The peer ministry group at school asked the faculty for their favorite Bible verse with a little reflection. Here is mine. You have been told, O mortal, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. — Micah 6:8 […]
The name Barabbas means “son of the father” (bar-abba). Before Pilate and the crowd, there were two sons of the father, one innocent, one guilty. They chose one to free, one to condemn. Which son of the father was Adam, and the rest of us, suppose to be like? Two sons of the father, that […]
Today is the feast day for Saint Thomas the Apostle. I chose Thomas (or maybe he chose me) for my patron saint for my baptism/confirmation a few years ago. I have an affinity for Thomas, partly because it took me nearly forty years of doubt and skepticism to finally accept the gift of faith. Thomas, […]
From today’s reading: Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people’s sins […]
From Br. Joseph — Hope keeps faith alive, and faith rekindles hope when all seems lost. At one point in Hannah Hurnard’s allegorical book of the spiritual journey, “Hind’s Feet on High Places”, the protagonist is having a particularly tough time. The Shepherd, an obvious symbol for Christ, says to her: Don’t you know by […]
From Br. Joseph — A preeminent theologian of the 20th century was once asked near the end of a long and distinguished career what was the most significant discovery or idea that greatly impacted his life. The great theologian’s response was simple and to the point, “God loves me.” There are many ways to describe […]
Alone in God my soul waits, silent. My help is from Him. Alone in God rest, my soul, in silence. My hope is from Him. He alone is my rock, my safety; I shall not be shaken. — Psalm 62:2,6-7 (from Abbey of Gethsemani)
From today’s reading, Jesus says to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) This is one of my favorite passages. It describes […]
From part of today’s second reading (Philippians 1:9-11), Saint Paul’s prayer: And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of […]
At times, there is a big difference between reading scripture and hearing it. Case in point was in this Sunday’s Gospel reading from Mark 10:46-52: As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was […]
Another coincidence in light of some of my recent entries? From today’s official church reading is Luke 11:9-10: And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who […]
What a coincident! In light of some of my recent journal entries, I happened to open up a daily prayer book for 2003 this morning and found a very timely reading. The ironic thing is that I have not opened this particular book since June. I have been reading the Church’s daily readings through the […]
I think of this verse from Micah 6:8 in some of my darker or confused moments: You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. The “walk humbly” part […]
This list has been making the email circuit. It is the Bible condensed down to only 50 words. This list hits upon the Golden Thread that runs throughout the Bible, but at the expense of the beauty in the story. God made Adam bit Noah arked Abraham split Joseph ruled Jacob fooled Bush talked Moses […]
As a recent convert, I find great comfort in today’s reading of Matthew 20:1-16, The Workers in the Vineyard: Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them […]
Before I found my faith, I had a real problem with the concept of original sin. The first time I attended RCIA classes with my wife, I used it as one of my excuses for dropping out of the classes. I remember someone describing original sin as a stain on humanity, that is all humans […]
Anytime I find something coming in threes within the church, I always assume that it represents the Trinity. My favorite example is: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna […]
Back in April, I wrote about a problem I had with understanding Jesus’ words on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) In my prior, faithless life as a skeptic and agnostic, I saw this as a big hole in all of the reasons for believing in […]
I have a friend who says that there is no such things as coincidences. Everything happens for a reason. The mathematician inside of me is skeptical with images of probability calculations and statistical charts. I am resistant to ascribe a higher meaning to why I ran into a former student yesterday, but it feels at […]
I discovered this near the end of a lengthy article by Fr. John Whiteford: In On Christian Doctrine, St. Augustine spends a lot of time describing how one should read, study, and interpret Scripture. In fact, he “spends much more time talking about the kind of person the study of the Scripture requires than about the intellectual […]
Today is the Feast of Saint Thomas, the Apostle. I have a personal affinity towards Thomas because it took me so long to find my faith. The skeptic in me would not let me step outside of my doubt and let myself be found. I needed a strange sequence of events, and more importantly, the […]
In geometry, there is a basic set of simple facts or truths that are called postulates. (They are also known as axioms). This set of postulates or basic truths are independent of each other. They cannot be proven. They are just accepted as true. For example, two points determine a line. There is no logical […]
I was reading at Disputations a discussion about Jesus’ words on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34) The traditional explanation is that He said this in reference to, or in fulfillment to scripture, namely Psalm 22. I posted a comment on his weblog: Has anybody ever thought that maybe […]