The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

Looking ahead. The readings for this week heighten the fact that Jesus is heading toward his death. Here is a preview of what we will focus on with the daily Mass readings. Looking Ahead In a simple summary, this week is about those who have been accused. But it is even more than that. It is about those who have been accused of something they did not do. Imagine how difficult a place that must be...

The Law is clear. “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” (Lev. 20:10)  “If a man is discovered lying with a woman who is married to another, they both shall die, the man who was lying with the woman as well as the woman.” (Deut. 22:22) And yet, Jesus himself does not participate in stoning the woman, or more accurately imp...

Have you ever been in an argument and just cannot accept you are wrong? Despite an increasing amount of evidence, you won't give in. Will you give Jesus the opportunity to change your heart? Even if doing so causes you to change the way you see the world?.   Readings for Today . Just cannot accept it It is not always unusual to become involved in an argument that is petty where we continue to...

Readings for Today .  This is an interesting conversation that we get between Moses and God. It, in some ways, could be seen, perhaps, as a conversation between equals. God has finally seen how stiff-necked the people are. God wants to destroy the people, but it's Moses who intervenes to prevent this destruction. So what's going on?  It certainly cannot be the case that God did not know be...

Readings for Today . Listen to our other podcasts . Who can you count on? I have to say that I'm not terribly excited about the next five months. That's how far away we are from the election. Because it's not going to be pretty, it's going to be ugly, we're going to yell at each other, we're going to be angry, we're going to be frustrated. All of those things are going...

Readings for Today . Listen to our other podcasts . Today Jesus tells us the truth about marriage, and from this comes the Church's teaching on annulments. The Teaching on Annulment From this gospel and also a parallel passage in the Gospel of Matthew, we get a glimpse into the Church's understanding of marriage. And the difference is not insignificant. In civil law, marriage is considered...

Readings for Today . Listen to our other podcasts . Standing up for God Those who gave Saint Paul a challenge and beat him thought they were preserving their right in Rome to worship as Jews. This first reading needs a little bit of context in order for us to understand it, I think. So, the Jewish people had worked out kind of a deal with the Romans so that they could worship their god while every...

Readings for Today . Listen to our other podcasts . The readings today come from the 6th Thursday of Easter. Sometimes the stories in the bible, especially the gospels, are so familiar that we lose the sense of wonder about them. Don't Lose Wonder We've probably all had the experience of seeing either babies or very, very young children. And if we're careful and pay attention, we notic...

Don't Lose Wonder Readings for Today . Listen to our other podcasts . Note: These readings are for Thursday, the 6th week of Easter. Sometimes the stories in the bible, especially the gospels, are so familiar that we lose the sense of wonder about them. We've probably all had the experience of seeing either babies or very, very young children. And if we're careful and pay attention, we...

We need to see the world also through the eyes of faith. You can't see the covenant with Abraham using the senses alone. And it had to be quite difficult for Abraham to believe hearing about all these descendants he was going to have, when especially at this point in his life, he had no children. It required him to see with the eyes of faith. Full transcript: https://thefriar.org/2024/03/21/se...

We are to seek holiness in our ordinary lives. We can forget that the saints were fully human. Mary, Joseph. They had to discover and develop this relationship with God in the same way you and I do. They had to figure out who was this Jesus. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/19/holiness-in-ordinary-life-tues-mar19/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  reading...

"Where are you?" That was the question in the book of Genesis when Adam and Eve sinned. Where are you? They hid. In fact, it's what we all do, on some level, when we are confronted with our own sin. We hide. We hide from God, and we often find ourselves hiding from each other, presenting one image, but knowing deep down inside that's not who we are. Full transcript at https://the...

We need a savior. And if we are like St. Dominic, we recognize this best when we are occupied with speaking to God or about God. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/17/why-do-we-need-a-savior-homily-sun-mar17/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can  subscribe...

Probably the least favorite word, the first least favorite word that we learned in our lives was the word "no." But nonetheless, tell a toddler "no" and that often results in a great difficulty. There can be a meltdown, there can be anger, they can say things like "I hate you" because they don't like the word "no." Full Transcript at https://thefriar.org...

Today's readings remind us to keep God close. Moses is delayed and the people are discouraged. They take matters into their own hands, which ends badly. Do we sometimes do the same? Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/14/keep-god-close-homily-for-thursday-mar14/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also ask us...

The temple, which we hear about in both readings, was critically important for this coming together of the law of God and the lived example of people. The true temple is the Lord Jesus himself. It is in the Lord Jesus that humanity and divinity come together. And it is in Jesus himself that this man now is healed. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/12/jesus-is-the-temple-homily-for-tu...

We could go on and on with the struggles and the challenges that people face. But the solution to them all is the same. Call. Call upon Jesus. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/11/call-upon-jesus-homily-for-monday-march-11/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. Yo...

Moses lifting up the serpent so people can be saved. The lifting of Jesus on the cross. We have very powerful parallels that teach us something fundamental to the core of our faith. And the fundamental core is that we need a Savior. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/10/the-lifting-up-of-jesus-homily-sun-mar10/

Whose side are you on? That's really what the readings are about today. Whose side are we on? Are we on the side of Jesus or not? Do we stand with our Lord or not? Full transcript at: https://thefriar.org/2024/03/07/whose-side-are-you-on-homily-thurs-mar7/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or...

In Confession, we come with the Church. The entire people of God comes before us, represented in the priest who celebrates the sacrament. But even more important, when we come to the sacrament of confession, our loving God holds us for we are beloved daughters and sons of his. Full transcript at: https://thefriar.org/2024/03/05/god-holds-you-in-confession-tues-mar5/ On the friar, you can  listen t...

The river was too puny. The country was too small. The king was being set up. Only Elisha was able to see as God sees. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/04/do-we-see-as-god-sees-homily-for-mon-mar4/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to pray for others. You can  subscribe to our w...

The mid-term exam. Well, as I said at the beginning, we are about halfway through the season of Lent. And the purpose of Lent is change. It's repentance. We should be qualitatively different at the end of the season of Lent than we were at the start. How's it going? Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/03/mid-term-time-for-lent-homily-sunday-mar3/ On the friar, you can  listen t...

"You're not the boss of me." Maybe that is something you said to a brother or a sister. Or maybe to a friend when you are a kid. But do we say this to God? Full transcript can be found at https://thefriar.org/2024/03/01/youre-not-the-boss-of-me-homily-fri-mar1/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also ask us to...

Trust is at the heart of a life of faith. It's not at the expense of reason, it's not at the expense of pragmatism, but faith always has pride of place. And so let us ask the Lord today that we might be inspired by one who is risen from the dead. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/29/trust-in-god-or-trust-in-humanity-feb29/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based...

Believe what you read. Teach what you believe. Practice what you teach. These words are the words of leadership in the Church. We would all be served to use them. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/27/practice-what-you-teach-homily-tues-feb27/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also ask us to pray for you or to...