I was asked by my principal to do the prayer for the first of our teacher meetings this week. She requested that it be connected to the theme for the school year, which happens to be an emphasis on the school’s mission statement. Fortunately we have a very good mission statement. In fact, the mission […]
From Br. Joseph — We have all seen pictures of the crucifixion. There is one particular picture, a bit different from most, which I want to describe. The viewpoint of the picture is from above the Cross, a little higher than His right hand and a little behind, looking downward over Jesus on the Cross, […]
From Br. Joseph — There are two sides to faith, just as there are two sides to a coin. One side of the “coin of faith” looks externally, that is, it looks outside of our selves to others for examples and models of living faith. They are witnesses, and it is in accepting their experiences, […]
If I just do my thing and you do yours, We stand in danger of losing each other and ourselves I am not in this world to live up to your expectations; But I am in this world to confirm you As a unique human being, And to be confirmed by you. We are fully […]
From Br. Joseph — The modern mind always tends to reduce the greater to the lesser rather than seeing the lesser as reflecting the greater. (Peter Kreeft) There is a grove of aspen trees that cover nearly 200 acres in south-central Utah. This grove, named “Pando”, was once considered the largest living organism in the world. […]
I wonder if ism’s are not so much a form for labeling or categorizing things but rather a way to separate us from each other and reality. While confirming the authorship of a quote for Signposts, I came across a comment about Roman Catholicism’s exclusivism. When I was a non-believer, I had assumed that Protestants […]
The term Body of Christ means three things: 1) the actual physical body of Jesus; 2) the Church (with a capital “C”) because we as individual persons are church, parts of the Body, branches on the Vine; and 3) the Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament. (Note: Some believers have issues with the third one. There is a plausible explanation […]
Gossip is a community killer. It is a cancer. It separates, isolates, and destroys a person. It literally kills something inside, not only for the victim, but those who spread the gossip. In the victim, it kills self-esteem and spreads to other things. In the gossiper, it kills compassion and love, and then spreads to […]
Breath is as essential attribute of one’s person, whose existence we may only infer through other media: the sight of our chest rising and falling, the sound of air rushing into our sinuses, the disturbance of the atmosphere near our skin. We mentally connect this evidence-of-breath into a coherent whole, and then label it “my […]
Inspired to react to a Frederick Franck quote, I wrote this. While watching the six o’clock news, I am forced to face the poverty of my spirit. I am powerless. I am impotent. I am not in control. There is nothing I can do to effect a change. But I do feel compelled to do […]
Over this past weekend, I felt compelled to get involved in an ethical debate on abortion in the comment section of Gil Milbauer’s weblog A Reasonable Man. The discussion has been mostly cool-headed with a couple stimulating comments from others. For me, I knew before hand that I was not going to change anybody’s opinion. […]
Sunday’s readings (Ephesians 2:4-10 and John 3:14-21) reminded me of the old debate between faith vs. works. One side of the argument says that faith alone is enough to save you and get into heaven (see Ephesians 2:8). The other side says that you need faith plus good works to get you into heaven (see […]
Yesterday’s entry reminds me of a concept called “Third in Line”. God first, others second, and me third.