Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

30 April • From Pope Pius V to Pope Francis: Go Out & Evangelize!

A Word of Hope

On April 30th, as Dominicans remember Pope St. Pius V and the Church mourns Pope Francis, Fr. Luke Barder, OP, delivers a Word of Hope reflecting on the call to go out and evangelize. This homily connects the bold actions of the apostles in the first reading (Acts) and Jesus's own mission ("God so loved the world" from John) to Pope Francis's vision for a Church that reaches beyond itself. Discover inspiration from these witnesses as the Church reflects on Pope Francis's legacy and looks toward the coming of a new pontiff.

#CatholicHomily #PopePiusV #PopeFrancis #Dominican #FrLukeBarderOP #EasterSeason #ActsOfTheApostles #GospelOfJohn #Evangelization #ChurchHistory #Saints #WordOfHope #Sermon #CatholicTeachings #ChristianLiving

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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    18 Dec • The demands of justice

    To fulfil the demands of righteousness and mercy, Joseph was going to divorce Mary quietly. Instead, God showed him a deeper justice and mercy. It is through our deeper commitment to justice that we can find a deeper mercy.
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    17 Dec • The heart of joy

    On this Gaudete Sunday, we are reminded that our truest joy comes when we recognise that the greatest joy we come to know it that of the joy of Christ, which can never be taken away from us.
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    16 Dec • The circle of life

    As we approach Christmas, the Gospel today reminds us of Jesus' death, underscoring that his birth is connected to his death in the great circle of God's plan. May we see arc of our own lives, birth to death, circumscribed into this story as well.
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    15 Dec • Be open to something new

    Jesus revealed new insights into God's plan for the world, but many in his day were not open to hearing anything new, believing they already had the complete truth. Are we open to hearing God today, and learning something new?
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    12 Dec • Our Lady of Guadalupe

    On this Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, celebrating an apparition of Mary in 16th century Mexico in which Mary appeared to Juan Diego as an indigenous woman, let us inculturate our own faith and make it more a part of our own modern American experience.
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    9 Dec • Pass it on

    In our Gospel today, Jesus passes his healing ministry on to his disciples. Are we willing to pass along our own ministries to the next generation, or do we think that we are more irreplaceable than Jesus?
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    8 Dec •The big impact of tiny things

    On this Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we ponder the conception of Mary, the Mother of God, an event that was so tiny it could not have been seen or apprehended when it happened, and yet haad enormous consequences for the world, and we open our eyes to try to apprehend the many ways God still works marvels in our world through tiny events.
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    7 Dec • Watching our words

    On this Memorial of St. Ambrose, whose words were as sweet as honey, we are challenged to look at our own use of words. Do they reflect the Word Incarnate? Can we speak more clearly and charitably to others, so that our words have a greater positive effect?
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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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