St. Augustine warns us against judging others, thinking that we are superior to them because we believe we are holier than them. We must not judge others to be sinners worthy of our scorn because they do not meet the expectations we have for them, expectations based on our likes and dislikes and what we find ourselves easily able to do. This is because when we do this, we embrace many vices, such as pride, vices which indicate we are... Read more
Rejoice, and again, rejoice, celebrate the glory of the resurrection! Let us shout out with cries of joy, “Christ is Risen!” Let us rise with Christ, sharing in the joy and power of the resurrection for ourselves, casting aside those thoughts and practices which would get in the way of our Paschal celebration. We have been given a great grace, a grace which transcends anything we can say or do for ourselves. Indeed, it can be said that all that... Read more
Christ is Risen! Death was overcome by its own devices; it no longer reigns supreme. That which ends our temporal existence has come to and encounter the immanent eschaton, revealing that it too has its own limit, its own end. Death has been deconstructed. It still plays a role in temporal history, but that role has been changed, for it now has become the gate by which all living things go through in order to come to Christ. It is... Read more
“The logos is about to say something, and I say that Christ sought God with the hands, on behalf of the whole cosmos, stretching them on the wood and making them fast so that, at that time, he would pray to him with stretching hands and when the whole body and soul were stretched together, not ever the body, but over the whole cosmos, on behalf of the whole cosmos.” [1] The Logos, Jesus, spoke of forgiveness from the cross;... Read more
When Jesus celebrated the Mystical Supper (the Last Supper), those with him did not understand all that was going on. This should not be surprising, because, despite their close proximity to him, they consistently showed their inability to understand all that he said and did. This is why it was only in hindsight, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, were they able to reflect upon it and realize its significance. They probably understood Jesus was connecting himself and what he was... Read more
Despite their ascetic discipline, a discipline established to help them pursue the form of holiness connected to their own particular charism, many of the greatest desert fathers and mothers understood that discipline should not get in the way of mercy. They rightfully understood that the promotion of extreme discipline, especially with legalistic rigor, without any notion of mercy, leads to despair. One of the ways abbas and ammas promoted mercy was by making it clear that monastic communities should avoid... Read more
When Lazarus was raised from the dead, a crowd formed around Jesus. People thought that Jesus was about to establish his messianic credentials and assume the messianic throne. This is why they came to him. They wanted to be with him when he entered into Jerusalem because they wanted to witness what he was going to do to establish the messianic kingdom. In many respects, their expectations were correct; he truly was going to do what it took to bring... Read more
Marsilio Ficino, the great renaissance philosopher-priest, understood how disingenuous it is to speak up and legislate against murder while promoting that ordinary people should have free access to the means to kill easily anyone they desired. “What more, my friends? The magistrates forbid murder, and allow instruments for killing men to be made everywhere.”[1] If we allow people to possess arms whose sole purpose is to maim or kill others, we should not be surprised, given the opportunity, they will... Read more
Our faith should lead us to being active, looking for and seeking after perfection. But what kind of perfection should we seek? We learn this from listening to and heeding the teachings of Christ: “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ” (Rom. 10:17 RSV). And what is it we learn from Chris? That God is love, and so our perfection is found in and through love: You have heard that... Read more
When seeking and promoting the common good, civil society often must permit various evils, not because it supports them, but because it recognizes that it cannot regulate and enforce each and every good. Sometimes things actually become worse when we try to use positive law to eliminate particular evils, either because those laws do not work (and so the evil will continue), or, as is often the case, they are replaced by something far more sinister, far more evil. This... Read more
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