We often have odd ideas cross our minds, causing us to wonder how and why we thought them. When this happens, it is best to ignore them, and that means, not to ponder them and why we had them. But, because of how we are, this often is easier said than done. We end up contemplating them, trying to discern where the thoughts came from, trying to figure out what we did to cause them, and in the process, we... Read more
St. Catherine of Siena was revered for her mystical, indeed, prophetic connection to God; and like many prophets, she often spoke harshly against the religious authorities of her day, pointing out how they often lived their lives contrary to their vocation. Even the Pope could and would receive her criticism when it was necessary. Thus, she said that those who taught the faith should do so more than with their words, but with their lives; they should not be hypocrites,... Read more
Saint Salvian mourned the way many of the hierarchy of the institutional church sold themselves out to the rich and powerful in such. He understood that this led them to ignore the plight of the people, including and especially the abuses affecting the poor and vulnerable: “Who gives help to the distressed and those that labor, when even the Lord’s priests do not resist the violence of wicked men?”[1] Salvian’s question is one which can and should be repeated by... Read more
Jesus came to bring everyone life; he did not come to judge and condemn us to death (cf. Jn. 12:47). It is the thief, he said, who comes to kill and steal, while he came to help us have an abundant life “I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may... Read more
Julian of Norwich’s spiritual experiences led her to question her own understanding of God. On the one hand, she did not want to deny the value and truth contained in traditional representations of God, but on the other hand she found how she understood them often contradicted what she learned about God and God’s nature. At the forefront of her experience was the realization of God’s love and what it means for God to be love. When she appreciated God’s... Read more
We live in a foolish era; everyone likes to speak, giving their opinion to everything, whether or not they should do so. The wisdom of silence is rejected. We want to be praised by others, and we have been led to believe the way to do so is to be heard. Sometimes, indeed, often, this includes shaming all those who think differently from us so as to make sure people focus their attention on us and listen to what we... Read more
Beauty, it is said, is in the eye of the beholder. One person will see beauty in what another person considers ugly. This is possible because everything which exists has its own beauty, a beauty which it has by nature, a beauty which some people are better able to ascertain it than others. God, of course, discerns that beauty, because, as St. Gregory of Nyssa explained, God knows all things in relation to their nature and the beauty or glory... Read more
Apparent orthodoxy, right belief, without orthopraxis, right action, is not true orthodoxy. What we do demonstrates who we are and what we believe. The defeat of iconoclasm, the heresy which denied the veneration of images, led to the restoration of icons and their proper use. Orthodoxy is tied with orthopraxis, and indeed, explains and justifies orthopraxis even as heresy is tied to and justifies bad actions (as seen in the example of iconoclasm where the rejection of the veneration of... Read more
What God made was good. “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day” (Gen. 1:31 RSV). It was, indeed, wonderful beauty to behold, as Louis Armstrong sung: I see trees of green Red roses too I see them bloom For me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful world I see skies of blue And clouds of white The bright... Read more
The reality of the eucharist is Christ; no matter what accidents are associated with the reception of the eucharist, be it bread or wine, it is always Christ, always fully Christ, and not a part of Christ which is received. While we might understand and believe the truth, in the “age to come,” we will continue to receive the reality of the eucharist, and we do so without the need of physical accidents symbolizing the truth which is being received:... Read more
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