The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

Grand God or puny God? The homily focuses on the prayer of Solomon who recognizes the puny nature even of a magnificent Temple as compared with the immensity and grandeur of God. The gospel shows how in the selective following of the Law, the Scribes and the Pharisees make God small and puny.

Broken and Sinful. One of the most challenging aspects of being a priest giving a homily is the ever-present reality that despite my best intentions I do not always do what I tell others to do. I sin. I One of the most challenging aspects of being a priest giving a homily is the ever-present reality that despite my best intentions I do not always do what I tell others to do. I sin. I fall short. I reject God. So how can I be a preacher?

Broken and Sinful. One of the most challenging aspects of being a priest giving a homily is the ever-present reality that despite my best intentions I do not always do what I tell others to do. I sin. I fall short. I reject God. So how can I be a preacher?

The dangerous delight of sin. Why do I sin? Even when we decide to sin, it can be the case that I know it is a bad idea even as I sin. These chapters from Saint Augustine provide a reflection on a sin of his youth, namely the stealing of pears.

We live in a world of brokenness. We know it in ourselves. We know it with even a quick look at other people. There is a lot of brokenness. It is no secret that even before the pandemic, mental health was a problem. It is even more so today. Consider these sobering facts.

Confidential. I am going to tell you a big secret. God loves you. Ok, it is not really a secret, because you have probably heard it at least once before, and likely a lot more. So why do we act as if God's love for us is confidential?

God's Generosity. David presumed he would be the one to build God a house, but God made an even greater promise to David to build him a house. And that is a promise that impacts us in a major way.

Adolescence and Spiritual Life. The introduction Book 2 of the Confessions starts with a summary that could be helpful. "He concentrates here on his sixteenth year, a year of idleness, lust, and adolescent mischief. The memory of stealing some pears prompts a deep probing of the motives and aims of sinful acts. “I became to myself a wasteland.” Even those who are only slightly familiar with Saint Augustine might know that he had quite the conversion story. 

Change and Conversion. It can easily be the case that we think that if we are a "pretty good person" than life will be ok. And perhaps on some level that is true. But in reality, we need to focus on something that is much more true, since it really is the first message of the gospel. We need to repent. Change. Turn your hearts closer to the Lord.

How to persuade. We do not know how to persuade. Just how is it that we learn how to persuade others that the life of the gospel is worth living? For that is something that more than ever before, especially here in the United States, is needed. We must recognize the call to evangelization.