SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“ ‘Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.’ (Mat

“Most North Americans view the US as a country built by rugged individualism. But all too often, promoting individualism can hinder a sense of community. Growing up with this embedded cultural heritage, US citizens are taught to keep their noses out of each other’s business and to preserve individual rights at all costs. At best, this societal norm might keep folks from becoming overbearing busybodies. At worst, it promotes isolation and noninvolvement, splinters communities,

“Babel, the place where the tower was built, means “gate of God.” The word is also a homonym of the Hebrew verb balal, “to produce confusion.” Even when we enjoy initial success, confusion will surely follow as long as we rely upon our own wisdom, ignoring the guiding word of God and His ways.” (Dynamis 4/8/2021) “As we see in the story of the fall, temptation is rarely blatant and obvious. We know it by its subtlety. By cleverness and deceit, the devil sows the tiniest, most

“…we have a misleading idea at the very head of our Constitution: the pursuit of happiness. One can not pursue happiness; if he does he obscures it. If he will proceed with the human task of life, the relocation of the center of gravity of the personality to something greater outside itself, happiness will be the outcome.” (Alexis de Tocqueville) “Modern western man has some basic misconceptions about the nature of happiness. The origin of the word is instructive: happiness s

“The moral/spiritual life, when treated as one more progressive project, is largely marked by constant failure or worse. We cannot teach a corpse to behave like a living human being. Until the inner-man is healed, all outward efforts will end in frustration or a false existence. What is required in our life is not new behavior but a new creation. That new creation begins in the very depth of the soul. The journey to that depth is marked by weakness, shame, loneliness and what

“While He is incarnate, God gloriously reveals Himself on Mount Tabor within the hearts of Peter, James, and John. When the body of the Lord is transfigured, the mortal eyes of these disciples see a radiance from the uncreated Light (Mt 17:1-9)…When the Lord is transfigured, He does not lay aside His humanity. Rather, He illumines His humanity with His divinity, and this they see. That transfiguration of human nature has important consequences, for now all men have the capaci

“...human life is grounded in three fundamental and closely intertwined relationships: with God, with our neighbour and with the earth itself…Real relationships with others, with all the challenges they entail, now tend to be replaced by a type of internet communication which enables us to choose or eliminate relationships at whim, thus giving rise to a new type of contrived emotion which has more to do with devices and displays than with other people and with nature." (Pope

“The truth is that the only things we can really know about God are the things He has chosen to reveal to us in one way or another. We can discern things about God from observing what he created. When we see the world around us, we see vastness, complexity, power, order, beauty, creativity, precision, and majesty. And all of these words say something about the Creator. We can also, of course, understand God in spiritual ways as we pray and meditate on his Word and seek his co

“The greatest obstacle to sharing Christ’s pastoral care is the temptation to serve only ourselves. We may give in to weariness, or simply become indifferent to others. However, the Lord Himself calls us to this struggle! We determine, like Saint Paul, to say that “we do not lose heart” (2 Cor 4:1).” (Dynamis 8/13/2014) “A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings. It is cle