Creation, and all that is in it, are united as one. All creation shares with each other a created nature, and with that common nature, their destinies are intertwined. Together they form an interdependent unity. They are bonded together in a pluralistic unity which recognizes distinctions within its oneness (that is, theirs is a compounded unity, a unity composed of parts). The parts which form the whole can be separated from each other. If they are, instead of having a... Read more
Jesus was often criticized because of the various kinds of people he wanted to help. He came to be a friend to all, including sinners, and as such, his critics accused him of being a sinner. “The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Lk. 7:34 RSV). Some, however, recognized that something supernatural was happening around Jesus; they said that if he were... Read more
The Son of God assumed human nature to become the Son of Man. Paul tells us this was done through kenosis, that is, self-emptying, so that Jesus, being the form (or nature) of God, emptied himself of all that glory to become one of us: “Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the... Read more
Just as God is known through the uncreated energies (that is, the divine activity), revealing to us what we can know about the divine nature (for we can use them to describe God) , so we are known through our actions. Indeed, it can be said that we are what we do. This is because we establish who we are, our character, by what we do. Others will know us and who we are through our actions. Likewise, when we... Read more
The Sabbath was made for us. The liturgy was established for us. God does not need our worship. We are the ones in need. We need the grace of God in our lives. Worship, authentic worship, is done out of love. When we reach out in love to God, we ready ourselves to receive God’s love in return. Worship allows us to express that love, and indeed, to rejoice and celebrate it. True worship helps us tune ourselves in with... Read more
Pope St. John Paul II tried to prevent the Iraq War, but President G.W. Bush would not listen. The Pope made it clear, especially through Cardinal Pio Laghi, that there were no just grounds for war; whatever good intentions Bush might have had, they were overshadowed by the injustice of the invasion itself. Some tried to justify the war, saying that even if it preemptive in nature, it was actually a defensive war, that the United States was feeling threatened... Read more
In Buddhism, desire is said to be dangerous because it can leads us to attach ourselves to things which are in passing away. Everything is impermanent. What we want will not be with us forever, and when it is gone, we will suffer because our desire will no longer be able to be fulfilled. Desire would not be so dangerous if it were not so powerful. It motivates us and encourages us to act, even if our action does not... Read more
Once, Jesus was called good by someone seeking to flattery him. Not only did Jesus use the situation as an opportunity to denounce the use of such flattery, he also used it to indicate to everyone that only God is unconditionally good: And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. (Lk. 18:18-19 RSV). We must... Read more
What we do in life is important. The way we live, the way we treat others, the way we treat the very earth itself matters. We might have eternity in our sight, but we must remember, time is a part of eternity. What we do matters, for it will help form our eternal existence. We cannot act as if nothing we do matters. We can’t say we seek after eternity as a way to ignore the problems of the present.... Read more
There is trouble brewing in the Catholic Church in the United States. Priests and bishops are not listening to the Pope, but rather, non-Catholic interests, like Jordan Peterson, who stand for principles which run contrary to Catholic teaching. Are they not paying attention? He has already indicated that he thinks Catholics should boycott Mass, which is why it was odd for Bishop Barron in 2019 to suggest that the solution to the problems in the church, the way to get... Read more
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