The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

Usually, shortly after I pray the Collect, or opening prayer at Mass, I forget it. Which, quite honestly, is unfortunate. But there was a phrase in the last line of today's opening prayer that caught my attention. "by your grace, we may be presented to you with minds made pure."

The spiritual life is all about a synergistic dynamic. God initiates, we respond. God promises, Simeon and Anna wait. God fulfills, Simeon and Anna rejoice. Through constant fidelity, prayer and fasting, we too await God's promises, and seek to discover our response.

Of course the ultimate promise, and the ultimate fulfillment for us is Jesus. But the question becomes, what do we do in terms of prayer to be ready, to see the ways in our life God is ready to fulfill his promises to us.

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.

The gospel today, recounting the meeting between Mary and Joseph, and Simeon and Anna is one of my favorites. It makes me think of those people with long lives who were faithful to the gospel and their baptism. They are people of wisdom.

People like a woman from Hungary who escaped with her children to safety. I used to remark that I could see the wisdom etched in her face. The strength and resolve of struggle were quite evident.

There was the Dominican friar, who was sharing with me his not so optimistic diagnosis in the hospital. "I trust in the promises." I learned that he not only preached about his faith. He lived it, too.

People like my grandmother. She was a tremendously faithful woman. In fact, when I was first ordained a priest, any homily or talk I gave always caused me to think about my grandmother's reaction to what I might say. I certainly wanted what I would say to be something that would help her (and by extension, others) to grow in faith.

I think of the many senior citizens (or those with more life experience as I like to call them) whose faith has edified me in my ministry. I think of the older Dominican friars and other priests who have served as such great role models.

Simeon and Anna represent those tried-and-true people who for many years have been faithful to God. A long life was often seen as a sign of blessing. Perseverance in faith over many, many years is a tremendous example. And perseverance in our faith and in our relationship with God, is something we should ask God to give to us as well.

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 not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines.

At the heart of the word discipline is the verb to teach. Real discipline is to be taught be God. While it may seem similar to punishment, there is a critical difference. To be disciplined is to be taught. To be punished is to hurt.

I can punish someone if I am bigger, stronger or more powerful. I can discipline someone if I have more respect. To discipline, it must be the case that we are being guided toward some great virtue. I may be punished for lying if my mom or dad is bigger than I am, or more powerful. But I can be disciplined by them when I am being taught the important virtue of honesty.

A virtue is always a good thing directed to a proper end. So to be taught be God, to be disciplined, what must be clear is the proper end to this discipline. Discipline is about proper training, since very talented people are aware of the need to sacrifice, and yes, even suffer, but always with a view to the purpose for all this suffering. Saint Paul reminds us of this when he discusses runners at a race who compete for a perishable crown.

To be taught means specifically to be guided to our proper end. And for the Lord's discipline, this proper end is about our salvation, our total and complete fulfillment in the Beatific Vision. But for our eyes to see clearly, it is the case we must learn the ways of God, and to see all our good actions directed toward him.

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.

Over and over again in the gospels, when we read about Jesus healing someone, or performing some other kind of miracle, the recipient is lauded for their faith. And it seems clear the message is that if we have faith in Jesus, wonderful things will result. The woman with hemorrhages believed. Jairus believed.

But this is not simply a message to believe if the outcome is as we want it to be. No, the message is that we really believe when we can understand that God does all for our good. Our prayer is always, the will of God be done.

"Brothers and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith."

I know there are Christian faiths that do not hold much stock in prayers we ask the saints to make for us. I have never understood that. I find it quite comforting to know that those who have gone before me in holiness are interceding on my behalf. I like to know I am not alone.

Furthermore, when I think of the heroic examples people have made throughout the centuries, and even more so those who are dying for the faith in this age of martyrs, it causes me to ask in what ways am I challenging myself. How is it that I am the type of witness that the world needs?

Most of all, this great cloud of witnesses reminds me that when I am trying to fix my eyes on Jesus, to make him my focus, indeed the only focus in my life, I am not alone.

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.

Today's gospel sets forth the types of goals Christians need to open themselves to accomplishing with God's grace. As we think of our own lives, the beatitudes can form a nice examination of conscience for us to evaluate our Christian journey.

“Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Then the man went off and began to  proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

When I first started teaching, I thought if people just knew enough about God, then they would come to believe in God. Give them the facts, and the love of Jesus would soon follow. But I learned that facts are not enough. While content is important, and it is true one cannot love what they do not know, there is more needed to be holy.

See, the demons knew all about Jesus. They knew who he was. They called him by name. But they did not know Jesus. That is, they could not, with humility, accept that Jesus was Lord over them. And it can be the same for us.

We need to do more than simply know a lot of things about Jesus. Facts are not enough. We need to know Jesus. We need to enter into a relationship with him. We need to allow him to enter our heart, and more importantly to change our heart. Will you?

On the friar, you can listen to our homilies (based on the

Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful,

In a variety of ways, it seems like human existence for an individual is the struggle from thinking too much of ourselves, or too little of ourselves. Today's second reading helps us to understand that both self-understandings are not what God intends.

We are beloved and blessed children of God. When we can acknowledge and realize what it is God wants for us, we recognize that we have inestimable worth. At the same time, when we look at our accomplishments, or our material goods, our positions in society, we realize that none of these come only from our own efforts. Without God, we are nothing.

But with God we can recognize our worth, and we can acknowledge with deep gratitude all that God has done for us. Be grateful today, thank God for what you have, and know you have infinite value in God's 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 Saint Dominic Priory, Saint Louis, Missouri. Readings for the Day taken from the Dominican Lectionary. Readings for Today. Listen to our other homilies.

When I first encountered the work of Saint Thomas Aquinas, I did not at all appreciate him. His writings seemed little more to me than a logic game which did not have much connection to the real world. I liked philosophy. I liked theology. But the way in which I was introduced to Saint Thomas Aquinas was uninspiring.

Fortunately, when I entered the Dominicans, I met Saint Thomas Aquinas the person, and also was presented his thought in a way that was quite inspiring. And what was it I learned about Saint Thomas? I learned that in everything, what he wrote was very secondary to who he knew. Throughout his life he needed to let God be God.

His family did not want Thomas to be a Dominican. God did. Church leaders were skeptical of Thomas at best, since he was bringing in new (though really old) ideas from Aristotle, via the Muslim thinkers. Saint Abert the Great believed, and recognized God.

While the thought of Saint Thomas was amazing, it was his belief in God that made him holy. And while so many have studied his thought so that we could appreciate more fully how faith and reason work together, it was his mysticism, his experience of knowing God that we really remembered, for it was this that inspired all he did.

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.

Faith, Hope and Love. These are known as the theological virtues. And in today's first reading, faith is highlighted as something quite tremendous. Abraham "went out, not knowing where he was to go." Consider that. He knows God tells him to go out, but he is not sure where he is going. I cannot imagine myself doing that, though I suspect my entry into the Dominicans after having been a diocesan priest could be considered somewhat similar in a small way.

Abraham "received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age —and Sarah herself was sterile— for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy." Because Abraham and Sarah trusted God, something miraculous happened.

Abraham trusted enough to offer up Isaac, as he "reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he received Isaac back as a symbol." What is important to remember, I think, is that this theological virtue is a gift from God. And a gift from God needs to be received and accepted.

What gifts are God calling you to accept today?

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.