Saturday, January 29, 2011
The Prayer That Changes Everything
Why write my own review when Meredith Gould has done so already? You can read it here.
Awe Struck
In Mark's Gospel today, the disciples on the boat are amazed at Christ's ability to calm the raging sea, after having slept through the storm. "Who is this?" they ask.
Amazement and awe cannot begin to describe what they were actually feeling. Which brings us to the question: When was the last time you truly felt amazement and awe about the mystery of God?
Amazement and awe cannot begin to describe what they were actually feeling. Which brings us to the question: When was the last time you truly felt amazement and awe about the mystery of God?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Anchor
On this day, the author of Hebrews writes of hope and trust in the Lord, who has promised us that he will save us from our suffering and weakness. This promise is true, says the author, because it comes from the one who is true. It is carried out in the Son, the High Priest who goes through the veil of the temple, the veil that separated us from God but does so no longer. In this we take our hope.
Personally, I have always had hope for any people who have turned toward God and are struggling to move toward him, even when they fail and fail miserably. There is always hope. If you have turned, you have hope. It is when the hope is abandoned that the soul falls. Hope is knowing that we are not abandoned, and that knowing is what causes us to get up again and start moving forward again. This life we choose to lead, this life of following Christ, is not an easy one. But that hope of the promise from the one who took an oath upon himself because he is Truth moves us forward one inch at a time.
Personally, I have always had hope for any people who have turned toward God and are struggling to move toward him, even when they fail and fail miserably. There is always hope. If you have turned, you have hope. It is when the hope is abandoned that the soul falls. Hope is knowing that we are not abandoned, and that knowing is what causes us to get up again and start moving forward again. This life we choose to lead, this life of following Christ, is not an easy one. But that hope of the promise from the one who took an oath upon himself because he is Truth moves us forward one inch at a time.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Baptism of the Lord
"Solitude means withdrawal from an artificial and fictional level of being which men, divided by original sin, have fabricated in order to keep peace with concupiscence and death."
Thomas Merton wrote that just before I was born. Here, all these years later, as we come to the end of the Christmas season, I have found myself living a life of solitude for that very reason, to die to the old self. It's not that I am isolated, living holed up as the neighborhood curmudgeon. If anything, I am as busy and as actively involved with other people as much as if not more so than I was in my life in media. It is just that I have created more time for prayer, am doing the hard work of true repentance, find myself abandoning "stuff," and moving closer to being the loving individual God created me to be. This Christmas season has been a quiet, reflective one for us. It has been one where we have moved out of the "artificial and fictional level of being" and into one of solitude.
None of this would have been possible without what we celebrate today. He who baptizes with the Spirit allows us not only to be forgiven our sins, but to also start the journey to live beyond and without our sin. "Repent," says the Baptist.
"Convert" is another way of saying it, or "change." But we are unable to do any of that without the grace of God, without being baptized by the Spirit. This day means a lot to us. This season means a lot to us. "Repent" means a lot to us, and Christ means everything to us.
Thomas Merton wrote that just before I was born. Here, all these years later, as we come to the end of the Christmas season, I have found myself living a life of solitude for that very reason, to die to the old self. It's not that I am isolated, living holed up as the neighborhood curmudgeon. If anything, I am as busy and as actively involved with other people as much as if not more so than I was in my life in media. It is just that I have created more time for prayer, am doing the hard work of true repentance, find myself abandoning "stuff," and moving closer to being the loving individual God created me to be. This Christmas season has been a quiet, reflective one for us. It has been one where we have moved out of the "artificial and fictional level of being" and into one of solitude.
None of this would have been possible without what we celebrate today. He who baptizes with the Spirit allows us not only to be forgiven our sins, but to also start the journey to live beyond and without our sin. "Repent," says the Baptist.
"Convert" is another way of saying it, or "change." But we are unable to do any of that without the grace of God, without being baptized by the Spirit. This day means a lot to us. This season means a lot to us. "Repent" means a lot to us, and Christ means everything to us.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year
A blessed and happy New Year. The journey continues, and my prayer for you all is that the year is filled with blessings and that your hearts are open to see them and accept them. Oh, and 149 days until ordination!
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