We have found it difficult to embrace silence, and yet times of silence are necessary for our own personal, psychological and spiritual well-being. We need to journey within our own very being, cutting ourselves off everything outside of ourselves, to attain silence and the peace which silence can bring. Once we do so, we must be patient, and accept the silence, not trying to fill the void with anything, including and especially our own thoughts. Of course, as we are... Read more
Back when I was living in Silver Spring, Maryland, doing doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America, I went to a drug store to pick up a few items. It was busy, so when I got to the checkout lane, I had to wait in line for one of the cashiers to be open. After several minutes, it was finally my turn, but then a man rushed forward with a newspaper in his hands, and went to the cashier... Read more
I read the news today, oh boy. Woke up, got out of bed, washed up, and got on the internet only to read what happened on Saturday night: the Trump Administration ramped up its attacks against law and order calling the California National Guard and potentially the Marines into Los Angeles to help ICE in Trump’s campaign to take (abduct) migrants (and American citizens!) and immediately “deport” them (or send them to cruel third-world prisons, paid for by American money).... Read more
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Love. In the Godhead, the Spirit is often said to reflect the love which is shared between the Father and the Son, though it must always be understood that in saying this, the Holy Spirit is a person and not some impersonal force. The Father loves the Son, and through the love of the Father to the Son, we can discern the Spirit, even as we can discern the Spirit in the love... Read more
Prayer is an important part of the Christian life. There are many ways to pray, with each of us finding some more to our own personal liking than others. Some prefer communal prayer, others prefer private prayer. Some prefer petitionary prayer, others prefer contemplative prayer. Each have their place, and it is fine if we engage some kinds of prayer more than others in our lives. But it is imperative that we do more than simply pray. We must not... Read more
J.R.R. Tolkien, who worked on a translation of the book of Jonah for the Jerusalem Bible, found much in the text worthy of his own personal exploration and consideration. One point which he found important is the way God and God’s mercy often is not properly understood by those who are authentically called by God to do some work in the world. Even prophets, while inspired, are human, and their human misunderstanding can and often does get in the way... Read more
While Catholics have been told that the institutional church should be always reforming, many feel the need is greater now than it has been for decades. There have always been issues. The institutional church and its leaders has always been far from perfect, though the grace given to it means that their imperfections will not prevent the fulfillment of Christ’s purpose for the church (to be a vessel of salvation and change in the world). Dororthy Day understood this, which... Read more
“And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (Jn. 17:3 RSV). The Christian faith is about a personal, experiential relationship with Jesus, a relationship which allows them to join themselves to him and participate in the glory of the divine life through him. We know the one who has been sent into the world, the divine person who became incarnate so as to reveal to us the fullness... Read more
It could be said that the final act of Jesus’s temporal ministry was not his resurrection from the dead, but his ascension into heaven. It is, in many ways, a very mysterious act. At first glance, this might seem to contradict what Jesus said when he said he would be with us until the end of the age. And yet, when examined, this is actually the way Jesus uses to be with each and every one of us at once,... Read more
Icons are often described, quite properly, as windows into heaven, because they reveal to us elements of the kingdom of God. They show us the spiritualized, glorified form of the saints depicted in them, as well as the spiritual reality which lay behind various events of salvation history. This is why they, though they often are seen as being unrealistic in relation to empirical standards, they are said as being realistic according to spiritual ones. They give us a glimpse... Read more
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