If your Facebook news feed is anything like mine then its been busting at the seams these days with discussion about the Nashville Statement. For our purposes here it’s contents really aren’t relevant. There are those that oppose it and those that approve and these discussions will rage on, at least for a little bit longer, and then probably peter out. But, at its core, both proponents and those opposed are desperate, it seems, for one thing: unity. Because whether you... Read more
If you’ve ever been to Costco with a toddler you probably know the routine. When the clerk checks your receipt against the items your cart at the exit doors they’ll often warmly greet your little munchkin, flip over your receipt, and draw a smiley face with their marker on the back. It’s a small reward for surviving the often apocalyptic shopping experience that is Costco with a toddler, but it’s impact can be much, much greater than that. And today,... Read more
I was recently on a breakfast date with our two-year old son when I spilled coffee all down the front of my shirt. As we navigated towards the back of the crowded coffee shop, coffee in one hand, toddler connected to the other, we encountered a particularly challenging obstacle blocking our path. A man, resplendent with laptop, tablet, phone and briefcase spread all over, and around, a four-person table cluster. Blocking our way. With toddler in tow I tried to get carefully... Read more
The Catholic Church looks like the church described in the Bible. The church that Jesus prayed for in his High Priestly Prayer; the church written about by the apostles---like when Paul wrote that we are one church and celebrate one Eucharist. Read more
Following a tradition which has existed since the beginning of the Church, Catholics agree that Jesus is miraculously present in the elements of Communion. Read more
The decision to become a Catholic, as an Evangelical Christian, is an earth-shattering decision to make. It’s a paradigm shift—requiring a complete re-orientation of standards, values, and worldview. Douglas Beaumont, a theologian and convert himself, describes the experience of converting to Catholicism more akin to moving from Atheism to Christianity than to moving from one denomination to another. It’s not as simple as taking your ball to play on another court, it’s trading in your ball for a pair of skates.... Read more
The biblical accounts of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and to the Apostle Thomas is endlessly fascinating to compare. When Mary Magdalene, overwhelmed with joy at seeing Christ risen from the dead, exclaims, “Teacher!” She is told, “Do not cling to me but go, instead, and tell the others what you’ve seen.” She is, it seems, reproofed for her joy. When the Apostle Thomas, however, isn’t among the other apostles when Christ first appears he claims that he won’t believe until he... Read more
I tore a hole in my brand new coat. My brand new coat. We are by no means poor but we are thrifty and conservative with our spending so a new coat, which I haven’t had in years, was a source of some excitement for me. I loved the feeling—the thrill—of something new to wear; I was happy. And it happened in a flash. Our son, a fussy nearly-two-year-old, was throwing a bit of a tantrum when I wouldn’t let him... Read more
The whole thing—the will of God thing—is tricky. As a teenager, in Evangelical circles, it was worn like something of a badge of honour: A young adult tromping off in this or that direction—following this or that fancy—would declare it to be the unequivocal “Will of God” and entertain no detractors. It was a Trump Card—in every sense of the word. But how we discerned such an important thing—what God wanted from us—what such a convoluted, serpentine process. (The... Read more
I’m not going to write an apologetic for why confession makes sense. I’ve written that before. Suffice to say, if you believe, as I do, that the Catholic Church exists in a long line of successors right back to the very first apostles appointed by Christ, then confession makes sense. “Whoever’s sins you forgive are forgiven,” Christ told his hand-picked apostles. The Catholic Church carries on that sacred tradition, two-thousand years later. That a priest can “forgive” my sins... Read more
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