godtalk
Death is a stark reality of our existence. No one escapes its clutches. Faced with this there is, understandably, a tendency even among Christians, to fear it and avoid the subject. Yet the question stares us in the face: what us the meaning of life and death?The answer is in what we celebrate at Easter, because One death changed the meaning of all deaths. The death of Christ on Calvary reversed the meaning of life. Whereas the world sees death as...
Given the speed and change in our world today, the increasing specialization and fragmentation inside higher education, and the ever-increasing complexity of our lives, we may find ourselves wondering just how much we really know. What can we know amongst all the complexity and sophistication of our world?Well, we can know our own light, our own moral centre. Ultimately we can know what's most real and most precious to us and this is the most important knowledge of all. Next to such...
No-one, surely, likes to think of their life-journey as simply moving along fixed, pre-determined lines until the destination long-ago chosen for them is reached.This is why cross-roads are important; a place to pause, consider our options, and then set out on the path we have now freely chosen. But if cross-roads offer choice, they also offer the possibility of making a mistake. At a cross-roads, we need to be particularly confident of the direction we want to go in.One source of...
It is easy to mistake an unhealthy form of piety for the genuine response that God wants of us; that is, to enter into an intimate relationship with Godself and then try to help others have that same experience. We see this everywhere in Scripture.For example, in Luke’s Gospel, after witnessing a miraculous catch of fish, Peter responds by falling at Jesus’ knees and saying: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” At first glance that would seem the appropriate response, an...
'O Lord, you have searched me and known me' says Psalm 139. Letting God come to know us is essential, as it is in any relationship. Letting yourself be known by God means more or less what it means in any friendship: speaking about your life, sharing your feelings, and revealing yourself openly.When we're not honest in a relationship, usually the relationship begins to grow cold, distant, or formal. If we're avoiding something unpleasant, the relationship devolves into one defined by...
God's will is not some abstract idea to be figured out or puzzled over. The simple truth is that God’s will is what God actually wills to send us each day, in the way of circumstances, places, people and problems God sets before us at that time. We have to learn to recognise his will in the reality of the situation.We have no need to wonder what God’s will must be for us; his will is revealed in every situation of everyday life. We must try to see all things as God...
If you have problems with prayer, read on. The God we imagine and then try to meet in prayer is generally thought of as pretty lifeless, dull, flat, colourless, genderless, sexless and lacking in humour, creativity and understanding. We feel that our friends and our distractions are more interesting and life giving than God. We would rather spend time with our friends and our amusements and interests than with God, rather take our chances with them than with God. That is...
We often talk about spirituality. How do you speak about something being spiritual? The word is usually taken as something ethereal, out of this world: in fact it has very earthly effects, it touches on everyday life.There are many definitions of spiritual, but the one that appeals to me rests on St Paul’s list of the effects of the Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. You find it in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians...
If someone has done you an injury, what should you do? We learn from the gospel how to go about mending a damaged relationship. If you feel you have been wronged by someone, Jesus says the first step is to speak directly, but privately, to the individual who has done the harm. Mt. 18:15~20One of the worst things we can do is brood over our grievance. This can poison the mind and heart and make it more difficult to go directly to the person who caused the damage. If we want to settle...
True and False Reform, Congar, 2010It is clear that the Pope is a reformer. But he cannot be easily categorized as either a progressive or a conservative. Christopher Bellito, a theologian, argues that the best way of understanding him might be to look at the work of the great French theologian Yves Congar, who developed principles that steer between the extremes of tradition and progress as well as between conservation and innovation. His warning against two extremes or temptations that...