“Authentic democracy is possible only in a State ruled by law, and on the basis of a correct conception of the human person.” [1] Pope St. John Paul II explained that for the effective engagement of democracy, basic principles need to be understood such as the point of government is to serve the common good For this reason, it is important that laws, regulations, and those who govern, make sure the common good remains enforced, and that ideologues, seeking their... Read more
Charity, love, is at the heart of authentic Christian morality. What we do must be borne out of love. When we try to engage morality through any other means, such as legalism, we ignore love, and as such, our moral claims have no proper foundation on which to stand. There are many ways we can and should engage love, yes, and so different people, different saints, will express its meaning within their own context. This shows us that our particular... Read more
Paul, writing to the Ephesians, also writes to us, telling us that we are called to be one with each other, and also, of course, with God. He makes it clear such unity is established in and through Jesus, through the grace of baptism (a grace, which, of course, can be had through baptism, or through other means). It is in him and through him we rise up and find ourselves becoming children of God: I therefore, a prisoner for... Read more
Jesus was clear, those who put on shows, trying to look pious in front of others, do not understand what piety is really about. This is why, when they make rules, obligating others to follow them with their performative piety, they often hinder the spiritual progression, not only of themselves, but others. They frequently base their performative piety on subjective aesthetic appeals, indicating that something they believe is beautiful or aesthetically pleasing must be seen as more righteous, more holy,... Read more
When trying to determine if someone has sinned, we can’t just say an action is morally objectionable, and so if a person does it, they have sinned. For someone to actually have sinned, the person needs to believe an act is objectionable, and yet do it anyway. If they do not know, or do not understand why a particular act is objectionable, and if they have reasons to believe engaging it might not be morally objectionable, but actually for some... Read more
It is easy for us to let pride take control and lead us astray. It is easy to think we know all the answers others need to hear. Once we do, we easily become angry with others when they don’t listen to us. We take it as an affront against us, that is, we take it personally. We shouldn’t, but we do. The more we think we know something others need to know, the easier it is for us to... Read more
Jesus is the Logos made flesh. As the Logos, all things come from, or were made through, him. Now, as the incarnate Logos, all things remade by him. They find themselves not only restored to their own proper logos, the original identity, they find themselves made new, made different, capable of being something greater than they were before. We are assured that what the restoration brought about by is not only for our spiritual side, but for our whole being.... Read more
In early Christian history, especially before Constantine, Christians were not concerned about having large families. Indeed, they felt the eschatological ramifications of the incarnation, and as such, thought the world itself was soon to come to an end. Paul shows us what this meant in relation to family life: they believed it was better to be celibate and live out the eschatological mystery single than it was to marry, have children: Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. It... Read more
Christian history, sadly, has a great deal of anti-Semitism in it, and many great saints and theologians, Christian history, sadly, has a great deal of anti-Semitism in it, and many great saints and theologians, who otherwise should have known better, fell for Anti-Semitic tropes, helping to preserve them for future generations. When they did so, they are not to be commended. We need to be realistic about them, and understand that they were fallible men and women who, though filled... Read more
Religion, at its best, reveals to us that the truth of God is love. The is certainly one of the highlights of the Christian faith. Love is the foundation of creation. Love, Christianity teaches us (with its doctrine of the Trinity), can also be said to be what unites the persons of the Trinity, allowing them to be three and yet one. Likewise love unites God with creation, for it is by such love that the incarnation takes place. Love... Read more
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