The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

It is one thing to simply mimic the work of someone else, but another thing altogether when the contribution you make to the body of work is original. The Originality of the work of De La Salle lies in his application of spirituality specifically to the work of teachers. The work of Saint John Baptist de la Salle is one such contribution. While still a product of his day, his application of the sp...

Every year I have an eye exam, so that they can make sure that my eyes are fine, and given my family history, so that the can make sure I do not have glaucoma. Part of the exam is my looking into a device and to answer a series of the same questions. Which one looks more clear, #1 or #2. Being able to see clearly is an important thing. In fact, we might even take it for granted until we can't see...

It's been said wisdom books are the "wisdom of man", because often there are truths expressed that come from common observation. Today's first reading comes from this group of wisdom books. Get ready to learn. #thefriar #Catholic #homily #Proverbs #wisdom

Following Jesus and living the Gospel are hard. We can easily forget that believing in Jesus and seeking to follow him have natural consequences. Conduct business. Be political. But make following Jesus and being active in the Church most important.  https://thefriar.org/2022/09/20/its-hard-to-live-the-gospel-follow-jesus/  

There is something quite special about the love of a mother. No one celebrates with us more, and no one cries with us more. The love of a mother is indescribable. Today we celebrate Our Lady of Sorrows. The Sisters of Providence have long had a devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows. "The devotion to Our Mother of Sorrows is one of the defining traditions of the Sisters of Providence, born of the grief e...

We might glibly say that we are the body of Christ, that we value other people. We say we value all other people. But do we? Are there times we throw away other people? Today's reading reminds us that we are the body  of Christ, and each one of us is a member. Genesis reminds us that all human beings are made in the image of God. So we cannot throw anyone away. All are important.

If you are preparing for a celebration, a party, or a gathering, you can find yourself stressed by worrying about the invitations. How many do you send? To whom do you send them? What about those who do not get an invitation? God sends us always an invitation to something great. Namely, God sends us the invitation to a relationship with him that can bring us to eternal life. How is God inviting yo...

How often in life is it the case that we think we need that one more thing. A new house. A new job. A new gadget. A new relationship. We think we need the next new thing that will really fill us, satisfy us. But when we try to fill ourselves with anything that is not God, then things do not work out for us the way we might hope. The prodigal son thought simply he life in his own would be better th...

It is said that nature abhors a vacuum, and that was certainly the case in France in the sixteenth century. A long civil war led to a chaotic society. The emptiness of the age led both the king and the Church to seek to fill this emptiness with money and power. Moreover, there was a need for both the state and the Church to protect themselves from this chaos, which they did in the form of mutually...

It is no secret that life can be pretty hard. There are numerous ways in which things can go astray for us and we can suffer. A loved one could become ill. We might lose our job. We might face a broken relationship that cannot seem to be healed. There is all kind of trouble all over the world. Wars. Poverty. Lack of freedom. When I think about these times in my life where things are overwhelming,...

When did you first hear the voice of God calling you by name? When did you hear the voice of God calling you to be someone different and to do something different? Each one of us is called by God to do something wonderful and to be someone amazing. We may not always remember the first time we heard God's voice, but we do know that today might be the very day were God invites us to be his disciple...

"What was the secret of this priest from Reims that explains the perduring success his Institute has had, a success without precedent in history?" In many ways I would suggest the secret of this success is the fact that today, the problems de la Salle faced are no less evident today. What he found was a truth about how to reach children who clearly needed to be reached. Saint John Baptist de la Sa...

How often is it we want to do things by ourselves? How often is it we choose not to listen to God, but rather, in the words of that Frank Sinatra song, choose to do it our way? The Wisdom of God is far beyond our own. As much as we might not like to admit it, God knows a lot more than we do. So rather than thinking of ourselves as the ones who know all, we should seek God's wisdom in our lives. An...

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. We may think the conflict some see between atheism and belief is a new one, but Saint Paul in the first reading reminds us that the conflict between seeing a world that is only natural and one that acknowledges a world that is both spiritual and natural was pres...

How do you know what you want in life? How do you know that what you want is in fact going to lead to happiness and fulfillment? True humility is always directed toward God. We may not be perfectly humble, but we are always given grace by God to become more like him every day. Humility is not about thinking badly of ourselves or debasing ourselves. Rather, it is about comparing ourselves to God an...

Saint John Baptist de la Salle was an innovative educator. Teacher training began with him. Recognizing the value of cooperative learning. Believing that every child deserved a high-quality education. Tailoring the pedagogy to suit the needs of the learner. All of these were innovations designed to improve the lives of the poor children of his day.

Today's gospel finds Jesus telling us to stay awake. The references and the parables used can point us to the end of time. But they can also serve as a challenge for us today. Jesus comes into our lives every day. And every day we are invited to see him in the poor, the needy, those we don't like, our family, friends, and coworkers. Are you ready? In the city of Saint Louis, we also celebrate our...

Today's readings help us to learn two important factors about faith. First, we believe that there is an easy way to grow in the spiritual life. We do this in many areas of our lives. A quick pill for a diet. An easy solution to staying in shape. Today's gospel reminds us that it is not always so easy. The door is narrow. Second, it is not always about us. In fact, it is always first about God, who...

Ezekiel looks out over the plains and sees dry bones. He is so amazed at the dry bones he emphasizes how dry they were. It is a passage the reminds us that our spiritual life can become dry, just as the covenant relationship the people had with God became dry. A dry spiritual life does not happen all at once. Rather, our spiritual life becomes stale little by little. But the solution is presented...

So much of how we see ourselves depends on the people we relate with. For example, many people in the United States would not consider themselves wealthy, and yet compared to much of the rest of the world, we are quite wealthy. But in today's first reading we learn the danger is not in being wealthy, but rather in using our riches only for ourselves.

God has a plan. In our world, it can feel like all is chaotic. It can seem that there is simply too much evil going on in our world for it to make any sense. But the truth is that God has a plan for us, that will accomplish his will even if we cannot see how. There is a lot of instances where the evil we experience can seem too overwhelming, too harsh, too, well, evil. But whatever happens, we nee...

One of the most difficult, if not the most difficult question of faith is any question that wrestles with the problem of God and evil. If I love God, why do bad things happen? In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah must have thought of this question in the mud at the bottom of a cistern. Jesus tells us that following him might lead to division rather than peace.

Look at any educational institution today and I suspect you will find the word innovation. Businesses are all focused on innovation. In fact, it is tossed around so much that we would find it harder not to see the word innovation. True innovation is the result of the work by a genius, and it's real power is in doing something that is not only innovative, but is also designed to last.

When I was a kid, I was often too impatient to wait until the end of the book to see what would happen, so I would skip to the end of the book first, then go back and read the book knowing how it would turn out. The book of Revelation is really a text designed for those who like skipping to the end to find out what is going to happen. The beauty of our spiritual life is that we know how things wil...

How do we learn to follow God? Does it mean an easy life? Does it mean always being challenged? What does it mean to pray? For Abraham and Mary, it was hospitality. For Martha it was being busy about the things to be hospitable. But she forgot that in following Jesus, it is always and everywhere about Jesus.