Videos

On this memorial of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, we remember Mary as having the perfect human heart, untouched by sin. In iconography, Mary's Immaculate Heart is pictured in flames, recalling the burning bush that Moses encountered on Mount Horeb from which God spoke of his desire to save humanity. Mary's heart was grafted on to God's heart when she said agreed to become the Mother of God. Even though we see in the Gospel that Mary did not always understand the plan of God, her burning love never wavered.

For the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are invited to see Jesus as the absolute love of God taken flesh so that we might be able to enter heaven—a proof of the love of God for us.

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (often still called "Corpus Christi"), revealing the many-layered themes that reveal God's complete plan of salvation for the world—creating us in the image of God to be God's presence in the world and then giving us the Eucharist so that we can live up to this call.

Readings: Exodus 24:3–8, Hebrews 9:11–15, Mark 14:12–16, 22–26

In this world, joys come and go. But Jesus promises us a joy that no one can take away—the joy of heaven, the restoration of all good things.

Christians believe that, even though we do not see him, Jesus is still in charge and his plan will one day flood the earth with peace and justice. So we need not worry about tyrants. In the end, Jesus will prevail.

When the early Christian community ran into problems, as is inevitable, they dealt with them. This is what a healthy community does.

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Third Sunday of Easter, exploring how the Resurrection shows that it was God's plan all along to bring back to life his beloved children, and that Jesus is the way God accomplishes it.

God can do amazing things (like multiplying the loaves and the fish) if we can simply trust what God says. So.... trust.

Happy Easter to You and Yours! Today, Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for Easter Sunday, pointing out that with the Resurrection, we enter the End Times, and every time we open ourselves to God coming "from above" we bring more life into the world.

Jesus was tested by the Jewish authorities to find something to use against him. God tests us not to learn anything but so that we might grow.

Like Moses on the mountain, begging God to save his people, we should turn from sin and have the humility to see our solidarity with all God's sinful people who need that grace.

Br. Joe Trout, OP breaks open the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent, pointing out that when Jesus overturned the tables in the Temple, he was underscoring what had been lost in the understanding of the Ten Commandments—that our greatest gift is to spend time with the God who made and saves us. Opening ourselves to spending time with God without the distractions of pursuing other goals is how we both receive this gift from God and give this greatest gift to God.