The incarnation must not be treated as the ultimate form of deus ex machina; when it is perceived as God acting in a contrived manner to fix the problem of sin, its purpose is misunderstood. God the Son, the Logos, entered creation in order to deify it, completing and fulfilling what was intended for it since its inception. Evil perverted creation, but it could not stop God’s plan for it. It was important for the incarnation to engage evil, to... Read more
The March for Life should be cancelled. Yes, COVID19 is one reason why it should be cancelled this year, because if they want to promote life, they need to protect the people who would go to the march and those who would otherwise come in contact with them. But, more importantly, the March for Life serves a political purpose, one which runs contrary to the promotion of life. This can be seen in the way in 2020 Donald Trump used... Read more
“For if any one thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal. 6:3 RSV). If we understands this statement correctly, we should realize that no one is something in and of themselves. Everyone comes out of nothing, for God created us out of nothing, ex nihilo. Outside of God, we are nothing. Thus, as St. John of Kronstadt points out, when we realize our inherent nothingness, we should discern how only God can be said to... Read more
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, said it is better for the body to lose its eye or hand than to use them for evil: If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that... Read more
Jesus sanctified the world through his baptism; he brought his saving grace to creation. What was touched by his grace could and would spread that grace to others. Water, by itself, is just water; water filled with grace is far more. Just as we bathe in water in order to cleanse ourselves, we can now receive the water of baptism, filled with grace, and be spiritually cleaned. That water can be filled with grace, making it holy water, shows us... Read more
Roger Bacon, a 13th century Franciscan philosopher-theologian, began his Opus Majus, “Major Work,” with a discussion on the four obstacles he believed which diverted people from the truth: “Now there are four chief obstacles in grasping truth, which hinder every man, however learned, and scarcely allow any one to win a clear title of learning, namely, submission to faulty and unworthy authority, influence of custom, popular prejudice, and concealment of our own ignorance accompanied by an ostentatious display of our... Read more
God’s revelation always serves as a vessel for grace. We must open ourselves to that grace, the point of such revelation, and not become overly attached to the vessel of that grace. We must embrace the spirit of the revelation if we want to receive its fruit. When revelation comes to us in the form of some locution, and we receive a text from it, we must engage the spirit of the text, and not be overly concerned with the... Read more
It’s common for those criticizing social justice efforts to accuse those promoting social justice as being Marxists (either as socialists or as communists). Sometimes, various Marxists join in social justice causes, when the cause connects with a Marxist desire or objectives. But that doesn’t make social justice Marxist, for there are more than Marxists involved with social justice activities. Indeed, while they can work with Marxists for common goals, many involved in social justice activities nonetheless denounce Marxism as well,... Read more
St. John the Baptist had one mission: prepare the way for the coming of Christ. This is what his life was about. He did not know what to expect when Christ revealed himself to the world. Indeed, it was a great surprise to him when Jesus came and asked to be baptized. John humbly accepted his place in salvation history. He did not look for glory for himself. He did what he knew, and he did it well. He was... Read more
Having been baptized, and so put on Christ, we have been made free in Christ. We should not let ourselves become trapped by, and follow, useless ideologies, systematic determinisms, which limit us and prevent us from fully following Christ: See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fulness of deity... Read more
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