On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis, following the tradition established by his predecessors, practices an act of love and charity as he engages the rite of foot washing. He humbly chooses people, such as criminals, whom others would normally disregard and treat as worthless, and lifts them up by cleaning their feet. He embraces those who need love, showing them that whatever they have done, whatever path their life has taken them, God still loves them. Likewise, he shows us that... Read more
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30 RSV). What Jesus would have us do as his disciples is easy; the burden which he imposes is light, because what he expects of us is what... Read more
“God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment “ (Ps. 82:1 RSV). If there is but one God, how can God be in the midst of the gods? Because Scripture sometimes designate people as gods if they find themselves united with God. They are gods, not by nature, but by grace. This is because, as Paul says, “But he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him” ... Read more
Rejoice! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand” ( Philip. 4:4-5 RSV). “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass” (Zech. 9:9 RSV). Rejoice in the coming of the Lord! Rejoice, for God is with us! Rejoice... Read more
Those who study Christian history should be able to see how the church, when it properly follows the lead of the Holy Spirit, looks for ways to meet the needs of the faithful, to make sure they are spiritually blessed. The church does this by taking whatever good it finds in the natural order and showing how it has a place for it in the Christian faith. It takes the good it finds and implants in it the grace, so... Read more
We are to rejoice in the Lord always. Even when we stumble and fall into some grievous sin, we should not despair. God loves us. We should not let sin make us feel hopeless, filling us with the grief of accidie. That grief, accidie, makes us slothful, for through it, we are tempted to believe that we cannot be saved, for when we believe that, we soon think it is useless to try to do anything good because it will... Read more
When we are new to the faith, or when we find our faith has become renewed, we often find ourselves filled with zeal. We are happy. We are filled with good will for others. This can be seen in the way we treat each other while on a spiritual high. We lift each other up. We encourage each other. We help each other to overcome the faults of the past and ignore them so that we can find a way... Read more
Jesus Christ, the divine lover of humanity, serves as the high priest of the universe, working for the good of all creation. His sacrifice is himself, and in that sacrifice, he gives himself to all things, so that through him and in him, all things can find their integrity restored before they are made greater than they were before. And thus, he makes us pure, so that we no longer have to be spiritually dead due to our sins: For... Read more
In God’s engagement with history, God is revealed as a Trinity. This revelation, the way the Trinitarian God is revealed to us, is called the economic Trinity, coming from the Greek word, οἰκονομία, oikonomia.[1] Each Trinitarian person interacts with us, and in that interaction, reveals themselves to us in accordance to that interaction. We learn of their existence, as well as their relations to each other, through their revelatory activity. Each such action differs in what it reveals, but each,... Read more
Ancient Christian history is filled with many remarkable women whose work and accomplishments were often central to the development and preservation of the Christian faith. And yet, when we think of Christian history, we often regulate them to the sidelines, or worse, sometimes question their contribution as a whole. St. Thecla is a prime example; she was a missionary who worked with the Apostle Paul before she died a martyr’s death. Beloved by early Christians, when the church slowly reduced... Read more
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