When Christianity left its Hebrew homeland and entered the Greco-Roman world, it fell under the influence of that world’s philosophical climate. The Greek cultural heritage is one of intellectual curiosity, and for that all of humanity (including the Church) should be grateful. Christianity began in Israel and radiated outward to the rest of the Mediterranean [...]
There are many moral problems in our world, but they are all arguably rooted in a lack of prayer, of regular communion with God. Here, then, at an opportune time comes a book about prayer: James Papandrea’s "Praying the Wisdom" teaches how to pray with the Bible. Praying the Wisdom: Inspired Prayers for Lectio Divina [...]
Books on theology and books on gardening are more than plentiful, but rarely are both topics fused in the way these books manage to do. Christine Norvell gives us the intellectual grasp of the relationship between creation and the life of the soul, while Samantha Stephenson explains how, by cultivating both the earth and our [...]
Tradition can be either oral or written. Never in the early Fathers do we get the sense that the written scriptures are in any way separate from tradition. St. Irenaeus makes it plain that the writing of the gospels grew out of the apostles’ oral preaching, which itself grew out of the personal experience of [...]
Authentic discipleship transforms all aspects of life, every day, at work, at home, in all relationships. My discipleship to Jesus is, within clearly definable limits, not a matter of what I do, but of how I do it. Dallas Willard One of the great oaks among us is fallen. Dallas Willard, who died [...]
The trouble with liberalism is the trouble with all heresies—it has no idea that it is a heresy. It believes that it developed sui generis, without parents, as a sudden insight of an enlightened mind which finally decided to be rational, see all men as equal, abhor slavery, recognize democracy as the ideal form of [...]
Romantic love is a great thing, but not the greatest thing. Without covenant love, eros becomes a god, then a demon, and finally a fire that burns those who refuse to give it a home. Instead, pursue the greater love of—and love for—the Lord. Valentine’s Day beckons, our annual corporate celebration of eros, even though [...]
There is truly no place quite like the Bible Museum because, in it, our faith is made manifest with concrete clarity. It is a place of ongoing learning and discovery that presages that eternity in which we will continuously unravel the mysteries of God’s truth. Whenever I need a respite from the hermetic life of [...]
The 1928 Book of Common Prayer is an important cultural artifact, whose influence on English language and literature rivals that of the Authorized Version of the Bible and the works of William Shakespeare. You will recall Parson Thwackum in Henry Fielding’s classic novel History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749). Mr. (never, in proper ecclesiastical usage, Reverend) Thwackum [...]
Mary and Joseph spent every day gazing on the face of God incarnate—their own son. These two, no doubt, were profoundly aware of the privilege of every second with their child, the God of the universe. Let us take their example, then, to ask God for the grace to make each moment in his presence [...]
Reflection: OUR BLESSED MOTHER Go to meet your Blessed Mother. Lead her to the manger you have prepared in your heart and invite her to lay the Infant Jesus there. Today, find some quiet time to be alone with Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Prayer: Lord Jesus, teach me always to love your Blessed Mother. Come, [...]
The genealogy of Jesus, so strange upon our ear, is no excursion into mere curiosity or arcane trivia. It is the unfolding and making known of the tale of God’s mercies down the centuries, told out in the lives of the many most of whose names are known to God alone and who lie in [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: ANGELS Invite the angels to adore God with you. Today, be aware of the Divine indwelling on your soul. Prayer: [...]
Waiting with Our Lady for the coming of Our Saviour, we will meditate each day of Advent on a different aspect of the circumstances of His birth, the moment of The Incarnation amongst us. Reflection: ST. JOSEPH Accompany Joseph from door to door. Learn from his example how to bear refusals and disappointments silently and [...]