Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

5 August • Overcoming Fear with Faith

A Word of Hope

In our Gospel today, the disciples are in a storm at sea and Jesus comes walking on water towards them. Frightened, Peter asks Jesus to prove it is really him by having him come to him over the water. Peter starts to come, but then is afraid, and has to be rescued by Jesus.

Life is often frightening, but Jesus is always beckoning us to leave the safety of our boat, to trust in him, walk towards him over unsafe waters, to do the work we need to do. And Jesus will always be there to catch us if we fall. Have faith and overcome your fear.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Childhood Memory: Learning to Swim  
00:28 - Introduction: A Word of Hope  
00:35 - Gospel Reflection: Jesus Walks on Water  
00:53 - Peter’s Leap of Faith  
01:14 - Peter Walks on Water  
01:37 - Connecting Faith to Personal Fear  
01:56 - God Believes in Us  
02:25 - Jesus Calls Us Out of Despair  
02:49 - Walking Toward New Life  
03:01 - Faith Over Fear: God's Gentle Call  
03:26 - Final Reflection and Blessing   

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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  •

    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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    10 Nov • Money for friends

    Jesus commends the unjust steward for being "prudent" with his master's money, getting himself out of his looming financial crisis. If only his own disciples could be so prudent about the looming spiritual crisis.
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    9 Nov • Every day grace

    On this Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran, we hear the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel of water flowing from the Temple turning the Dead Sea to fresh water. How can a trickle of water do this? By being constant, moment to moment, day after day, year after year. Such is God's grace to us, and such should be our gift of grace to those we meet.
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    8 Nov • Mercy in the midst of trials

    Jesus challenges his disciples not to look back, but to keep going whatever comes. To be Christian, we must find mercy and love in our hearts in the midst of trials, even if no one else respects that, for love and mercy is our call and our ultimate gift to the world.
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    7 Nov • Why try?

    St. Paul encourages us to "hold on to what is good," but sometimes, we get discouraged and don't know why we should even try. J.R. Tolkien gives voice to a reason.
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    6 Nov • The better reward

    Jesus tells us that when we throw a banquet we should invite the poor and the crippled who cannot repay us, because our joy will be greater when we all dine together in the Kingdom.
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    3 Nov • Notice the little ones

    On this Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, we are reminded about the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbor as ourself, and how St. Martin did that by noticing the needs of everyone around him, caring for those despised or unnoticed by others, the outcasts, and the poor.
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    2 Nov • Praying for the dead

    On this Feast of All Souls, we pray for those who have died—not only those who we have known, but for all who have died and are now separated from us by that thin veil of death, that we all might be united once again in the great beyond.
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