The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

It seems today that there is a blurring of the lines between politics and religion. In other words, people can believe that their religion demands that they follow a particular political party. The temptation can be overwhelming. What is behind this desire? The feast of Christ the King provides an answer.

Jesus weeps over the fate of Jerusalem. It can be easy to see some of the apocalyptic to be harsh and demanding. But today's gospel presents a different side of things. Jesus thinks about the fate of Jerusalem and weeps. Rather than being so angry at people not accepting him, Jesus is filled with sadness. Sometimes we can view the apocalyptic warnings of Jesus to be harsh. But the truth is that we...

Today's saint is probably not as well-known as others, and yet he is the saint for our times. I think there are three things we can learn from him. First, Saint Albert the Great can teach us many things about faith and science, the role of a teacher, and the importance of following God even when God asks us to do something we do not want to do. https://thefriar.org/2022/11/15/what-can-we-learn-sai...

Don't get too comfortable. One aspect of biblical wisdom is that we need to remember adversity in prosperity, and prosperity in adversity. And what applies to both is being on the lookout for God's presence. Do you look for God in your life, or do you think that things will always be ok?

How often do we want to know in life exactly what the plan is? In other words, we want to know what it going to happen, either good or bad, and we want to have control over how it happens. But as is often the case, the most important parts of our lives, there really is not "your plan." Husbands and wives promise to be together, but they do not really have a plan. When children arrive in the lives...

Sometimes when a person thinks about faith, they can say, "I'm a nice person", as if this sets them apart from the not so nice people that do not believe. But Christianity is about "requiring more". The goal: a relationship with God, not just being nice.

Can you imagine having seven sons and watching them die all on the same day? Such was the case of the mother and her seven sons we hear about in the first reading. The reason they died is because they would not become like everyone else and obey the kings command to abandon their faith. But the mother and the sons know why the resurrection matters. And also for us, only by God's generosity and the...

In today's first reading , Saint Paul starts with an interesting statement. He says, "We are the circumcision." What exactly is that supposed to mean? While it may seem to us like an odd statement, in the context of what Saint Paul seeks to contrast in his writings, namely, Jesus and the Law, it can make perfect sense. The Law, in requiring circumcision, was requiring a physical sign for those who...

In so many areas of our lives, how we do what we do matters a great deal. Proper technique for playing a sport, a musical instrument, swinging a golf club or other areas seems to make sense to us. But when it comes to faith, we do not always how to answer the question, "Why does it matter?"

There can be a tendency to think of God as a teddy bear, never really demanding much from us, and never really asking us to do what we do not want to do. It is only the case that we see this God making us feel better. After all, God is love. There can also be a tendency to see God as so tough and demanding that we can never be forgiven. But neither is correct.

This has been a rough week for Saint Louis. The school shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School has been unsettling. However, what has increased the discomfort is that on all levels, is that from school preparation, to the response of law enforcement, to the family of the shooter's actions all seemed to be perfect. And yet it was not enough. The truth of living the life of the go...

Subordinate? This is not at all about power and control Many priests I know never talk about the first reading from Paul, at least in its entirety. This is unfortunate, if for no other reason than the way in which, on the surface, this seems to suggest that wives should automatically "do whatever their husbands want". And by avoiding it, it could suggest that this difficult passage from Saint Paul...

Who are you? How often we seek to answer this question by comparing ourselves to others. The tax collector goes home justified because he knows who he is and he knows who Jesus is. https://thefriar.org/2022/10/23/who-are-you-your-only-answer-is-in-jesus/  #thefriar #havemercyonmeasinner #Catholic #homily #whoareyou #whodoyouwanttobe #identity

Division? Fight? Fire? Isn't Jesus all about peace? Love? Joy? Today's gospel reading might rub us the wrong way a little bit. Jesus talks about causing division between family members who should love one another. This can seem to be completely counter to popular conceptions of Jesus. In fact, I remember a time when I was discussing tuition payments with a family that had the means to pay tuition....

We need spiritual friends. That is, we need others who help us to recognize God in our lives, who encourage us to be better people, and help us to see what it is that God wants us to do. Spiritual Friends. In the first reading, Paul discusses his spiritual friends. In the gospel Jesus sends his disciples out two by two. Who are the spiritual friends in your life?

Today's readings provide us with two instances of weariness when it comes to prayer. Moses hands grow physically tired, and a judge grows emotionally tired. While the fatigue is different, the message is the same. Even when we find ourselves weary, we must pray. But how? How is it we should pray? What should we do and who should we be? We must learn how to pray. https://thefriar.org/2022/10/16/lea...

What can often be forgotten is that evil actions have damaging effects not only for us, but for others. More than that, we see in everyday life that it can be the case that this damage can last for generations. While it is not the case that we are responsible for the failings of others, the effects of the evil actions can cause us and others to become broken, and that brokenness can last for a lon...

There was a real challenge for the early Church. As the gospel message was accepted by Gentiles, what requirements would there be? Would they have to follow the Jewish Law? Would they have to follow kosher rules? Did following Jesus mean they had to follow the Law? Paul indicates that true freedom is not about what we do, but more about what Jesus does for us.

It can be easy for us not to realize just what a curse it was to have leprosy. It meant a person was completely cut off from society. It meant a person was forced to beg for survival. It meant a person was thought of as having done some terrible evil because they had become a leper. So why is it Naaman would not do the simple and ordinary to be healed? And how is it that wen God does extraordinary...

If you look carefully at the gospels and Jesus, he often uses ordinary examples to help us to understand complex things. He tells parables using everyday examples. Today he uses the love of parents for children as a way to think a little bit about God's love for us. It is a reminder that Jesus always wants to show us how to live more completely out of our relationship with him.

There is a critical importance in good friends. In my life as an educator, it is true and consistent. The kid you really worry about because of bad behavior invariably finds another kid in the same situation. They become friends. And while sometimes those friendships can be really great, at other times the two friends lead each other astray. The spiritual life can be like that too. There are those...

Pope Paul VI is often quoted saying, "If you want peace, work for justice." In other words, if people do not have even the basic things they have a right to, like food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and the means to get these things, then of course things will be unsettled. Saint John Baptist de la Salle saw the issues he faced in his day and responded by providing the means to get these things. F...

In today's first reading and in the saint we celebrate for Mass, we encounter two people with incredible stories. Saint Paul was a really, really, really serious Jew. He says he went far beyond his contemporaries in the practice of the faith. Francis was a man who had a difficult relationship with his father. Both men, however, changed their lives. They realize that who they were did not determine...

It does not take too much looking to see that life is hard. People all around the world are suffering because of violence, poverty, oppression and indifference. And in our personal lives there are people who suffer and struggle.  Our lives too have suffering and hardship. People we love get sick. We might struggle economically. There may be too much violence in our lives. Habakkuk is the prop...

Michael, Gabriel, Raphael. Three great archangels that have a powerful mission in the church. Michael, the great defender in battle. Gabriel sent to make the great announcement of Mary that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Raphael the angel of healing. And to be sure, we are still in need of protection from evil, great announcements of God's plan, and healing from the overwhelming brokenness tha...