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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    7 May • Growing the church

    Paul carries on preaching despite opposition in Philippi, while the disciples are sad at Jesus' departure. The first is an example of staying the course, which was good, and the second was an example of not wanting to change, which was bad. In the spiritual life, change is good when it supports growth and a greater ownership of the ministry of preaching the Good News.
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    6 May • Using all God's gifts

    Lydia, a rich believer, invites the disciples to stay with her in her home and they accept. She is just one example of many benefactors that assist the apostles work, just as they assisted Jesus' work. To further the Good News, we need to avail ourselves of the gifts of all God's people, not just some.
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    5 May • The mystery of love

    We are called to love one another, and often this opens us up to suffering. But the mystery of the cross and resurrection of Jesus reveals that this suffering, which is painful, will be transformed into something beautiful, and so we can embrace it.
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    4 May • The world hated Jesus first

    Jesus told his disciples that if the world hates them, it hated him first. The Good News is that Jesus overcame that hate, as so can we. So we can confront the hatred in our world, rather than pretending it doesn't exist or has the last word.
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    3 May • Learning to believe

    On this Feast of the Apostles Philip and James, we hear a Gospel passage where they struggle to understand what their faith in Jesus means. We are all always doing the same, learning what it means to believe. Let's keep up the struggle.
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    30 Apr • The truest peace

    Jesus assures us that he gives us a peace that the world cannot give, to be reconciled to God. So it is good to wish for a peaceful life, and an end to strife and division, but it is most important to seek this kind of peace.
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    27 Apr • Continue to be amazed

    Philip asked Jesus to "show us the Father, and then we will be satisfied." Jesus replied that to see him is to see the Father, which Philip did not yet understand but will come to see over time.. Can we still be amazed at what Jesus has to teach us so that we can learn to proclaim him as boldly as did the apostles?
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    24 Apr • And so it begins... again

    In today's Gospel we hear that Jesus is the Light of the World. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles we hear how Paul and Barnabas were sent out to spread that light to the world. In this Easter Season, it begins again as you and I are called to go out and bring that light to the world today.
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    23 Apr • Forced out

    The persecution of the early community forced it to spread out and to preach the Good News not only to Jews, but to Greeks as well, and great numbers became Christians. In the same way, our lives need to expand the witnessing of the Good News so that it reaches everyone.
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    20 Apr • Jesus' challenging message

    Jesus' teaching on eating his body and drinking his blood are very challenging to his disciples, and many decide to quit following him. Perhaps the Church's teaching on the Eucharist is not challenging to us, but are there other parts of Jesus' message that we simply tune out rather than challenging our own views?
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    17 Apr • Finding your part

    Though his role was to feed the widows and orphans, Philip left Jerusalem to avoid persecution and preached Christ to great effect in a town in Samaria. We all have official roles in our communities, but we have to discern to find what our real role is in helping to unfold the Kingdom of God.
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    16 Apr • Reunited with your enemies

    St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, looked up to heaven as he was being stoned to death and asked Jesus not to hold this sin against his executioners. If we hate our enemies or want them to be punished, then Stephen has a lesson for us, that we should instead look forward to reuniting with them in heaven some day.
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