The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

Are we merciful more? Or do we judge more? Do we forgive more? Or do we condemn more? For the full transcript go to https://thefriar.org/2024/02/26/what-do-you-do-more-homily-for-mon-feb26/ 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 website  to be informed...

It is not just Abraham who has faith, so too does Isaac. It is not the case that Isaac was the unwilling victim here, but just as Abraham trusted fully in God at this point in his life, so too does Isaac. For the full transcript go to https://thefriar.org/2024/02/26/faith-of-isaac-and-abraham-sun-feb25/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflect...

Today's readings bring to mind a very important word for us to kind of know the meaning of and understand. The word is virtue. It's a philosophical word, actually, that comes to us primarily through the philosopher Aristotle. For the full transcript go to https://thefriar.org/2024/02/26/virtue-is-more-than-value-homily-feb23/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  re...

I learned years ago words matter. I don't know if you know the word for French fry, in Spanish, but French fries in Spanish is "las papas fritas." It's a feminine word, "papa," "potato." The Pope, however, is not a feminine word. The Pope is "el papa." Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/22/potato-pope-the-power-of-words-feb22/ On the fri...

Where is God? This first reading from Isaiah is, I think, so, so beautiful, and says so much about what it means to be a person of prayer. "Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be." For the full transcrip...

In the Old Testament, there are 4 specific covenants. The first one, the covenant of Noah. Then there's the covenant with Abraham, then Moses, then David. Of course Jesus is the ultimate covenant, as he is both the promise and the fulfillment. For the full transcript go to https://thefriar.org/2024/02/18/the-covenant-homily-for-sunday-february-18/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies...

Either or? So, Thursday I talked about the notion of freedom as license that a lot of people think that, or at least there are people that think, that freedom is really about being able to do whatever we want to do. And that's really license. Because we could be free to do, as I mentioned in yesterday's example, the sad and tragic shooting in Kansas City. Full Transcript at https://thefria...

When we think of the word "freedom," we often define it as doing whatever I want. That's not freedom. That's license. True freedom is about becoming. Becoming the person God has made us to be. For complete transcript, go to https://thefriar.org/2024/02/15/what-is-freedom-homily-for-thurs-feb15/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) an...

I want to really get us thinking about the season of Lent, but particularly through the eyes of Lent being a time of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/11/prayer-fasting-almsgiving-homily-sun-feb11/ 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 oth...

Life is suffering, but God is comfort. These readings help us to see that even though life is tough, Jesus remains the source of our peace and support. Job finds support in God, and Jesus, even after influencing the whole town reminds us of the power and importance of prayer. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/04/life-is-suffering-christ-is-victory-feb4/ On the friar, you can  listen...

I mentioned the importance of context, which is part of what we're going to learn as we explore the Vatican II document of divine revelation, is that we can't read the Scriptures only in one way. I can say that my experience in high school when kids encounter something from another culture or another time, I'm thinking Shakespeare for example, they don't think it has much value bec...

There was a period of time, I think, where we cast aside any mention of sin. It made us feel bad, maybe. I don't know. It led to books, Whatever became of sin?. Because it seemed like we weren't sinning anymore. Confession went by the wayside. There was not an acknowledgement that we're broken human beings. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/14/whatever-happened-to-sin-ash...

Consider it all joy, brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials. Now, I don't know about you. I don't like trials. I don't like when things don't go my way. I certainly don't consider it all joy that I have difficulty in suffering. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/12/pure-joy-homily-for-mon-february-4/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (...

This encounter that we see today was a critical part of our own baptism. There was a period of time in the right, or not a period of time, but a moment in the celebration of our baptism where the priest who baptized us, or a deacon I suppose, or maybe even a layperson in a hospital if we had some kind of emergency, touched our ears and our mouth and said the same thing, "Be opened." Full...

Today, I would suggest that the gospel is the gospel of contemplation. We encounter two people in their lives who are at a stage and time in their life where activity takes the back seat, where they, in fact, are in the temple day and night praying. https://thefriar.org/2024/02/02/a-gospel-of-contemplation-homily-fri-feb2/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of t...

It's very common when someone gets to the end of their life to do what is known as a life review. In other words, you begin to reflect on the various moments of your life, and you begin to seek gratitude for those things which were blessings in your life. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/02/01/the-life-review-homily-thurs-feb1/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based...

Seeking God. David is a good example in another way, because even though he was not a good father, even though he was difficult in certain moral decisions that were sinful, he never lost sight of his relationship with God. See full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/01/29/seeking-god-homily-for-monday-january-29/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the da...

The kingdom of God is a mysterious thing. How God acts and how God chooses to act is not always clear to us. In fact, there may be instances we look at certain situations in the world and we say, "Why doesn't God inspire somebody to do something about this or that?" Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/01/26/the-mystery-of-the-kingdom-of-god-jan26/ On the friar, you can  list...

We need to understand the world of Saint Paul. Or probably more specifically, the world of Paul, just in terms of what his faith life was like before he encountered Jesus, and then how he interpreted that call in terms of what he was supposed to do. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/01/25/understanding-saint-paul-thurs-jan25/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the ...

David is recognizing the reason this whole thing is important to him. He's recognizing the reason this whole thing is important to him is that one of the things that David never loses sight of, even when he sins, is his relationship with God. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/01/23/david-and-elizabeth-homily-tuesday-jan23/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the...

But do both political parties get right or get wrong rather when it comes to abortion? Failing to recognize that God gives dignity to all human beings. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/01/22/getting-it-wrong-on-abortion-mon-jan22/ 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 other...

We might not always like being sent. "I don't like them. I don't want to talk to them. I'm not going to listen to them." Like Jonah,. we too might run away. Full transcript available at https://thefriar.org/2024/01/21/being-sent-by-god-to-people-we-do-not-like/ On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of the day ) and reflections. You can also as...

People are imperfect. I think a destructive thing is this whole idea of "cancel culture." We can't have this person here because they weren't perfect. Full transcript at https://thefriar.org/2024/01/19/dealing-with-imperfect-heroes-fri-jan19/ 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...

We don't want people to know we're jealous, but we really are. But the problem is, when we try to force jealousy and keep it hidden, oftentimes it only makes the decisions that arise from jealousy all that much worse. (For full transcript, go to https://thefriar.org/2024/01/18/jealousy-is-an-ugly-thing-thurs-jan18/.) On the friar, you can  listen to our homilies  (based on the  readings of...

This is an interesting reading and we begin with something we probably don't think about very often. God rejected Saul. God rejected Saul. That's not a pleasant thing to hear that God could reject anyone, but he rejects Saul as king. There is something though that I think we should hang on to before we dismiss this idea too readily that God can reject. There is a belief about salvation tha...