Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

2 August • Land and Food Justice

A Word of Hope

In our reading today from the Book of Leviticus, we hear about the Jewish concern for land justice and food equity, having rules that overcome the inequities of agricultural land ownership. In the United States, 14% of the food is produced by black farmers, though they only own 4% of the agricultural land. Also, in St. Louis, MO there are food deserts in the black community and people working to fix them. Worse still, is the crushing food and land injustice in Gaza that drives the unrest. To create a world of hope, we need to work at overcoming these injustices.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction from St. Louis Bertrand House  
00:17 - Readings from Leviticus 23 and 25  
00:28 - Agricultural Feasts and Year of Jubilee  
00:52 - Theme: Land Justice  
01:16 - Land Justice and Creation as Two Sides of One Coin  
01:37 - Food Production vs. Land Ownership Disparity  
02:02 - Historical Roots of Land Injustice  
02:17 - Modern Food Injustice in Black Communities  
02:32 - Operation Food Search Initiatives  
03:20 - Summer Meals for Children in Need  
03:29 - Gaza and the Global Crisis of Food and Land Access  
04:02 - Call to Action: Prayer, Work, and Justice  

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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  •

    13 Nov • Healing the lepers

    Jesus healed lepers and allowed them to rejoin the wider society. Mother Cabrini worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrants to the United States towards the same end. May we follow their example and work to integrate into our society those who today cry out for mercy.
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    10 Nov • Every good deed matters

    Today we hear of the woman who gave two small coins for poor, which was everything she had. Jesus noticed her generosity and pointed it out to others. Perhaps he was even moved to be more generous himself. So let us together do all we can, encouraging one another to be more generous.
  •

    9 Nov • We are temples of God

    Today we celebrate the oldest church in Christianity, the Basilica of St. John Lateran. But our readings remind us that however important buildings are, when Jesus walked the earth he was God's temple. Now it is we, the baptised, who are God's true temples, called to be living stones, active in the world.
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    8 Nov • Hope as a mindset

    Paul reminds us that our citizenship is ultimately in heaven. Keeping this in mind moves us beyond optimism or pessimism and into a mindset of hope— that Jesus has already conquered death and whatever is happening here and now, in the end, Jesus triumphs over all.
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    5 Nov • Our hope is in Jesus, not politics

    We long for a political system that will be just and perfect, but it will never happen in this life. Jesus came not to fix everything in this world, but to open for us a better one in heaven. The effects of original sin are still in this world, and it can never be perfect, but if we can be life Jesus, not grasping for power but humbling ourselves for the sake of others, we will join him in heaven.
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    4 Nov • Listen to one another

    Can we be like Jesus, who emptied himself of his divine glory in order to come and be one of us. Can we listen to one another without needing to be right? Can we take a moment to just listen?
  •

    3 Nov • First, love God

    Jesus told us that the greatest commandment was to love God with your entire being. Whatever we do to pray, if we do it in a spirit of love for God, it will draw us closer to God.
  •

    31 Oct • Finding unity amidst differences

    St. Paul advises us to to stand against the power of the devil. God unites, the devil divides. In this election season, we must not give in to division, even though we must in truth acknowledge differences. The key is to see that God created us all to be united. Then we are motivated to to get to know one another and come to understand our various motivations and opinions, so we can love one another despite our differences.
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    30 Oct • Enter heaven through the gate

    Jesus said that the gate to heaven is narrow. The Good News is that there is a gate, and further, we know what it is—to act out of our love of God. Such motivated actions will not only lead us to heaven, they will draw others tp follow.
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    29 Oct • Waking up your heart

    Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven as being like the leaven in dough that, though small, can grow and take over the whole measure of flour. Our hearts can grow with the love of God, but sometimes they get frozen. Let yours grow, and perhaps use the pope's new encyclical on devotion to the Sacred Heart to help.
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    27 Oct • Seeing with eyes of faith

    A blind man heard Jesus was coming and so cried out, "Jesus, son of David, have pity on me!" The crowd tried to quiet him. Jesus healed him. Who could see more clearly who Jesus was, the blind man or the crowd? Can we see with those eyes of faith and trust that God can heal us?
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    26 Oct • Bad things happen to good people

    Sometimes bad things happen to good people and it is not their fault. Jesus , though innocent, was brutally killed. But when this happens, we can know that God it at our side at those times, and Jesus can identify with those who suffer. Perhaps we can ask God about it when we get to heaven, but in this life the best we can do is walk with others who are suffering.
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    24 Oct • The reality of divisions

    Jesus told his disciples that he came to bring not peace, but division. Jesus was seeking change, and that change would be opposed, bringing about divisions. In our world, we certainly still have the divisions, as any reference to politics will show, but do we want to heal them? Do we want to make a better world, or are we fighting just to fight?
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    23 Oct • Life happens. Adjust.

    Jesus told his disciples "if the owner of the house had known.. he would have been prepared.." But we all know what is best for us, and yet we are never prepared for all the twists and turns that life throws. May God give us the patience to adjust to the twists and turns of life.
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