The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

I do not remember exactly how old I was, but I was with friends at a lake, and we were all swimming. A bit of a ways from the shore there was a raft that could be used for jumping and diving. But it took some energy to swim out there, and by the time I got about two-thirds of the way out, I got tired, and began to sink.

I cannot tell a lie. While I love the gift of Jesus on the Cross, which gains for us our salvation, I cannot say that I really embrace the cross. Too much of me wants a life of Christianity that rewards me for doing the right thing, and as such to make my life easy. I am not proud of it. It is the way it is. But I can ask God for the grace to embrace the cross when it comes. I believe that God has...

You do not need to read much in the Old or New Testament to discover that God has a soft spot for the poor and brokenhearted. In fact, time and again he warns the rich and well-off not to rely on their own possessions, but to trust in Him.

There is something compelling about Our Lady of Guadalupe. First there is the absolute reluctance of Juan Diego to participate by speaking to the Bishop. He goes another way. He is not believed. Who could blame this ordinary man for not wanting to do something that seemed to be so far-fetched?

Saint John the Baptist received this call: ‘Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you." It is the case that Saint John the Baptist was sent. From the very beginning of his conception, he was born for a special purpose: "prepare your way before you." That is to say, Saint John the Baptist was called to prepare the way so that the world would know Jesus.

I do not know if Catholics are terribly familiar with the prophet Elijah. But he is a colorful character of the Old Testament, chosen by God to confront the powerful, call them out for evil actions, and is the vehicle for the powerful actions of God. The rulers of this age may be powerful here, but it is God who is ultimately all-powerful.

There was a game show that posed a question: Are you smarter than a 5th grader? The idea was to ask content questions about various topics that made up a typical 5th grade curriculum. Often, the adults were not, in fact, smarter than a 5th grader. And yet, it is not always the case that we take seriously this question: Are you smarter than God? The problem is that there are too many times where we...

Ok. So first, let's clarify something. The Immaculate Conception is about Mary, the Blessed Mother. It is not about Jesus, the Incarnation. There, now that we have that out of the way, let's think about one way we might see how Mary's Immaculate Conception is connected to our call to discipleship to her Son Jesus.

For years and years Saint Monica prayed for the conversion of her son, Saint Augustine. And certainly, these prayers were instrumental in his conversions. But I do not think it is too much to say that the way God answered these prayers of a desperate mother was by helping her son to become good friends with Saint Ambrose.

This time of year, it is not uncommon to hear people refer to "Jolly Ol' Saint Nick". But just who was Saint Nicholas? And how does the common and popular image of Saint Nicholas compare to the real Saint Nicholas?

In today’s Gospel, we hear the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Jesus presents a sheep which leaves a flock of one hundred. Many would assume that the shepherd would not leave the ninety-nine in pursuit of the one that has gone astray, but Jesus suggests just the opposite. Furthermore, the Gospel says that the shepherd greatly rejoiced upon the finding of the one that was lost. How often are we the shee...

The gospel doesn’t say  why  the paralyzed man was so insistent on seeing Jesus. This squares with my own observations; people can tell you a lot about what they believe, but not as much about why. In  The Brothers Karamazov , Ivan, an intellectual, can explain his reasons for his atheism far better than Alyosha, the young, saintly protagonist, can explain his reasons for believing.

The readings this weekend are very rich. But to experience the depth of what we hear, we need to unpack them, for the meaning is not immediately obvious. For to understand what we hear, we must think about how we got here. To understand the images Isaiah presents to us we need to understand what God intended for the world he created.

We live in an age and a time where history is very short. It can be hard to remember an event from last year, let alone from last century or from a number of centuries. It seems all too important to think about now. Progress. Moving Forward. It is all about today. Not about yesterday or tomorrow.

Today we celebrate a great Jesuit missionary, Saint Francis Xavier. He was one of the first companions of Saint Ignatius and was present for the founding of the order. Given his proximity to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and his role in being with the first to profess vows in the Society, it was unlikely Saint Ignatius really wanted him to go off to the missions of Asia. But sometimes when things do n...

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the gloom and darkness of this world. There are so many problems and so much pain that I can become discouraged – will things ever get better? How will we survive this?

If you are going to build something important, it is very important to choose the right foundation. That is true for buildings, but it is also true in our lives. What is the foundation of our lives? Do we focus on making a lot of money? Are we obsessed about what others think of us? Are we overwhelmed by anxiety and stress in terms of areas of life we cannot control? In the first reading and in th...

This time of year can feel overwhelming. What is it we do when it feels like absolutely everything feels like it just cannot get done? When things feel overwhelming, and this time of year they usually do, we need Advent more than ever. We need to take a step back to find that place where God dwells in our hearts.

Advent is a time we are challenged to slow down, to open our eyes, to listen attentively to God's word, and to seek out God's presence more clearly. It is the time when we need to be ever more patient and eager to find the presence of God in our lives.

Advent Reflection. Several years ago my brother and I got dinner so I could listen to him share about his 30-day silent retreat. He was thoughtful and deliberate when describing what had taken place; a little more than a week had passed since its conclusion. “I guess the thing is,” he said, “the most profound, important truths are the ones you learn in 2nd grade. ‘God loves me exactly as I am...

Advent Reflection. Life will throw you lots of curve balls. When these challenges come, and I promise you, they will, which path will you choose? I think it comes down to this...“you can either choose to trust God or freak out.” 

Meditations by De La Salle In listening to the meditations by Saint John Baptist de la Salle, it is necessary to place what he wrote in context. While that is not common today as we look back at people who lived in completely different times, the meditations of De La Salle still hold value for us today if we can place them in the proper context. As the introduction to De La Salle's Meditations for...

Faculty Advent Reflection - November 27 One cannot really enter into the season of Advent without seeking to meet the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is certainly one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament, and perhaps he is even the greatest. In fact, when we gain a deeper understanding of the prophet Isaiah, I think it is then that we understand Advent more fully. What makes the prophet Isaiah so...

Being Thankful There is a lot of research on the value of seeking to be grateful for the things we have in life. In other words, rather than focusing on our problems, we should try to take a little time to be grateful for those things we have. In failing to do this, we can find ourselves overwhelmed. Being Thankful Even for the Bad Things But can we see the value of being thankful even in our diff...

The Christian life makes no sense whatsoever without life after death. The resurrection of Jesus makes all of the difference. If not for the love of Jesus, why would we sacrifice? If not for the love of others, why would we reach out to help others? Deep inside of us is that amazing reality that we seek something more. At the end of time, we will either become the person Jesus has made us to be, o...