The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

"Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

There are those moments when things are so absolutely wonderful that we can become unaware of what it is we are saying. Times that are so good we just become lost in the goodness of it all. Such is the case for Peter today who has no idea what he is saying.

But that is not the case with God. When we look carefully at this event, we learn so much about the divine plan of God. How? Consider the aspects of the story that are important. First there is Elijah and Moses. And this occurs in the presence of Jesus. What are we to make of this?

To understand this divine encounter, we need to recognize the persons of Moses and Elijah. It was to Moses that God gave the Law. And it was through Moses the Chosen People began to realize what it meant. When they left Egypt for the Promised Land, they did not know what it meant to be human, much less what it meant to know how to live if faith.

It was through Moses that the people learned about justice, love, truth and beauty. It was through Moses the people understood that God was good. It was through Moses that the people learned how to love God and to love neighbor.

Elijah is the great prophet. It is Elijah who is able to call the people back to goodness. When they fail to love God, and they do not love neighbor, it is then they are reminded by Elijah that to follow God and to love neighbor is what it means to be alive. And while the task is not easy, it is essential.

And so Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, the two great aspects of the promise. But it is Jesus who represents the fulfillment of the promise. All that was promised under the Old Covenant becomes fulfilled in the New through the arrival on Earth of God himself, Jesus.

For us, today serves as a reminder of how we should live and that we can turn back to God when we fail, because of God's abundant mercy. But it is in Jesus that we are reminded of so much more. We are reminded firstly of God's tremendous glory, and the abundant promise of salvation that is available to us all.

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 whenever we publish an update.

Homily given at Christian Brothers College High School, Town and Country, Missouri. Readings for Today. Listen to our other homilies.

When God makes a promise, he keeps it. In today's first reading, God establishes a covenant with Noah that He will never destroy the earth again. All because of the fidelity of Noah to the promises of God. The Good News is that even when we do not keep our word to God, God does not abandon us, and he still keeps his word to us. For His Son Jesus is the word, whose life on earth reminds us that we are loved by God beyond anything we can imagine. And that is Good News indeed.

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 whenever we publish an update.

“Do you see anything?” Looking up the man replied, “I see people looking like trees and walking.” Then he laid hands on the man’s eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly.

When people are going through very difficult times, it can be difficult for them to see things as they really are. The brokenness of life can blur the deep reality that we are always in the presence of God. The pain and suffering that life can sometimes cause us to experience can be really blinding to goodness.

For example, if we have been hurt by selfishness, it can be difficult for us to believe that people can be generous. If we have been deeply harmed by someone, it can be difficult for us to observe the goodness in human beings. When it seems people only think about themselves, and as such treat other people quite badly, it can be difficult for us to accept that there are people who pour themselves out in service to others.

But in today's gospel we can be filled with hope as the blind man seeks to regain his sight. It is quite amazing that one who was blind can now use his sight. How amazing it must have been for him!

Just as it took the blind man a while to fully regain his sight, the same can be true for us to have the sight that we use with the eyes of faith. We can find difficult events keep us from seeing clearly the action and love of God in the world. The healing of the blind man began when others brought the man to Jesus.

For us too, the gift of the communities we belong to can also be such they bring us to Jesus also. In fact, it is probably a good question to ask of any group we belong to in life. Does the community of people I surround myself with bring me closer to Jesus, or does it take me farther away from Jesus?

Also, is it the case that I wish God to come into my life only in the way I expect? Or do I continually ask God to prove Himself? Or is it the case that I can accept God for who God is? The Pharisees request a sign, not because they have faith, but because they do not. They are looking only for a sign that would confirm their belief of what a Messiah should be.

We need to avoid this trap. We do not ask God to fit into our image but seek to recognize more fully that God is God, far beyond our ability to comprehend fully. We need God's wisdom. To acquire the wisdom of God so that we can view the world through the eyes of God, and live more fully in his love, we need to ask Jesus to come more fully into our lives and to open our eyes.

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 whenever we publish an update.

Given at Christian Brothers College High School, Town and Country, Missouri. Readings for Today. Listen to our other homilies.

How often are we like the disciples, so absorbed in our own little world we miss the big picture? It can certainly be easy to get that way. But as always, the disciples' concerns are too small. They are worried about bread. Jesus offers them salvation.

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 whenever we publish an update.

Readings for Today

When the LORD saw how great was man's wickedness on earth, and how no desire that his heart conceived was ever anything but evil, he regretted that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was grieved.

Ever since the Fall of Adam and Eve, the human has been capable of very evil things. Throughout history we have seen terrible examples of such evil. But there are certain periods where the evil is worse than at other times. Today is one such example.

God's heart is grieved because of the tremendous evil that has spread so quickly from the first sin. That is often the way evil works. It takes only a little time for really horrible evil to occur. One little sin can sometimes become a lot of big sins. (As an aside, this is why frequent confession can be helpful.)

But just as sin can spread all over the place through one man, so too can goodness do the same. A kind action can change someone's entire day. As much as evil may sometimes appear to abound, there are also instances where really amazing things occur too.

In the midst of all the evil in the world, Noah stands out to God as one who "found favor with God." Noah's goodness has an impact far beyond the evil of his day. And because of Noah's goodness, God promises never to destroy the earth again. Noah's goodness results in a covenant for all of us.

Of course, the ultimate goodness of one person's good actions having eternal effects is that of Jesus. His act of total self-gift in his passion and death results in our being able to be saved. So do not let your hearts be grieved. It is still the case that God can do great things in our lives. He can soften the hardest of hearts and can forgive the biggest of sins.

So do not let your heart be grieved!

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 whenever we publish an update.

Given at Our Lady of Lourdes, University City, Missouri. Readings for Today. Listen to our other homilies.

Why do we have rules? I worked in a school that was guided by two rules. Respect yourself and others. Respect the property. In fact, if you think about it, all rules can be encapsulated in these two statements. Religion is the same. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

In today's gospel, Jesus assures us that he is not doing away with rules. But he is suggesting how important it is for us to understand their purpose. It is not only about compliance. It is not only because humans need to be controlled. Rather, it is because we need to be called to something. We need to become someone.

The scribes and the pharisees focused on the external in their lives, which to be sure, is much easier. Giving up chocolate for Lent? Easy. (For God's sake, if we cannot go without chocolate for 50 days, what are we?) Recognizing that our desire for chocolate is symptomatic of selfishness, and that we need to become more generous, now that is something.

Who is God calling you to become?

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 whenever we publish an update.

Readings for Today

If you were looking for a job, and you were asked for a sample of your work, you wouldn't, if you really cared about getting the job, send the employer mediocre work. No, you would look to send your employer your best work. Only when you do that are you able to show what you are capable of doing if you get the job.

If you were applying for college, you wouldn't just think about sending the college things that are just "good enough." No, you would want to send your best. You would want to put your best foot forward so that the college or university would see you as a valuable addition to the community.

Sometimes, though, when it comes to God, we settle for "good enough." I am a good person. That's enough. I am not a bad person. That's enough. I do not need to go out of my way to do anything for God. I can simply give God a little something, and that will be enough.

But if we are really to have the type of relationship with God that is life-giving and fulfilling, one that leads to eternal life, we cannot settle for just being "good enough." Just being a good person, or not being a bad person is not enough. God wants, and deserves, our best.

This is what the problem was in today's first reading. Abel brought the best of his flock. Cain gave something. To be sure, Cain thought what he brought was good enough. But my sense is that Cain was trying to hedge his bets. If I give God my best, if I give God my all, then what's left for me?

And that is the problem. By not giving God the best, he was settling. And how often, really, if we were honest, would we find ourselves doing the same thing? We settle. We do not give our all. So we should not be surprised that if we do not give our best, our all, to God, then what we receive from God will not be very much.

If we are to grow in the spiritual life, it becomes necessary for us to realize that we cannot just sort of commit to God. We can not just sort of love our neighbor. We cannot just sort of make time for God, limiting it to those times when it fits our schedule. Rather, God should get our best, because that is what he deserves.

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 whenever we publish an update.

Readings for Today

Oh, you are so immature. This is an insult that has probably been said and heard by many. Usually, it is in response to immature behavior. And to be sure, becoming mature is not always something easy for human beings to achieve. And it is the case that maturity is often connected with gaining wisdom.

But becoming mature is hard. This might be particularly true for the spiritual life. What does a mature spiritual life look like? How do we achieve it? Today's second reading helps us to understand the answer to this question, an important one for us to figure out.

For too many, their spiritual maturity is not much more advanced than it was when they were little. God is the big rule-keeper, we do little things to stay in line, but we do not really have to change much. We can create a spiritual practice where we neither experience conversion, or become any different than we were when we were little.

Or, we can also remain immature by viewing God as simple a nice old man who makes us feel better, comforts us, but never really asks anything of us that is difficult. And when it comes to the moral life, this God basically leaves us alone, never challenging us to do anything we do not really want to do. This "god" is more like a Teddy Bear that comforts us.

For us, to be among the spiritually mature, it is first to recognize that God is complete other, a mystery that is beyond our understanding. Therefore, any really simplistic image is really not only inaccurate, but perhaps spiritually dangerous. The Spiritual Wisdom given by God is something totally different than what the world today considers to be wise.

For Christians, Spiritual maturity comes not from memorizing a lot of information, or seeking a very comfortable life, but rather, from entering into a deep and mysterious relationship with God. Fortunately for us, this God is all-loving, only seeking for us what is best. This is true even if we do not really understand what is best for us, or even if we think we know what is best for us.

For us, the spiritual life is not about mysteries to be solved, but mysteries to be in relationship with, in our lives. And if we take the chance to be in this relationship with Jesus, then what receive is equally mysterious.

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 whenever we publish an update.

Readings for Today

Probably every child has had the experience of playing Hide-and-go-seek. Finding the perfect hiding spot a great pastime. It is fun because we do not really believe we will not ever be found again. Someone will find us, and we know it.

Hiding from God is a different story, because we can never really hide from God at all. God is all-knowing, and more, he loves us so infinitely much that he will continue to seek to find us. Today Adam and Eve face a day of reckoning for their choice to do precisely what God told them not to do.

Every choice we make has consequences. When our will aligns with the will of God, the consequences are good. But when they do not, we experience shame. We blame others or God. Blaming and shaming. Such is the consequence of all sin. Adam and Eve, not experiencing this brokenness, can only hide in their shame.

But they are found by God. And God is still with them in their consequences. And God takes on their consequences in the suffering of death of His Son. And for that we are truly grateful.

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 whenever we publish an update.

Readings for Today

When we consider God's ultimate plan for us it can be easy to forget that what God desired for us was the states of original holiness and original justice. That is to say, we were meant to be whole, entire, complete in our relationship with God, and to be whole, entire and complete in our relationships with self, others and the created world.

But alas... There are those times when we conclude that we know better than God. Only after we sin do we experience the tragic effects of sin, or maybe we don't see these tragic effects until it is too late. But what is clear, and what we will see today and tomorrow, is that what was whole, entire, and complete, is not fragmented, partial and broken.

Consider this. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were the perfect companions for each other. “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. But even more, there is harmony between Adam and Eve and all of creation. They need not work for food. They live in harmony with animals and their created world.

But most importantly, their relationship with God was in harmony. It was God who walked with Adam in the breezy time of the day. It was God who managed to put everything right with the created world, and especially with those made in His image and likeness.

But then, their relationship with God was broken and damaged. They went from the close intimacy with God, to hiding and shame. "When they heard the sound of the LORD God walking about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden."

It is not just the sin of Adam and Eve that causes tragic events. Every sin we commit does the same. And at the heart of all sin is the notion that we know better than God. We believe we are smarter, wiser, and more powerful. Fortunately for us, and as we will read later, we have a God who is merciful and forgiving.

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 whenever we publish an update.