Those who engage evil present themselves as good. They embrace elements of the good, elements which, when cut off from the fullness of the good, become but dying embers of the good itself. And yet those remnants are enough for them to hide behind so as to try to appear good to others. Likewise, those following evil will present themselves as followers of the truth, using elements of the truth itself; while what they say will be false, it will... Read more
Sometimes, we get so used to our particular traditions of piety we try to universalize them, expecting others to follow what we do, judging them if they do not. An example of this is the way some people treat the rosary; it can be a good spiritual tool for those who choose to use it, if they engage it with their heart and not do so only to appear pious and holy in front of others. Nonetheless, it is optional.... Read more
Pope Francis presented to us one of the major problems of the modern age, that of climate change, in his encyclical, Laudato si’: Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. [1] Pope Francis is not alone in that concern. Patriarch Bartholomew, known as the Green Patriarch, has been promoting the moral necessity of protecting the Earth... Read more
We must be careful in the way we deal with and engage God’s bountiful gifts. We should not think of them as mere material objects to be accumulated. We must avoid the prompting of greed, for it would suggest we hoard what God gives us, hiding it away from all so that we alone could possess it for all time. This is not what God wants us to do. We are not to hide the talent of grace in the... Read more
It is darkest before the dawn, but once the light shines forth, what has been hidden in the dark will be revealed as the darkness becomes but a shadow of its former self. This is true, not just for physical light, but spiritual light as well. The darkness of sin is at its greatest before its exposure to the Sun of Righteousness. Evil seems triumphant, but then, when it is exposed to the light, it will recede in the shadows,... Read more
The incarnation has revealed the truth of God to us in a human form, a human form with a human image. That image is God’s image, and through it, we learn that we can use images to represent the divine nature so long as we understand the way such representations work. We can embrace God through cataphatic theology, we can imagine God, using our theological conventions to point to the divine truth. This is because of the economic activity of... Read more
The COVID19 pandemic continues to threaten the world. What can justly be done to stop it must be done for the sake of the common good. Vaccine mandates can be, and indeed, have become an important tool in dealing with the pandemic. Some people, believing false information and lies which they have heard, have been led to believe that they must not take the vaccine, and so form a conscientious objection to doing so. Some, who do not like having... Read more
The Egyptian Desert Fathers and Mothers, some of the most inspirational figures of the monastic tradition, knew that they had to do more than study the faith and speak about it to others; they knew that had to put it into practice. They understood the way words could get in the way of such practice. They knew we could get caught up in the letter and not the spirit of the Christian faith. They wanted to receive, and many of... Read more
Grace purifies, illuminates, and perfect those who cooperate with it. Its transformative power is said to deify those who perfectly join with it so that they can be called gods. It is true, they will not be gods by nature, but they will become gods by grace as they participate in and experience the divine nature. This is how and why Moses was said to have become like a god for Pharoah: “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I... Read more
To study the teachings of the faith can be a good thing, but to live out those teachings is better. To memorize and know doctrine can be a good thing, but to judge others and browbeat them for not knowing obscure teachings of the faith is not. Doctrine is meant to show us the way to the fullness of the truth. We must not confuse our ability to argue with and debate others about doctrine as being sufficient to produce... Read more
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