious of him, and Jesus could not do any great miracles because of their lack of faith.Two lessons: 1) jealousy is not helpful and not of God, and 2) we have to trust God in faith for God to be able to heal us.
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    3 Feb • God's healing can reunite us with our loved ones

    Jesus healed a Gerasene demoniac who then wanted to follow him. Instead, Jesus sent him back to his own family. The healing that comes from Jesus doesn't just cover over our sins, but empowers us to reunite with those we have hurt and bring them with us back to God. Is there someone with whom you need to reconcile?
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