The Friar Podcasts

The readings for this post can be found by clicking here. "Do not be afraid." “The phrase "Fear not! (or equivalent translations) appears only slightly over 100 times in the Old Testament, as well as slightly over 40 times in the New Testament.” (Some claim there are 365 such citations in the bible, but, while inspiring (one for each day of the year) it is not biblically accurate.)

The readings for this post can be found by clicking here. Are you a narrow thinker of faith, or a broad thinker? Today’s first reading presents narrow thinking about God and broad thinking about God. We have seen for the past few days narrow thinking about the apostles. For the members of the Sanhedrin, the apostles can only be seen as troublemakers limiting their power. Maybe they even thought that by continuing to let them speak they risked the cozy relationship with the Romans.

The readings for today. We do not always remember, but every time we are at Mass we witness the intersection of heaven and earth. In fact, we live in a world that is constantly infused with heavenly things if we look with the eyes of faith. Do you focus on heaven or earth?

The readings for this post can be found by clicking here. Obedience. Little kids are told to obey their parents. Students are told to obey their teachers. In a dangerous situation we might be asked to obey certain directions for our safety. When the word is used, it can be used in connection to following the direction of someone who is more powerful than we are.

It can be easy to say we do not believe in God. Or, it can be easy as well to take the love of God for us for granted. Imagine if married couples ignored each other because they said, "I know they love me." Or imagine children saying the same to their parents. We can do this with God. While it is true that God loves us infinitely, in a way we cannot grasp, it does not mean we do not need to seek to be open to receiving that love. We must avail ourselves of the grace he gives us so we can experience his love and live in that love. Here are the readings for today.

The readings for this post can be found by clicking here. Generally speaking people do not admit when they are jealous. Somehow, we learn early that this feeling is something unpleasant and not to be acknowledged. This leads, at its worst, to horrible actions. People in relationships can cause harm to others when they are jealous. People who are jealous can waste so much energy thinking about something they do not have. Jealousy is usually accompanied by feelings of anger, envy, and frustration. Put simply, jealousy is simply a miserable emotion.

The readings for Today. An authentic relationship with Jesus does not mean we cannot trust our intellect. But it does mean we need to believe in miracles. Nicodemus can accept the authority of Jesus' teaching, but the idea he would have to be born from above is too much. Do you believe in miracles?

The readings for this post can be found by clicking here. While I do not hear it as much anymore, there was a period of time where Christians (especially Evangelical Christians) would ask others if they had been born again. If the answer was yes, often individuals would identify themselves as “Born Again Christians.” Interestingly, however, they are making the same mistake that Nicodemus made as recounted in today’s gospel. In fact, the phrase that was translated “being born again” is a mistranslation. Here is what Jesus said. “You must be born from above.” There is a little play on words here as the word for “again” and “above” are similar in Aramaic. What Jesus is saying to us is that we must be born “from above.”

The readings for this post can be found by clicking here. It is understandable that with the world we live in today we feel afraid. There seems to be an ever-increasing amount of anxiety in our lives. Studies bear this out. Our mental health is not so good. And there are many reasons for this.

Over and over God has set things up for us that we might know and be aware of his love for each one of us. And, at least for me, it feels like over and over again I sin. Yet fortunately for all of us, Jesus is a God who forgives. Here are the readings for today.

Do you remember these two sports calls? Here’s the first. “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” How about the second? “Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it, he underhands to first -- and the Boston Red Sox are the world champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball’s world championship. Can you believe it?” Both of these are sports quotes. The first, especially if you lived in the United States was from the 1980 Olympics. These two quotes are from sports calls. The first was in 1980 when the United States Olympic Hockey Team defeated the Soviet Olympic Hockey Team in Lake Placid, New York. The second was the radio call by Joe Castiglione from WEEI (Boston) in 2004 when the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years in Saint Louis. We toss around the world miracle today quite easily.

The readings for this post are from Saturday, April 10, 2021. “They recognized them as the companions of Jesus.” Would it be the case that you would be recognized as a companion of Jesus? The other day it was about recognizing Jesus. But today it is about being recognized. The way in which Peter and John are recognized goes from what may appear to be insulting (“perceiving them to be uneducated, ordinary men”) to complimentary, as those recognized to be companions of Jesus. You can read the post at https://thefriar.org/2021/04/09/spend-5-with-jesus-companion/.

“There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” The name of Jesus. One thing that feels to me like it has changed is the ease at which people use the name of Jesus in a derogatory way. It is a curse word among too many today. But in today’s reading, the name of Jesus is the name that saves. We read, “It was in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean … in his name this man stands before you healed.” Namely, (no pun intended) it is the name of Jesus that saves. And used properly, it is a name that saves. Used improperly, we commit a sin. https://thefriar.org/2021/04/08/spend-5-with-jesus-the-name/

Peace. It seems to be so elusive today. We seem so angry. We seem at each others' throats. There seem to be so much violence in the world. Shootings, Domestic violence, wars. It is no surprise that Jesus wishes peace to his disciples and to us. Readings for Today Given at Christian Brothers College High School, Town and Country, Missouri. You can subscribe to our podcast by clicking the link of the podcast providers we list on this page, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also sign up for our newsletter and to get notified every time we post by entering your email address at the top of the page.

Today I am going to suggest using a phrase from today’s gospel as something to think about as you settle into five minutes of silence with Jesus. “They had come to recognize him.” Think about that phrase for a minute. “They had come to recognize him.” It is the passage of the gospel that immediately follows the story of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus who did not know Jesus despite walking with him. You may recall they recognized them in the breaking of the bread.

So the past couple of days I introduced the concept of silent prayer. Sometimes this is called mental prayer, sometimes it is contemplative prayer. Today, this very day, it is time to give this a try. So here’s what I suggest you do.

Mary. Jesus is recognized when he calls Mary by name. Such is a tremendous truth in our faith. We are always called by name. In fact, one of the first questions a priest asks the parents is "What name have you given your child?" Listen carefully because today Jesus will be calling you by name.

The techniques used in mindfulness meditation are helpful to the process of prayer. For this reason, I am not critical of those who engage in mindfulness, or mindfulness meditation, but if they stop at the end of mindfulness meditation, I would suggest it is like looking at the cake for desert, getting ready to eat it, but never really enjoying the cake by eating it. At any rate, the purpose of meditation is always to place Jesus as the center.

One challenge for some Catholics is that they know they should pray, but beyond asking God to protect loved ones, heal those who are sick, that is, intercessory prayer, they do not always know what to do. They want to pray, but they do not know how to pray. I have become more convinced over my life that the beginning of prayer is to still the heart. That is, to enter on sacred ground where we place ourselves in the presence of Jesus and hear the command, "Be still and know that I am God!"

Unrest in Myanmar. The pandemic. Violence. Mental health issues. Ideological battles in the Church. There is a reason the ministry of Jesus started with the broken. They need to hear about the resurrection of Jesus. Let's get busy. https://thefriar.org/2021/04/04/homily-for-easter-sunday-april-4-2021/ #thefriar #HeIsRisen

I love Peter. Every emotion, every thought, every thing he does is right out in the open. He is totally authentic. Even when he fails, he repents with his whole being, his whole self. And is so doing, in today's readings, he shows us what it means to follow Jesus. If our focus in everything we do can be on Jesus, we will be holy indeed.