One of the ways early Christians looked at Scripture was for the way it should be read, not as mere positive history, not as some simple text to be read literally, but as a text which gives us all kinds of theological truths through various symbols inserted into the narratives themselves. That is, they did not take Scripture as a simple history book. They did not believe that everything which was written down happened exactly in the way it was... Read more
We need to recognize our frailty. While it is possible to become perfect through grace, and so to transcend our sins, even when we have done so, we will have to acknowledge what we have done in the past, that is, the influence sin has had on our lives, and the way we have hurt others and ourselves through our sins. If we don’t do that, it will only mean we are not yet perfect, because we will not be... Read more
With decline church attendance becoming a serious problem that they have to deal with, many American Catholic bishops believe the solution lies in what they call a “Eucharistic Revival.” Strangely taking on the notion of revival from the American Protestant tradition, they hope they can create enthusiasm for the eucharist, and through that, bring people back to church. Sadly, what they are focusing upon will not bring people back. They have been led to believe that most Catholics no longer... Read more
Sadly, more often than not, many of us do not want to take responsibility for our actions. We want to find some excuse to blame others for doing what we do. That is, when we do something wrong, when we sin, we try to excuse it by saying someone else was at fault because of the way they encouraged or tempted us to sin. That is, we try to find a way to blame others for our actions so that... Read more
Sin is destructive; it can cause a great amount of pain and sorrow in its wake. It is like a cancer, eating away at the sinner and those around them. The more someone sins, the more it destroys them and their personal integrity. Sin causes people to lose their free agency so that the more someone sins, the more they become trapped or paralyzed by their sins. Sin doesn’t just hurt the sinner. It can and will hurt others. The... Read more
One of the things which can harm us is the expectations others have for us. The more highly regarded they think we are, the greater the expectations they have for us. As many of us enjoy the praise and accolades we get, we try to fulfil those expectations, and as a result, find our lives transformed by them until it can be said we become slaves to them. This does not mean we should be selfish, ignoring our relationships with... Read more
St. Antony the Great, though remembered in history as one of the great early monastic leaders, and possibly one of the greatest monks to have ever lived, still was a human being who had to learn how to live out his life the way God intended it to be lived. He made mistakes. He sometimes did things wrong. He sometimes had to change his ways, either because he misunderstood what he should be doing, or else, because he had gained... Read more
When dealing with morality, it is one thing to talk about moral obligations in the ideal sense, where we have nothing standing in our way from choosing the greatest objective good, while it is another to deal with the actual situation which we find ourselves in, where the greatest objective good might not be possible. Objective discussions without actually dealing with concrete situations end up being pure abstractions. They are not worthless, but they do not comprehend the whole of... Read more
Some Christians like to use Paul to tell women that they have no right to speak in church (cf. 1 Cor. 14:34). They used his words out of context, absolutizing a literal interpretation of them instead of understanding the audience and reason why Paul told some women to be silent. If we accepted the interpretation which suggested women should be absolutely silent in church and have no authority to speak or teach others, we would have to conclude Paul was... Read more
God is no respecter of persons. God loves everyone and works, in mysterious ways, for the benefit and salvation of all. God will not allow sin to hinder that love. God seeks, and finds, new ways to share that love, so that no matter how many barriers are put in place, God has a way to reach out and share that love with everyone. How can we not see this is one of the lessons we are to learn from... Read more
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