The Christian faith proclaims that each and every human person is inherently dignified because they are made in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen. 1:26). While many believe this means that only humanity is made in the image and likeness of God, that is not what the text says. All it says is that humanity was made in God’s image. Just like saying every dog is a mammal does not mean every mammal is a dog, so that... Read more
When we see someone who is truly down and out, such as some homeless man or woman living on the streets, we try to figure out what happened to them. What has led them to being in such a bad position? Was it something they did? Was it something others did to them? Who, exactly, is responsible? Some will try to blame the man or woman whom they see, others will blame society. Perhaps, in some situations, both claims will... Read more
Holiness, true holiness, is developed through acts of love, love which is given to God, of course, but also love which is given to and shown to our neighbor. Since performance piety is not based upon love, but rather the desire to receive accolades for what we do, even if it might contain some good, it does not led us to the perfection of love expected from us. If all we can do at a particular time is give thoughts... Read more
Jesus is the lord of life. Seeing the way he promotes and affirms the value of all life, including and especially those who are treated as outcasts and less than human by society, Christians should promote the dignity of all human life, making sure everyone can attain and experience abundant life (cf. Jn. 10:10). Likewise, Jesus is the prince of peace, which means Christians should be servants of peace (cf. Isa. 9:6). Sadly, the way many Christians act, they seem... Read more
Nothing. God is so great, no matter how sophisticated our words are, no matter how nuanced they are, they will always fail to comprehend God and God’s essence. They can serve as relative, conventional presentations of the truth as long as we accept that the ultimate truth lies beyond what is said, that is, when we recognize that they serve as pointers to the great, transcendent majesty of God. It is in this fashion that they help us apprehend God,... Read more
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
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