Topic: Vespers preaching

Br. Bradley Thomas Elliott, O.P.'s picture

To Love God

Submitted by Br. Bradley Thomas Elliott, O.P. on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 7:45am

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This was a reflection given during Vespers at St. Albert's Priory. It is a meditation on the love of God.

As Christians we are commanded to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind. But what does it mean to love God? Can we ever love God the way we ought, the way He deserves to be loved? How can we, as finite human beings ever love the infinite and invisible God who the ancient israelites dared never even look upon lest they die?

Following our Lord's words in the Gospel that "whatever you do to the least of these you do unto me," should we not conclude that the heart inflamed with true love of God will desire nothing more than to express that love through service and kindness towards neighbor?

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Dominican spirituality

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Penance and Hope

Submitted by Br. Bradley Thomas Elliott, O.P. on Sun, 03/17/2013 - 3:04pm

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Preaching

This is a reflection given at vespers at St. Albert's Priory. It is for the second week of Lent, a time when our practices of penance begin to wane. Although the virtue that is typically associated with lenten penances is temperance, this is a meditation on the connection between our acts of penance and the virtue of hope. When we practice penance for the sake of the kingdom of God, we do not merely grow in the virtue of temperance, which orders our desires for bodily pleasures according to right reason. We also practice the virtue of hope, hope for a world to come, and hope for the life of glory that surpasses what we could ever enjoy in this life through our bodily senses. The hidden secret to this season of mortification is the hope that springs from the promise of Jesus Christ.

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Dominican spirituality

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Freedom for Witness

Submitted by Br. Kevin Andrew, O.P. on Mon, 12/03/2012 - 2:44pm

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Preaching

We recently celebrated the final Sunday of the liturgical year, the Solemnity of Christ the King. On this day the readings focus on the freedom that we have been given in Christ. I examine this freedom as it is expressed in the second reading (Revelation 1:5-8), and what this freedom means for us today.

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The God of the Lowly

Submitted by Br. Bradley Thomas Elliott, O.P. on Mon, 11/12/2012 - 2:43pm

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Preaching

This is a recording of my preaching during Sunday Vespers.

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Preaching recordings

Vespers preaching

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Psalms

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Br. Peter Junipero Hannah, O.P.'s picture

The Will of the Father

Submitted by Br. Peter Junipero Hannah, O.P. on Thu, 11/08/2012 - 11:15am

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Preaching

Baptism of Christ Last weekend was our vocations weekend at St. Albert's Priory. 15 men joined us to discern, and I gave the evening Vespers reflection/preaching on Saturday night. In the context of God's Divine Fatherhood, the theme I broach here is vocational discernment, especially certain tendencies today towards making it overly introspective. (This book written by a Dominican a number of years ago covers the subject in more depth.) Prayer, self-examination and reflection, spiritual direction, and seeking God's promptings on your heart, are all necessary and good parts of discernment. At the end of the day, though, God has already given each of us the grace to decide to follow him completely, whether with another in married life, or according to a particular charism in religious life. Contact Fr. Steve Maekawa, O.P., our vocation director, for more information on the Dominican charism and the Western Province.