God as mystery “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they […]
God As Mystery: Desperate Need for Silence Read More »
Doubt Isn’t the Opposite of Faith Fear is. Father Eric Ritter’s comment, “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith; fear is,” remains in my mind days after I heard him preach the homily for Saint Matthew’s Tuesday 6 AM Mass. The Gospel passage for Tuesday was: As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.Suddenly
Doubt Isn’t the Opposite of Faith Read More »
The weapon of prayer We don’t think of prayer as a weapon. At least I don’t, especially when I mitigate its power by saying, “All I can do is pray.” Yet, I know this life is a battle, so I have written about spiritual warfare countless times. Why then don’t I use my primary weapon
The Weapon of Prayer Read More »
The advocate will teach you all things “Now I am going to the one who sent me,… because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts.But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go.For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.But if I go,
The Advocate Will Teach You All Things Read More »
Words are not always a blessing Brother Jerome Leo (RIP )’s understated remark, “Words are not always a blessing,” refers to Saint Benedict’s sixth chapter, The Spirit of Silence. His comment evokes a wry smile of recognition. The Benedictine monk makes us pause at the truth in the fifteen-hundred-year-old words: Let us do what the
Words are not always a blessing Read More »
A Lost Lamb and The Good Shepherd I wrote the following piece almost ten years ago. When it suddenly popped up mid-last week, I read it, and the memories of that hike flooded back. I decided its content contains essential lessons for this past Sunday’s Feast of the Good Shepherd: The lone lamb suddenly appeared
A Lost Lamb and The Good Shepherd Read More »
The God-Hero and our battles On shoulders men bore me there, then fixed me on hill; fiends enough fastened me. Then saw I mankind’s Lord come with great courage when he would mount on me. Then dared I not against the Lord’s word bend or break, when I saw earth’s fields shake. All fiends I could have felled, but I stood
The God-Hero and Our Battles Read More »
Why are we commanded to love? “Christ did not love humanity, He never said He loved humanity; He loved men. Neither He nor anyone else can love humanity; it is like loving a gigantic centipede.”)[2] Why do we need Christ and his difficult command to love? Because we are fallen. (This stance was nicely summed
Why Are We commanded to Love? Read More »
It’s not about sin “The prodigal son gospel reading is the perfect ‘laetare‘ for the fourth Sunday in Lent…laetare means joyous…we are happy because we’re now halfway through Lent,” the new Pastor, Fr. Jose Alberto Vasquez at St. Patrick’s Church in Arroyo Grande, California, claimed. Then he exclaimed that reconciliation is not about sin but
It’s Not About Sin Read More »
Sarah Leading Hagar to Abraham- Mathis Stom Forbidden fruit and its consequences This painting, Sarah Leading Abraham to Hagar by seventeenth century painter Matthias Stom hangs in the Gimaldegalerie in Berlin. Even a quick look at the figures portrayed by the artist conveys something unseemly, even odious. All too evident is the purpose of the
Forbidden Fruit and Its Consequences Read More »
linwilder@gmail.com
Lin Wilder has a doctorate in Public Health from the UT Houston with a background in cardiopulmonary physiology, medical ethics, and hospital administration
Book Author: LIN WILDER
Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved