Dominican Friars
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA

A Word of Hope

18 Jan • Follow me

A Word of Hope

Today we hear the call of Levi. Jesus said "Follow me" and he left everything and followed. That is the heart of discipleship. May we follow our own call by God.

Based on Mark 2:13-17:

Jesus went out again beside the lake; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in Levi’s house, many tax-collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax-collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’

(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. 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:

  •

    23 Aug • St. Rose of Lima

    On this Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, her example of service and mindfulness of the needs of others reminds us that, according to Jesus, the love of neighbor is the second highest commandment and intimately tied to the first.
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    20 Aug • What do you need to shed?

    Jesus said that it will be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get to heaven. Besides external wealth, are there obsessive personality traits that we need to shed in order to follow Christ more closely?
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    17 Aug • Beyond sour grapes

    In ancient Israel there was a saying, "Fathers have eaten green grapes, thus their children’s teeth are on edge." Children often reap the consequences of their parents actions, but God wants to banish this saying because with repentance and grace, God can always open up new possibilities.
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    14 Aug • Finding common ground

    Jesus recommends a process of correcting our brothers and sisters in which we first go to them alone, then, if they do not agree, bringing in one or two more , and only later bringing in the whole church is he or she does not listen. We could use this kind of prudence in our own day in dealing with our polarized politics. We should start our conversation with those with whom we disagree by finding common ground where we can agree, and then moving forward from there.
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    13 Aug • Devouring scripture

    The prophet Ezekiel relates a curious vision in which God bids him to physically eat the word of God. We, like him, are invited to metaphorically eat the word of God in scripture, taking it into ourselves so that we might get the most out of it.
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    12 Aug • Humility in small things

    Though Jesus was God, he was humble enough to accept not being recognised for who he was. If we have this sort of humility, even though we might be slighted in a thousand ways, we can find peace in our own day. Let Jesus be our guide.
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    11 Aug • The bread come down from heaven

    Jesus said, "I am the bread come down from heaven," and he still comes to us today through the Eucharist, in which the bread and wine are transubstantiated into his body and blood. As St. Augustine said, when we worthily partake of this sacrament, the Eucharist does not become part of us, we become part of Christ.
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    10 Aug • A grain of wheat

    On this Feast of St. Lawrence, Fr. Jordan relates that the Gospel passage chosen for Lawrence is the same one he used for his solemn vows when he gave his life to the Order of Preachers. Is there a scripture passage that describes your life's work?

    Based on John 12:24:

    Jesus said, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."
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    9 Aug • Take up your cross, for eternity

    Jesus tells us, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." In this, Jesus sets us free from all of the goods of this life, so that we might get something better—eternity with him in the life to come.
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    8 Aug • Bringing the Good News

    On this Feast of our Holy Father Dominic, we remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah (52:7):

    How beautiful upon the mountains
    are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
    who brings good news,
    who announces salvation,
    who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’,

    While these certainly apply to St. Dominic, given the needs of our present day, all of us should hear God asking us to answer this call, to proclaim to a weary world that our God reigns.
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    7 Aug • What the world needs now is hope

    The Prophet Jeremiah offers the people hope that, despite everything, God still loves them with an everlasting love. Do you need to take that message more to heart? Do you need to take that message to someone you know who has lost hope?
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    6 Aug • Listen to Jesus

    On this Feast of the Transfiguration, we remember that great event where Jesus' clothes were transformed dazzlingly white and God spoke through the cloud "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." Listening to Jesus is the heart of Christianity, and God gives us these spiritual experiences not to rest in them, but to strengthen us as listeners who act on what we hear.
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    5 Aug • Our hope lies in truth

    The prophet Hananiah told the people what they wanted to hear. The Prophet Jeremiah told them the truth. Do we search for the truth or listen to those who tell us what we want to hear? The truth is sometimes comforting and sometimes challenging, but our hope can only lie in the truth. So if you want hope, search for the truth.
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