dialogue around the meaning of the words we use when speaking of the mystery we call GOD
From time to time we all experience big events in our lives that change things...that change everything. We might call them “Before and After” events. They are the experiences that we refer to like “Before we had children” or “After Mom died." "Before the car" accident or "After graduation." When I was a little kid... Continue Reading →
If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me “I pray just fine at home. Why do I have to come to Church?” Well, I’d have a lot of nickels. In truth, we don’t “have” to come to church. The weird draw of our old-timey language about our “Sunday obligation” coupled with threats... Continue Reading →
Nothing effects our ability to approach and draw nearer to God quite like our image of God. The way we conceive of our God - as hostile or loving, on our team or the giant task master in the sky, as judge or defender - our personal experience and understanding of God effects our whole... Continue Reading →
I don’t know about you, but I just cringe when in the face of grave human tragedy and suffering I hear someone say “This was God’s will” or “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.” Really? Because it sure seems that some people get a crushing helping of grief on occasion. So many... Continue Reading →
Theologian Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, in her book, She Who Is, writes: “The fundamental sin is exploitation, whether it be expressed in the domination of male over female, white over black, rich over poor, strong over weak, armed military over unarmed civilians, human beings over nature. These abusive patterns interlock because they rest on the same... Continue Reading →
Most of us are now in full swing holiday-mode, busy with our preparations for Christmas; buying gifts, planning menus for our family parties, decorating our homes, gingerly dusting off our nativity set to place under our tree. This is also the time of year we usually see more guests and fresh faces among us at... Continue Reading →
Evangelization is a bit of a spooky word for us Catholics. It's not a notion that we embrace quite as comfortably as our Protestant brothers and sisters do. Personally, when I hear the word, the first images that come to mind are that of a sweaty, screaming tele-evangelist that swindles old people out of their... Continue Reading →
This week let's consider and ponder the parable of The Mustard seed (Matthew 13:31–32) In order to understand this scripture, it’s important to put it in its first century context and ask ourselves "How would the first hearers of this comparison understood it?" https://soundcloud.com/user-165947833-151164563/small?si=24f7deff9d6c49f782b3d66e3c9bba8c Well, for the Israelites (the Jewish people) of Jesus’ time, there... Continue Reading →
STRONG LANGUAGE: 