Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

A Word of Hope

In today's Gospel from Matthew 8:28-34, Jesus heals two demoniacs by sending their demons into swine who then hurled themselves into the sea and died. Confronting our own demons often looks this tumultuous, yet if we will allow, God is there to help us through it. What demons do you need to cast out? Can you suffer the tumult and allow God to help?

00:00 - Introduction and greeting
00:03 - Gospel story overview: Jesus crossing into foreign territory and casting out demons
00:36 - Reflection on how we accept negative habits or fears in our lives
00:50 - Comparing the story to personal struggles, such as addiction
01:16 - Fear of change and the difficulty of rooting out problems
01:38 - God's desire to heal and help us confront these issues
02:23 - Encouragement to have courage and trust in God's goodness
02:44 - Reflection on the process of spiritual growth and healing
02:50 - Questions for self-reflection: what needs exposure to God's light
03:02 - Invitation to let Jesus heal and comfort us
03:19 - Closing blessings and encouragement

A Word of Hope with dove

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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    1 July • Why are you terrified?

    In today's Gospel, we hear of Jesus who calms the storm when he is in the boat, and asks, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Do we realize that he is always with us in the boat in whatever storm comes our way? If not, perhaps we can do something as simple as attend Mass more often to wake up to this realization.
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    30 June • Be a person of life, and let the dead bury the dead

    On this Memorial of the First Martyrs of Rome, we hear Jesus tell a reluctant disciple, "Let the dead bury the dead, you come follow me," reminding us that we do not celebrate the martyrs' deaths but the fact that life and the faith endure no matter what. Christians are called to go out and preach that Good News. In parallel, the first reading recounts Abraham bargaining with God to not destroy Sodom because of the sins of the society for the sake of the just people who also live there. We are not to look only at the sins of a society without also seeing the good in it as well, and rather than simply condemning the sin, we can call forth and nurture the good.
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    29 June • Upon This Rock

    On this Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, as we remember the 100th anniversary of St. Dominic Church in Denver, Fr. Luke ponders the enduring mission of the church to reach out to the world to bring God's gift of love and inclusion to all. To be church today, we must still go out to bring Christ to the world for the Glory of God.
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    28 June • God Does the Impossible, Can We Attempt the Difficult?

    When God showed up at Abraham's door as three angels posing as travelers, Abraham offered them hospitality in the form of a feast. God, in return, promised that in a year Sarah would have a son. Sarah, being old, secretly laughed at the prospect, but God made it happen. Do we offer hospitality to the poor who show up at our door? Do we trust God's promises to us?
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    26 June • God Works with Our Bad Decisions

    God promised Abram and Sarai a child, but when that promise was slow in coming, they decided to have Abram sleep with Sarai's maidservant Hagar instead. This was a bad decision, but God still kept his promise to Abram and Sarai, and God made the descendents of Ishmael, Hagar's child, more numerous than one could count. God is not limited by our bad decisions, and whether or not we are faithful, God's plans will come to pass.
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    25 June • God's Unshakable Hope in You

    God placed his hope in Abram, and so Abram placed his trust in God. Even when we head down the wrong path, God still hopes in us with unshakable confidence. Find that hope in yourself today so that you can place your own trust more firmly in God, no matter the challenges.
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    22 June | United in the Body and Blood of Christ

    When Paul related Jesus' words instituting the Eucharist, it was to remind a fractious community that this Sacrament calls us to come together as one Body in Christ. Do we still feel united by the Body and Blood of Christ? Do we care for one another, both physically and spiritually? May Jesus draw us into a closer unity.
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    21 June | God-given Opportunities to Grow

    Paul asked God three times to have a "thorn taken from his flesh", but his prayer was denied. It was an opportunity for him to learn to trust God more. Whether we feel close to God in prayer or far away, it is an opportunity to grown in our relationship with God.
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    18 June | Find that Trust in God's Abundant Gifts

    Paul tells us that those who sow sparingly, reap sparingly, while those who sow abundantly reap abundantly. We can find delight in sowing abundantly when we realize how abundantly God has given to us, so that we no longer fear the world, but trust God. Do what it takes to foster that trust in yourself today.
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    16 June | The New Laws of Jesus Calling Us to More

    In the Jewish world of Jesus' day, there were many interpretations of laws and their meaning. Jesus moved away from a minimal understanding of what God required of us and pushed his disciples to put their entire soul into the divine work of reconciliation, and thus help bring about the Kingdom of God.
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    14 June | Saying "Yes" with Sincerity

    Jesus tells us not to swear by God, but to let our "yes" mean "yes" and our "no" mean "no." Perhaps this is not an injunction against oath-taking, which is an integral part of our modern world, but an injunction to be completely sincere in our words, so that our words and our life make a sincere and total "yes" to God.
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    13 June | Growing Entails Many Little Deaths

    St Paul tells us the death is in work in us, and we can all feel that in our lives: in trials, anxiety, and sleepless nights. But these deaths are part of growth, as we transition from our old life of hopelessness to a new life of hope in Christ. So today, look within and ask God to put these anxieties to death and open the door to the new life Jesus promises.
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    12 June | Transformed Completely by Our Encounter with Christ

    When Moses met God on the mountain in the burning bush, he was so transformed by the experience that his face shown with a radiant light. Our encounter with Jesus Christ transforms us even more thoroughly so that we might shine in every way for others. Today, let us look within to experience the presence of God and the transformation that this has brought so that we might make the Gospel more present in our world.
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    9 June | Finding God Within

    In proclaiming Mary as the Mother of the Church, we acknowledge that the Church is her son, Jesus, and all of us who are part of the church, are part of the Body of Christ and have God dwelling in us.
    So we do not have to go looking for God, we can find God dwelling within ourselves.
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    8 June | What Unites Us?

    In building the Tower of Babel, people were trying to wall themselves off from others and impose unity through force. That kind of unity never works and in the end always falls apart. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit united people by dwelling inside them, thus uniting each to God. This unity lasts unto eternity, and it also sends us out right now to encounter others rather than walling us off from them.
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