Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

29 Apr • Mercy overcomes sin

A Word of Hope

Instead of pretending that we are perfect and never sin, we can throw ourselves on the mercy of God revealed in Jesus Christ, and offer this mercy to others as well.

John 14:21-26

They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me.

‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.

(New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org)

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. You can see them here, and you can have them emailed to you each morning by signing up for our email service:

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    6 Dec • Hear and speak the Word

    As Jesus cured the deaf and the mute, at baptism we pray the "ephratah", blessing the ears that they might receive the Word of God and the mouth that is might proclaim it. After baptism, we never lose this intimate connection to God.
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    5 Dec • Gifts of the Holy Spirit

    Isaiah prophesies a time when the Spirit of the Lord will come upon the world and bring a peace so profound that "the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb." This Advent, we are challenged to open ourselves to the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
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    4 Dec • We are small

    When the centurion says to Jesus, "I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof," he is not saying he is sinful, but that he is small and Jesus is great. When we see ourselves as small, we become open to the greatness of God's gifts for us.
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    2 Dec • God's healing remedies

    As a Church we pray that God might stir up our wills to receive in greater measure God's healing remedies. No matter how many times we fail, God is always ready to heal us so that we can rejoin the work of preaching the Good News.
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    30 Nov • Feed your faith

    On the Feast of Andrew the Apostle, we hear of Andrew's initial call, when he dropped his nets and immediately followed Jesus, and we are reminded to remember back to the time when we first heard The Call of faith and reignite those flames.
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    27 Nov • Text and context

    Jesus comments that, with two small coins, the widow donated more than all the rich people because she gave what she needed to live on. When we look at the context, Jesus clearly thinks this is a bad thing. When deciding right from wrong, do we pay attention enough to the context?
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    26 Nov • When did we see you Lord?

    Jesus tells the parable of the sheep and the goats, saying that when you did or did not do something for those in need, you did or did not do it to him. These days the needy are all around us. Will we do something? Elaine welcomed immigrant families into her home.

    Also, a reminder that our Provincial's Dinner is this coming Thursday, November 30, at the Union League Club of Chicago. To find out more, go to: https://www.opcentral.org/news/6th-annual-provincials-dinner or just email Fr. Scott at media@opcentral.org . This year we are honoring Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, just back from the Synod on Synodality.
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    25 Nov • The family of God

    The Sadducees question Jesus about a woman who had been married seven times and died childless, which allows Jesus to talk about the Resurrection and our preacher to raise the further point that people without their own children can nonetheless be parents of many in the family of God.

    Also, a reminder that our Provincial's Dinner is this coming Thursday, November 30, at the Union League Club of Chicago. To find out more, go to: https://www.opcentral.org/news/6th-annual-provincials-dinner or just email Fr. Scott at media@opcentral.org . This year we are honoring Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, just back from the Synod on Synodality.
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    24 Nov • We are temples of God's presence

    A Word of Hope by Fr. Andrew Carl Wisdom, OP.
    In today's reading, Jesus purified the temple. After the Resurrection, Christians themselves became the privileged temples of God's presence in the world. Living this out, acknowledging God's presence in ourselves and in others, will go a long way to solve the violence that plagues our world today.

    Also, a reminder that our Provincial's Dinner is this coming Thursday, November 30, at the Union League Club of Chicago. To find out more, go to: https://www.opcentral.org/news/6th-annual-provincials-dinner or just email Fr. Scott at media@opcentral.org . This year we are honoring Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, OP, just back from the Synod on Synodality.
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    22 Nov • Hearing the music

    If you saw only what the martyrs give up, it would make no sense. Yet they hear a beautiful song of which they are but one part, and the beauty of this song makes sense of every part, even their own deaths. Can we hear that greater melody?
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    21 Nov • Are we ready for the Lord?

    Jesus told Zacchaeus the tax collector that he would dine at his house, and to make himself ready, Zacchaeus gave half of what he had to the poor and promised to pay back anyone he defrauded four times over. Are there things we need to do to make ourselves ready for the Lord to come dine with us?
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    18 Nov • A God of Mercy?

    Jesus told his disciples the parable of the unjust judge who nonetheless rendered justice for the persistent widow out of fear. Is our image of God even worse than that of the unjust judge? What king of faith do we have in God?
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    14 Nov • Working through the aches and pains

    The Book of Wisdom tells us that God formed us to be imperishable, but as we get older and get aches and pains, we certainly don't feel imperishable. We need to work through the aches and pains and changes in our life to keep building up what is imperishable: the Kingdom of God.
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