All one has to do is look at the border between Mexico and the United States, and the way so many Christians treat the border, to see how perverted the Christian faith has become in the United States. Instead of looking for a way to help migrants and refugees, who come to the border in extreme need, many Christians want to do whatever they can to hurt them, to make them pay for trying to come into the United States... Read more
Pride is a greater sin, indeed, a greater threat to the soul, than many, if not most, of those sins more routinely discussed in sermons, especially “sins of the flesh.” Anyone who is prideful of their own “purity,” that is, in their chastity, and look down upon others who have not been so “pure,” fail to see the greater impurity such pride has produced in their soul. Pride has people becoming judgmental, deeming their superiority means they have the right... Read more
Christian Scripture warns us of the possibility of hell, that is, of eternal perdition, but it also tells us of the possibility of the restoration of all things as it says God is going to be all-in-all, and the final enemy will be overcome. Hans Urs von Balthasar, understanding both positions are indicated in Scripture, said it would be a mistake trying to create and assert as necessary any synthesis we make of those two possibilities because we do not... Read more
In the parable of the Prodigal Son, we hear about a man who had two sons. One of them, the younger of the two, asked his father to be given his inheritance so he could go off and live life as he saw fit. Because he loved his son, the father did as he was asked, however saddened he was to do so. The elder son, on the other hand, stayed with his father, and helped him take care of... Read more
God’s all-deifying love is for all. God desires to share it with everyone, for God is love. If there were someone God did not love, then God’s love would be conditional, making it something which is not essential to God. There can be and will be nothing lacking in God’s love for creation, for there is nothing which is lacking in God. Where there is any deficiency in love, it is in us and our reception of God’s love. God’s... Read more
As Jesus is the prince of peace, Christians who follow him are called to promote and defend peace. But, just as an unjust law is no law, so a false peace is no peace. Christians, who are to follow the law, are not expected to follow unjust laws; though they are to seek after peace, they are not to support or promote a false peace. “Peace at all costs” is not true peace as it relies upon and accepts injustice... Read more
Christianity traditionally teaches that creation is filled with a variety of entities, some which are material, some which are purely spiritual. Creation is vast, and, even with our collective knowledge, we only know a very small portion of it. There is far more to it than we know or understand. There is far more than we will ever know in our lifetime. We can, at times, get glimpses of things beyond our normal experience, and from them, discuss what we... Read more
The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican is a very important one for anyone who claims to be religious. Christians need to pay careful attention to it and learn what it is telling them, for it warns them of what can happen with a legalistic or judgmental understanding of religious devotion. External acts of piety, while they might represent true devotion to God, are not in and of themselves a true indication that someone has the right kind of... Read more
What is in our hearts affects our souls. If we wish to do some good, but don’t have the opportunity to do so, our desire to do it and will have a positive impact on our soul. It will help us grow in virtue, even as it will direct us, making sure we continue to seek after and so what is good. Thus, if a poor wished to share with the world the bounty of their love so that if... Read more
When many churches were being administered by Arians, often put in power by civil authorities, we find various people fleeing from the cities in which they were found. They formed their own, often separate (but not completely independent) religious communities, many of which became monastic communities. They helped preserve and protect the faith, giving a place of refugee to those who were fleeing from Arian authorities, such as St. Athanasius. St. Antony welcomed Athanasius, and indeed, became as it were,... Read more
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