The Apostle John was known as the “theologian,” not because he was a master of systematic theology, not because he was capable of employing subtle theological distinctions in debate, but because he had a great, loving relationship with God. Certainly, his knowledge of doctrine was second to none. Certainly, some of the greatest texts in Scripture bear his name, and in them, we can sense some of the insight which he possessed. But this is not what made him the... Read more
Recently, Pope Francis spoke harshly against a Catholic network which has been consistent in attacking him throughout his pontificate: There is, for example, a large Catholic television channel that has no hesitation in continually speaking ill of the pope. I personally deserve attacks and insults because I am a sinner, but the Church does not deserve them. They are the work of the devil. I have also said this to some of them.[1] While he did not identify the network,... Read more
We are contingent beings; this is why, though we have free will, our will has limits as to what it can and cannot do. There are boundaries to our freedom. Nonetheless, those boundaries, those limits, establish the context in which we act. We need that context if we want our actions to have meaning and value. For what we decide to do, given the options we have, not only will show to others, as well as to ourselves, the kind... Read more
Scripture, the central book of the Christian faith, contains revelation, even though it was written down by human authors. Their humanity did not impede God’s work in and through them, even though their understanding of what they wrote was imperfect. For it is clear they had their own particular understandings of what they wrote, understandings which differed from the way Scripture would later be interpreted. This is because God inspired them and, through that inspiration, helped them to write in... Read more
Grace perfects and then deifies nature, but only for those who cooperate with it. Grace does not impose itself on those with free will. Grace does not destroy. To remove the will and force someone to accept grace would leave someone less than what they were, for the will is a part of a person and so it must be sustained for the person to remain whole. This means that those who are cooperating with grace, but have yet to... Read more
Already and not yet – the eschaton is already with us, the kingdom of God is within us, and yet we have not fully realized the reality of the eschaton in ourselves. This paradox is central to temporal Christian existence. The incarnate Logos is found in time so that the Logos could transform all creation and lead it to the fullness of the heavenly kingdom. In and through the incarnation, the presence of God is established, not just through the... Read more
Those who work for and promote the good, those who seek justice in the world, must not knowingly and willingly use evil to fight evil. This is because if they do so, they would slowly be corrupted by the evil they use and replace the evil they fought against with their own evil. This is one of several themes one can find throughout the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Not only do the ends not justify the means, by embracing evil... Read more
James warms us against deceiving ourselves by thinking that if we hear the truth and believe it, we don’t have anything else to do. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (Jas. 1:22 RSV). We deceive ourselves if we think we don’t have to put our faith into action. We can’t be said to be faithful if we ignore what is expected of us, what truth teaches us to do. Let us not be deceived.... Read more
Family is important, but we must not make an idol out of it. Family is important, and so we should take care of and respect members of our family, but we should not be so focused on our family that we ignore our neighbors and their needs. Family is important, but we must remember what is more important. We must be willing to say no to our family and what it wants or expects from us if it gets in... Read more
When we see people in need, and we have the means to help them, we should do so. “But if any one has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech but in deed and in truth” (1 Jn. 3:17-18 RSV). When we fail to do so, we sin through a sin of omission, because we... Read more
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