Province of St. Albert the Great, USA
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Br. Ed Van Merrienboer, OP

Br. Ed has done many different ministries in the Order over the years, and is now an emeritus pastoral associate at Blessed Sacrament Church in Madison, Wisconsin.

Videos

16 August • Blessing the Children

Brother Edward reflects on the Gospel story of Jesus blessing the children, connecting it to the reality of children suffering in war zones around the world today. He challenges viewers to hold together both the joy children bring to families and the responsibility to care for suffering children globally, emphasizing that neglecting the world's most vulnerable children would offend the Christ who welcomed and blessed all children. The message calls for both prayer and action to bring peace and protection to children in conflict areas.

15 August • Mary, the Perfect Disciple, Assumed into Heaven

Brother Edward reflects on the Assumption of Mary, connecting today's Gospel about true blessedness with Mary's role as the perfect disciple. He explains how Mary's "yes" to God's plan made her the prototype of faithful discipleship, and how her Assumption into heaven - body and soul - serves as both a reward for her faithfulness and a promise of our own future resurrection if we truly hear and keep God's word in our lives.

17 July • Rest for the Weary

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells us that he will give rest to the weary. Life is sometimes a struggle. Jesus is not minimizing that, but assuring us that he can help us in the worst of times by accompanying us. We never have to suffer alone.

16 July • The Tangible Faith of Children

In our Gospel today, Jesus tells us that our faith should be "childlike." Children's understanding of the world is based on personal experience and first-hand knowledge. Let us develop that kind of faith—not the God whom we have heard about, but the God whom we have met.

16 June | The New Laws of Jesus Calling Us to More

In the Jewish world of Jesus' day, there were many interpretations of laws and their meaning. Jesus moved away from a minimal understanding of what God required of us and pushed his disciples to put their entire soul into the divine work of reconciliation, and thus help bring about the Kingdom of God.