Province of St. Albert the Great, USA
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Fr. Charles Bouchard, OP

Fr. Charles Bouchard, OP, S.T.D., is senior director, theology and sponsorship at the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). He counsels and assists sponsors and members of Catholic healthcare organizations in carrying out their canonical responsibilities for the health ministry of the Catholic Church and provides guidance for CEOs and boards regarding the distinctive roles of sponsorship and governance. He also works with Church leaders and bishops at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and at the Holy See on a range of issues involving health care, social justice, public policy and the Church.

Videos

The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Your Better Self

Join Fr. Charlie Bouchard, OP in this Know Before You Go video for the Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. In his Letter to the Colossians, Paul reminds us that as Christians, we have all put on a new self, which brings with it a new and more exalted identity. We need to live up to this new identity, lest we be hypocrites... or, as Qoheleth reminds us in the first reading, lest it be "vanity of vanities."

The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Join Fr. Charlie Bouchard, OP in this Know Before You Go video for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the first reading, Abraham unknowingly offers hospitality to angels. In the Gospel, Jesus' friend Mary sits at his feet listening to his teaching, leaving her sister Martha to do the work of hospitality. Fr. Charlie uses this scene to break open the Christian understanding of the relationship between contemplation and action, showing how be all need to do both and to let each one inform the other. He also puts forth that contemplation is like offering hospitality to God within your own heart.

13 July • Responsibility to Our Global Neighbors

Today we hear the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus challenges his followers to be compassionate towards those in need, because those in need are our neighbors. Today, in our interconnected world, this parable has implications about how Christians should think about International Policy and immigration laws and enforcement.

13 June | Growing Entails Many Little Deaths

St Paul tells us the death is in work in us, and we can all feel that in our lives: in trials, anxiety, and sleepless nights. But these deaths are part of growth, as we transition from our old life of hopelessness to a new life of hope in Christ. So today, look within and ask God to put these anxieties to death and open the door to the new life Jesus promises.

12 June | Transformed Completely by Our Encounter with Christ

When Moses met God on the mountain in the burning bush, he was so transformed by the experience that his face shown with a radiant light. Our encounter with Jesus Christ transforms us even more thoroughly so that we might shine in every way for others. Today, let us look within to experience the presence of God and the transformation that this has brought so that we might make the Gospel more present in our world.