The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

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 others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update.

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 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.

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 to pray for others. You can subscribe to our website to be informed whenever we publish an update.

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 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.

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 that it doesn't matter what we do because ultimately God will save everyone. It's called universalism.

So in other words it doesn't matter really how I live my life because in the end God will save me anyway. Or it doesn't really matter that I help the poor because in the end God will forgive all of my sins and save me. Whether I ask for it, desire it, or want it. But it's not true and it's not true because of the love of God. Now I'm not saying it's not true that God could ultimately save everyone. That's not my point. That's not the issue.

The issue is that salvation is not automatic. We don't get a go to eternal life free card that we can just carry around that enables us to live however it is we choose to live without any consideration for goodness, truth, other people. Isn't that one of the first things we learned when we were growing up in our family?

We couldn't do whatever we wanted. We wanted to. We really wanted to. We wanted to be able to do whatever we wanted. But at the end of the day sometimes our parents, if you had lots of siblings, probably your siblings more so than your parents, said you can't live however you want to live. Saul gets rejected. And it's interesting as I mentioned yesterday, Saul's big problem was that he cared too much what other people thought about him.

But there's also this point and he cared too little what God wanted of him. That's really the challenge in the first reading at first is that God has chosen each one of us because we have been baptized. God has chosen each one of us and made us a beloved son or daughter of God. And with that comes an obligation that we have to become the person that God has made us to be.

We have to exercise always our choice to say I'm gonna live in the love of God. I'm gonna treat others the way they should be treated because that's the way God tells me I should treat them. And so that's the first lesson of this story. It matters. The second is that who God chooses and what God chooses them for is an absolute mystery. God does not always seem to choose the people that we would choose.

Let's take a look at the Apostles for example. They hardly seem like the individuals that one would count on or rely on to build a good organization. The leader, the one that Jesus himself chooses, Peter, is impulsive. He lets his emotions oftentimes dictate what he says and what he does and he's not always consistent. He's not always the kind of person who can in fact recognize that maybe it's okay to put your emotions in check for a little bit. He's got two insanely ambitious individuals in James and John. They don't just want to be followers of Jesus, they want to be at the right and the left hand of God the Father Almighty. That is really a desire for greatness. There is really something in them.

I remember reading once a little joke about the person that seemed to have the most acumen when it came to running an organization because he was pragmatic and he was practical and he knew what needed to be done, Judas Iscariot. He could not understand why Jesus was doing the things he did and I've always thought that the reason he betrayed Jesus was because he thought that would get Jesus to do what seemed so obviously needed to be done to Judas. . .

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.

It seems that God has a tendency to speak when people are asleep. God speaks to Samuel when he's asleep. Joseph, twice, hears the voice of God in his dreams. But what's really important is when God speaks, do we know that it is God who is speaking?

As we begin this church year with a focus ahead in terms of our own life, we have to ask ourselves, do we really recognize the voice of God? Because that's what's really going on here in both of the readings that we have.

Samuel is a person of very interesting story. His mother Hannah and his father were barren, which was a point of tremendous shame in the culture of the day. And Hannah goes desperate to the temple to pray and is crying and is speaking out to God.

And this very Eli that we see in the first reading, he thinks she's drunk because he can't really hear what she's saying. And she must have been making quite a scene. But it's in that brokenness that God speaks to her and in turn to her husband.

And Samuel is born. It's a very interesting thing though, because despite the fact they had gone their whole lives without children, when Samuel is born, his mother takes him back to the temple and gives him to Eli. The very gift she received from God, the gift of her son Samuel, she then in turn gives back to God.

And Samuel is raised by Eli, which is why he's here in the middle of the night. And God speaks and Samuel is very logical. Well, I heard a voice in the middle of the night. It must be Eli, so he goes to Eli and says, here I am.

You called me not once, not twice, but three times before Eli finally figures out that the lad is being called by God. And we know that Samuel has a privileged position. Because it's Samuel who helps God to make clear to the people that even when they reject him, he will continue to love them. Even though they rejected God as their king, he will still be with them through his anointed Saul and ultimately through his anointed David, from whom comes the Messiah, Jesus.

The question for us as we start the beginning of this year is, how do we recognize the voice of God in our lives? See, I think the church in the United States needs to face some hard realities. And here's one example of what I mean. We had a Dominican friar who sent out to our listserv, which is where we communicate with all the other friars of the province, an article about how Nigeria is the most dangerous place to be a Catholic in the world. Unbelievable martyrdom is occurring in Nigeria.

And it's interesting that there's that backdrop. People willing to die for their faith because Jesus has made such a difference in their life. Now to be sure, that's always the case with martyrs. That's why we call martyrs on the seed of Christians, the beginning of churches.

Martyr means to witness, and they are witnessing to their faith in a very powerful way. And then there's the statement the bishops needed to make in this country that said, heaven forbid we have to go to Mass twice in two days. We have to go to Mass for the fourth Sunday of Advent, the 24th, and for Christmas, the 25th. People willing to die for their faith because it's so precious to them, it's so valuable to them. And we who are saying, do I really have to go twice?

I think it's a damning thing in our country. Now I realize there's a lot of things that go on that cause people to make decisions. That's not my point. But my point is that the whole purpose of the liturgical year, the whole purpose of what we do when we worship is to deepen our relationship with Jesus . . .

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.

In last weekend’s homily I highlighted the need for us to learn how to pray. I suggested subscribing to the “Bible in a Year” podcast. If you listen to podcasts, you can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Typing “Bible in a Year” in the search bar will enable you to subscribe to the podcast. As I said, I highly encourage it. (I saw many nods when I gave the homily so I know I am not alone in finding it helpful.)

I would like to offer another way to pray with the bible, the Lectio Divina. This is a tried and true (centuries tried and true) way of praying with the Word of God. It has become fashionable in education to talk about “deep reading” or “close reading.” Truth is, Lectio Divina believed in “close or deep” reading more than 15 centuries ago. And in our modern age we think we are so smart!

The goal of the Lectio Divina (Sacred or Divine Reading) is not about quantity. It is about depth, quality and understanding. Even if we are using a passage of scripture, such as the daily gospel at Mass, the goal is usually more to focus on a small sentence, phrase, or even a single word to help us to grab our attention.

Traditionally, there are four parts of the process, usually identified in Latin, but when I taught my high school students this process I also used an English title for each part of the process. I like to think of the process like a funnel. In other words, at the beginning we focus on the whole thing, but gradually find ourselves going deeper and deeper into where the Holy Spirit moves us on a particular moment.

One other note is that the use of the Lectio Divina is not limited to the words of the bible, but I will say I think learning to pray with the bible is a good way to start. The steps of the Lectio Divina are as follows:

It remains important to prepare to pray. Just as we take time when a guest comes to visit us, so too we need to take time to prepare for the Holy Spirit, the guest we are seeking to invite into our heart.  I suggest taking time first to become calm. Often focusing on slowing down our breathing is helpful, particularly if we are not familiar with silent prayer. Some people find it helpful to use an object, like a candle. If your house allows you, it can be helpful to create a special personal sacred space to help. Whatever the preparation, it is always helpful I think, to say a phrase like, “Come, Holy Spirit,” or “God speak to my heart.”

Then a particular passage is selected to read. I like using the daily readings from Mass because it keeps me from only focusing on those passages I might like. (I find that if I choose I tend to choose those readings I like and avoid readings I find upsetting or challenging.)

Read the passage slowly and reflectively. See what grabs your attention. But don’t force it. Be patient. But pay attention to what “leaps” out.

After reading the passage the first time, read it again. Pay attention this second time to what was striking about the reading. Remember this is not academic study, but prayer. Simply meditate on the passage being read a second time. Reflect upon what it is God says personally today.

In reading the passage the third time, it is the chance (now and only now) to speak to God about what God has said. Even if I do not think much has struck me, I choose to thank God for this time of prayer. But often there is something specific that has struck me, and this is the time to respond. Sometimes it is asking God for something (a prayer of petition), or perhaps I am reminded of other people who asked me to pray for them (prayers of intercession). I take this time to bring these prayers to Jesus . . .

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.

King Saul had one fundamental flaw. He cared too much what others people thought. We see that over and over and over again in his life. He cared too much what other people thought. And that flaw really ultimately cost him just about everything. We see it in today's reading.

I suspect that Saul decided, well, you know what, if they take the best and they sacrifice it to God and they like me for being successful, then what does it matter what God said? We're going to see this later on when King David defeats Goliath, the Philistine. And the women sing this silly song that doesn't make much sense to me, but it really got under Saul's skin because Saul was given credit for slaying thousands and David was given credit for slaying tens of thousands.

And Saul was just beside himself. And rather than admitting that he cares too much what other people think, he goes out to kill David. He goes out and does horrible, evil things. He chases David all over the place to kill him. But even worse than that, he's rejected by God as king.

Now, deep inside of us, I suspect, if it's not the same problem as Saul, we probably have something in us that we're always struggling against in order to do the right thing. It might be the problem of Saul, caring too much what other people think about us, and seeking to please people, even in doing the wrong thing. But if it makes them happy, well, okay.

It may be other things. It may be that we don't want to look, let's say, at our selfishness. I think of that in myself right now. I have barely left the house these days. It's so cold. Now, I grew up in this. This is not the first rodeo, shall we speak. I remember leaving my mother's house and going back to St. Louis a few years ago, and the air temperature was 23 below. Okay, so I know cold.

But does my knowledge of cold and my unwillingness to leave the house spur me on to action for those that don't have my blessings? I can't imagine what it's like to have uncertainty in the housing in this weather. I can't. It should spur me to do something. But does it really? I think there's a deeper fundamental flaw, though, that we need to kind of grapple with in our own lives in terms of the gospel.

Do we really believe that God is God, or one very smart person among many, with whom we could disagree if it didn't suit us? See, because that's really what's going on here. God was very clear to Saul what he was supposed to do, and what he allowed his men to do was not allowed. It was not allowed.

We do that, at least I know I do. I shouldn't speak for you. I don't know. But I know that one of the challenges I can have is, this doesn't make much sense. What was God thinking? As if somehow I know better than God.

I think this is a uniquely American problem. I think it is a first-world problem, that somehow we know better than God. Such is a challenge in our lives. But we see what happens when we don't really place ourselves in the presence of God and identify God for who he is. We can be rejected. Or at the very least, our actions can be rejected. We're not God's anointed.

By the way, I'll give you, even though his life was far from perfect, as we know, when King David, before he was King David, had the chance to kill Saul, he didn't. Because Saul was the Lord's anointed. That's what God told him. And he said, who could harm the Lord's anointed without being harmed? Now David's going to have his other problems. Don't misunderstand me.

But it does challenge me, at least today, to think, do I really believe that God is God? When God tells me to love him and to love my neighbor, do I really take that seriously? Or am I like King Saul, thinking that, well, it's reasonable that I would allow this. What's the problem, even though God told me not to? Let us ask the Lord for the grace to follow him as his disciples, wherever he leads.

On the friar, you can listen to our homilies. You can ask us to pray for you or others. You can subscribe to our website.

When we encounter a problem, the hardest part of it as a person of faith can be trusting in God. We really want to kind of come up with the solution ourselves, decide this is the right thing to do, do it, and then hope that everything works out well because of our decision.

If there is a challenge, I think, in the faith, in the Western world, it is that we think that everything really depends on us, even though we know better. If there's a problem with poverty, well, we've got to do something about it. We've got to do something. We've got to come up with the solution.

But the stance of a person of faith is the other way around. What is it that God wants us to do? How is it that God wants to solve this problem? And in what ways can we be attentive to what God longs to do among us?

Such is the dilemma of the first reading. They want to be like everyone else. Now, it's interesting because before they got into the Promised Land, before they crossed over the Jordan and into the Promised Land, that is exactly what God warned them against. You're going to want to be like everybody else.

And it was for that reason that God said to them things like, don't marry foreigners because you're going to want to be like everybody else. That's not going to help you in your living out the covenant that I am making with you.

How often is it that we kind of want to just fit in? You know, there was a period of time where that was probably not such a bad thing. There was the time of the immigrants and we wanted to be Americans. And the sisters worked very hard to give us the opportunities that we needed to have that part in our life.

Catholic schools, orphanages, hospitals, those were tremendous success stories because of the generous work largely of religious women, although also of religious men. And it was good. Until it wasn't. See, we have become good.

If you look at the demographics for Catholics, we're among the wealthiest in the country. We're among the most educated in the country. There's all kinds of good news about Catholics. We have arrived. But what of our faith? What of the practice of our faith?

Have we become like the people in the first reading who said, if we could only have a king and be like everyone else, everything would be fine. And Samuel is trying to say, look, you don't understand what you're asking for. The king is going to take your sons. He's going to take your daughters. He's going to take your property. He's going to do all kinds of things because he's the king.

And yes, he's going to lead you into battle, and he's going to guide and so forth. But that doesn't mean that everything is going to be wonderful. I think if there is an invitation that God wants us to exercise in this new year, it is recognizing where it is do we wish to find the presence of God. And then to say to ourselves, where actually is God? What is it that God wants me to do? How is it that God wants me to live? Can I trust in the Lord to figure out what it means to be a disciple of Jesus?

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.

There are the best of times and the worst of times. And today's readings really give us that picture. The first reading, it's a disaster. This is really a bad, bad place for Israel to be. But for the leper in the Gospel, it is a good place. It is the best of times.

In the first reading, there is this horrible, terrible thing that has befallen Israel. And in the Gospel, there was this horrible, terrible thing that had befallen the leper that was removed. There was healing. There was reintegration into society. We have the worst and the best.

But the irony is this, at one and the same time, the question in both instances is the same. Where is God? Where is God in the midst of this terrible tragedy that we have experienced? We thought God would save us. We brought the Ark of the Covenant. And the leper, where is God in the midst of all of this?

Notice in the first reading that what we don't get is some of the back story here about the ways in which things have kind of deteriorated long before the battle with the Philistines. We know that they've not always been faithful. We know that they've not always concerned themselves with their personal relationship with God. We know that they've lost sight of who they were, who they are, who they should be. Their relationship is not really a priority in their lives, really.

Faith can be like that. Or shall I say the practice of religion can be like that. We may seem like we're doing things in the name of religion that are good and wonderful. They bring the Ark, but their hearts weren't converted. Their lives weren't changed. They weren't first disciples.

In the Gospel reading, we get a similar type of circumstance and situation. We do not know what really was the circumstance of the leper before the encounter with Jesus. And except for the excitement of the leper, we don't know what really happened to the leper afterwards. What's interesting, though, is what Jesus doesn't say the leper should be or do.

He doesn't say, toss aside all of the ritual in your life. I've healed you. Don't worry about the Jewish law. Don't worry about the practice of your faith. I've done these things. You don't need to worry about that. What does Jesus do? He says, go show yourself to the priest and for your cleansing, offer what Moses has prescribed. That should be proof for them. In other words, practice your faith.

It doesn't necessarily mean that one is contingent on the other. In other words, perhaps the man did have great faith. Maybe he was a practicing Jew before his ostracizing because of his leprosy. We don't know. But Jesus wants to make clear that in our own lives, our faith is not always only about our own effort. Nor is it about magic.

On some level, it strikes me that in the first reading, there's at least some element of magic. And as long as we have the Ark of the Covenant, everything will be perfect and it won't matter what we do. Well, if that was the attitude, it didn't work out so well. The question then is one for us today.

Do we allow God to really change our hearts? Do we allow God to really make us see everything in the world through the lens of our relationship with Jesus? Do we make time in our lives for personal and silent prayer? Or do we busy ourselves with lots and lots of activity, even good activity? Realizing or perhaps believing that we can separate the good that we do from the source of goodness. Let us ask the Lord this day to help us to open our hearts to God, to allow God to change us and to convert us and to make us into the persons that God has desired us 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.