Fr. Bob Keller, OP

Father Bob reflects about Jonah’s call and Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan. He explores Christian vocation as a universal call to care—serving others not because of identity but because we are called to show compassion in simple, concrete ways. A short, encouraging message on being people of hope through everyday love and service.

Father Bob offers a powerful Sunday reflection for Oct 5 (27th week of Ordinary Time) on asking the Lord to "increase our faith." Drawing on Scripture (Timothy) and personal stories, he explains how faith brings power, love, and self-control to stand with integrity in the face of chaos.

Father Bob reflects on Jesus's provocative statement about the children of the world being more shrewd than the children of light. He shares a story about a creative fundraising effort to build latrines in El Salvador, illustrating how we can use worldly resources for the sake of salvation and integrate faith into all aspects of our lives.

Father Bob Keller reflects on the Korean Martyrs and their unwavering faith in the face of persecution.
Drawing parallels with Paul's encouragement to Timothy, he explores what it means to be "good soil" and bear witness to the Gospel in our daily lives. Even small acts of honesty, forgiveness, and trustworthiness can be powerful testimonies in a world that hungers for hope.

This Friday reflection celebrates the Queenship of Mary, which falls one week after the Assumption, exploring how Mary represents the completion of Christ's mystery fulfilled in humanity. Fr. Bob begins with a brief sung prayer to the "Holy Queen" before explaining how Mary, as the most perfect one who offered herself completely to God's invitation, becomes the sign of completeness - as Mother of God, she is Queen of Heaven since Christ is King. The reflection then connects to the Gospel's question about the greatest commandment, noting how Jesus chose Deuteronomy 6 ("Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul") over the more obvious first commandment from Exodus. The speaker emphasizes a profound insight: what we are truly devoted to, what we genuinely love and believe in, is what we obey - love becomes the non-negotiable of our lives.

Today we hear the troubling story of Jephthah's vow from the Book of Judges and Jesus's parable of the wedding banquet, exploring our tendency to make bargains with God rather than seeking true conversion. Speaking from St. Catherine of Siena House in Grand Rapids on the memorial of Pope St. Pius X, Father Keller examines how Jephthah's tragic sacrifice of his daughter reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of what God desires - God never wants human sacrifice but seeks our heart's conversion. The Gospel's wedding banquet parable reinforces this theme, showing how people reject God's invitation by prioritizing worldly concerns, and how even those who attend the banquet can be spiritually unprepared (symbolized by the man without a wedding garment). Father Keller warns that even faithful churchgoers can fall into the trap of trusting in their own works or worldly things rather than centering their lives in God.