Faith and reason are both important; the two complement and correct each other, so that when properly working together, they make sure we are not led astray. Reason helps us purify our understanding of the faith, while faith provides various principles which reason can never provide for itself. Reason can only direct us forward, it can never establish anything in and of itself. It can only develop what has been given to it; it cannot create. If what is given... Read more
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6 RSV). We should desire righteousness, not of course, the false righteousness performed by those who like to glorify themselves and receive accolades for what they have done on an external basis, but true righteousness, a righteousness which is borne out of love and seeks the good for all. We must desire a righteousness which not only gives us the appearance of holiness, but rather,... Read more
Often, despite our pursuit for holiness, we find ourselves succumbing to our various vices; though we have the best of intentions, our worst thoughts and habits overcome us and lead us astray. It would be easy for us to give up. Either we think that we have aimed ourselves in the wrong direction, that our passions are telling us what we should embrace and so we turn to them instead of what we once pursued, or else, because we do... Read more
Traditionally, Christians used the symbolism of night and day to express the difference between the time before the incarnation and the time after it. That is, Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, brought light into the world, brought in, as it were, a new day. The light of Christ shines brightly in and through the saints. All those who are a part of the kingdom of God will have their own share of grace, their own share of the light... Read more
When reading or listening to Scripture, we often find ourselves so caught up in various details that we lose sight of the meaning which we are meant to receive from the text. We should know that there is a practical point to all Scripture, that there is something in it which can help us in our lives. This is why the spirit of the text, the intended meaning of the text, is more important than the text itself. In and... Read more
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
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