God created the heavens, the universe, and the earth, and saw them all to be good (cf. Gen. 1:31). Humanity was told it would be the steward of the earth. With that role, humanity was given authority, that is dominion, over the earth, not to use and abuse it for our own selfish desires, but to help preserve from harm. That is, God entrusted the earth to us, but sadly, we have failed that trust; we have broken the covenant... Read more
We are told we should pray to God with faith, hope and love. We are encouraged to ask from God whatever we want, trusting that God will answer in accordance to what is best. What is important for us to remember is that our prayers should be seen as requests, reflecting, in part, what is in our heart, showing to God and ourselves what it is we desire. What we should not do with prayer is place undue demands upon... Read more
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, the day of rest. The next day, Sunday, begins a new week; it is the first day of something new. If, however, we continue to count the days based upon the previous week, we would find the day after the Sabbath would be the eighth day. Thus, the first day of the week, Sunday, can also be described as the eighth day. It is the beginning of something new, even as... Read more
Humanity is in this world together. We might try to avoid reality. We might try to split off from each other, but in the end, we can’t. We are one. We need each other. We can’t do everything ourselves. What one person does will directly or indirectly affect everyone else. Recognizing this is a necessary precondition for us to truly grasp the meaning of original sin and the way Christ save us from its effects (as well as the effects... Read more
It has been sixty years since Pope St. John XXXIII wrote the encyclical Pacem in Terris. While many things have changed, at least accidentally, the concerns raised by him remain with us to this day. We have seen the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sadly, we have also seen the rise of a new militant Russia, a Russia which invades other sovereign territories with the hope of assuming its own place of dominance... Read more
It is very common for those who try to appear strong out in public do so because they are afraid that they are anything but strong. That is, they fear that they are really weak. They fear what others would think of them, or do with them, if their weakness was discovered. And so, they act out a role, put on a mask, and act in front of others in ways they believe those who are truly strong and powerful... Read more
Christ is Risen! Indeed, He Is Risen! Let us celebrate his resurrection from the dead! The Christian faith is faith in Christ, that is, the resurrected Christ. We believe Christ is not just merely a good man who taught others how to be good, even though he was that; we also believe that he was the one who let his life be taken from him so that he could take on the powers of sin and death and overcome them.... Read more
Many times, when Jesus spoke, his disciples did not understand what he meant. He often spoke in parables or with symbols, using ordinary things to represent spiritual truths. But they were not used to listening to such spiritual reflections, and so they, and many Christians afterward, misunderstood him, taking literally what was merely symbolic or even allegorical. Now, to be sure, his early disciples would later understand what he meant so that they could and would be able to preach... Read more
St. Antony the Great presented a middle way for the Christian faith. While he was an ascetic, and promoted asceticism, he knew that some would go too far, push themselves too hard, trying to do extraordinary feats out of vainglory and pride, and in doing so, they would end up undermining their own ascetic labors. They will either break down, as they push their bodies too hard, or they will end up embracing the vainglory and pride in such a... Read more
Salvation is a wonderful gift from God. It given to us due to God’s love, but, because it is based upon love, it is received and experienced by us in and through our own love, the love which we give in return. Therefore, salvation comes to us through love, not knowledge, and this is something Christian doctrine has consistently recognized, even if it struggles to understand all the implications of this fact. How can you love someone you don’t know?... Read more
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