We should be conscious of our own sins, that is, of all the ways we have failed doing what is right when we can do so. Nonetheless, we should also appreciate that God is merciful, and will show us grace and love despite all that we have done. All that we have done can be forgiven. Even all the things we have done which we did not know was wrong, or all the things we have forgotten, can be forgiven.... Read more
Pope Francis has been warning Catholics (and all Christians) against the dangers of ideologies, how they precondition us to think in patterns which run contrary to the teaching and praxis of the Gospel. Ideologies are rigid. They try to condition everything to closed systems which have no room for grace, no room for mercy, no room for freedom, and no room for love. They might speak of grace, mercy, freedom and love, but they do so to limit them, and... Read more
The desire to be righteous is good, but we must understand that the way we might seek it out is not. This is because we often seek external forms of righteousness instead of righteousness itself. Thus, we never let holiness take root inside ourselves, inside our heart, and without that holiness, we will find ourselves constantly agitated and without peace. For how can there be peace when we do not have peace within? If all we do is perform works... Read more
God is one, and that oneness is an absolute, simple, non-composite oneness. God is not composed of  parts. The Trinity must not be understood as saying God is made of three different parts: each person is fully God in and of themselves even as all three together represent the same divine fullness. Creation, likewise, is one, but it is a compounded instead of simple unity: creation can be and is divided into parts. Thus, we can say creation, in its... Read more
Life is permeated with suffering. This is not to say we have no joy, no happiness in our lives, for we certainly do. But it is important to remember that along with all the good, along with all the things which help make life worthwhile, we experience all the bad things of life. We get sick. Relationships break down. Loved ones die in front of us. Even if such things happen outside our control, much of what we suffer comes,... Read more
The COVID19 pandemic has required us to reconsider the way we live in the world and how we interact with each other. We have learned that we cannot just think about ourselves, but rather, what we do can and will affect others. If we do not take precautions, such as getting a COVID19 vaccine, wear masks and socially distance ourselves, we not only find ourselves more likely to become infected with COVID19, we also risk infecting others through our carelessness.... Read more
Justice is important. God desires us to seek after and promote it. Those who promote the dictates of justice, do God’s work. However, what we promote is not proper if all we seek after is legalistic forms of justice which know nothing of mercy and grace. Thus, those who act justly, those who promote social reforms and the restitution needed to reestablish justice in a society which has abandoned it, find that mercy is necessary for those reforms to be... Read more
Judas was an Apostle. He walked with Jesus. He listened to Jesus. He saw Jesus perform miracles. Indeed, he was sent out to the people of Israel as a preacher who proclaimed the coming of the kingdom of God and revealed the reality of that kingdom by performing miracles: These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.... Read more
Due to our own mental disposition and biases, we find ourselves subtly, or not so subtly, misunderstanding who Jesus is. This is because we try to classify him in accordance to our own limited understanding of reality. Certainly, this is not an issue for ourselves alone. It is a common problem. Thus, Scripture tells us a time when Jesus, before his death and resurrection, was thought of being a ghost: And in the fourth watch of the night he came... Read more
If you are going to make a argument as to why you should do or not do something based upon religious liberty, you should make sure your religion obligates you to do as you claim. If it does not, then it is not truly an issue of religious liberty and you are abusing religion and religious liberty for the sake of personal preference. This is especially problematic, and immoral, if you are promoting some agenda which can and will harm... Read more
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