Patience. For many of us, as we are used to getting most of what we want, whenever we want it, patience is a virtue which we have lost. We do not want to wait for anything. Waiting a week for something seems way too long. As a result, when things change, and we find ourselves dealing with a crisis in our lives, we not only have to cope with the crisis, we have to deal with our impatience in trying... Read more
When disease strikes, we deal with it as is needed. It affects our lives. We stop doing the things we normally did so that we can rest and recover. We might wish things were otherwise, but so long as we are sick, we have to accept that we are ill and our lives will be different until we are better. What kind of ailment we have will determine what that means. If what we have is communicable, we do what... Read more
Trying to slow the spread of COVID-19 to manageable levels has brought much of the world to a standstill. Many, not understanding the measures being used to halt the spread of COVID-19, have demanded that the various lockdowns around the world to be lifted. Doing so too soon will be dangerous, and will likely result in another spike in COVID-19 cases. The fact that many states in the United States are slowly opening up before all the necessary resources needed... Read more
In the so-called Apostolic Constitutions, probably written in late 4th century Syria, we read not only of deaconesses in the church, we see that they were understood as serving as a type of the Holy Spirit. The Apostolic Constitutions did not do this by themselves; they followed the precedence given to it by the early third century Teachings of the Apostles (Didascalia Apostolorum), as Corrado Marucci indicates: According to the Apostolic Constitutions the deaconesses are gathered from among the virgins and... Read more
Time is important. What happens in time doesn’t merely have temporal significance, it has eternal significance. The transcendence of eternity is an inclusive transcendence. While, theoretically, the transcendence of eternity could mean that eternity is not shaped by what happens in time, in reality, they are related to each other so that what happens in time shapes eternity even as eternity shapes time. The interdependence of the two, the non-duality which connects the two, is one of the great revelations... Read more
Hans Urs von Balthasar suggests that the way many of us treat the concept of hell is to use it as a weapon to condemn others. We warn people who do things we do not like that they risk going to hell, but we rarely consider the possibility for ourselves: But woe is me if, looking back, I see how others, who were not so lucky as I, are sinking beneath the waves; if, that is, I objectify hell and... Read more
Throughout the United States, pockets of protestors have sprung up, demanding governors to remove quarantine restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus. They are, to be sure, a mixed bag. Many of them are ignorant of how pandemics work, and so have been led to believe that the coronavirus is not a real threat. They think they are suffering needlessly. Behind them are many political strategists who are using the pandemic to ferment revolts against governors they do not... Read more
Sometimes, when told that God expects Christians to take care of the poor, someone will reply with an out-of-context quote from St Paul, saying, “If any one will not work, let him not eat.” They think that with that one verse they can ignore the demands for social justice found in Scripture. If questioned about their lack of concern for their poor neighbor, they will blame any such poverty on the laziness of the poor, excusing themselves from their responsibility... Read more
On the first day of the week (Sunday), but also, counting through the days of one week and going to the beginning of the next week, on the eight day, Jesus rose from the dead. This is why the eighth day is said to represent the beginning of eternity. The whole time in which God is said to have created everything and let it be is said to be one week. That week of creation is now transcended by the... Read more
Often when we pray, or rather, when we try to pray, our heart is not united with our words. What we say lacks authenticity. We often recite words from others, repeating what they have said, thinking that is good enough because it was good enough for them. But when such words do not reflect our thoughts and feelings, we risk putting on a show. We are not really talking with God. We are like babbling babies, repeating what sounds we... Read more
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