Words of Blessing: Peace and Shalom On the day whenthe weight deadenson your shouldersand you stumble,may the clay danceto balance you.And when your eyesfreeze behindthe grey windowand the ghost of lossgets in to you,may a flock of colours,indigo, red, green,and azure bluecome to awaken in youa meadow of delight. When the canvas fraysin the currach […]
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Arsonist of the heart is the last line of a poem by theologian-poet John Shea about the road to Emmaus. Shea’s reflection on the liturgical Gospel reading for Wednesday compels more than a cursory read of the too-familiar Gospel passage about Jesus’ disciples who have decided to get out of town: the road to Emmaus.
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Hell: Is it real? Of all the theological errors commonly held today, the most popular is surely the denial of the doctrine of hell. Even among the more devout, such as those who go to daily Mass, the teaching that God would send or consign anyone to hell is routinely dismissed. If it exists at
Mitigating the Tyranny of Time “When were you the happiest?” “High school.” My husband, a therapist, declares his patients invariably answered his question , “What’s the happiest time in your life?” with those two words. For over twenty years, he counseled former combat veterans. That’s a lot of people whose happiest years were decades earler.
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Advent: It’s Wholly Counter-Cultural Reality Quietly competing with the banal and boring commercialism of Black Fridays and Cyber Mondays extended sales is another invitation. But it cannot be heard outside in the streets or while listening to babble. Instead we must silence all the shouts of the marketplace to listen to another voice…more like a
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A nation founded on thanksgiving. Only because of Edward Winslow’s letter do we know of the first American thanksgiving turkey dinner in 1621. Mayflower passenger Winslow, was the leader of the Plymouth colony and would later serve three tems as governor of Massachusetts. Certifying the astoundingly friendly alliance beteen the Indianss and English colonists, Winslow
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The movie Bonhoeffer: pastor, spy assassin The passion of Christ strengthens him to overcome the sins of others by forgiving them. He becomes the bearer of other men’s burdens—“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6.2). As Christ bears our burdens, so ought we to bear the burdens of
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Used by permission copyright 2020 Jeff Haynie Priests, Prophets and Kings, Really? With the sacrament of baptism, we become priests, prophets and kings. We know this. Or do we? Since baptism happened to most of us a very long ago, reviewing this most precious of sacraments is apt. The word baptism means literally to be
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Lack of gratitude Recently, I confessed my consistent failures in praying a nightly examination of conscience. Then I asked if the priest could make some suggestions. Father Charlie Banks replied, “Conscious examen” suggesting a review of the day, starting with the good things, giving thanks for them. Then on to those that hadn’t been so
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Stir into flame Saint Paul’s Letter to Timothy from last week’s Christian liturgy feels directed to each of the 8.1 billion living souls in this June of 2024. Although there’s controversy about authorship and dates of these letters, orthodox concensus declares it as Paul’s last letter. He writes to his successor in Ephesus, from prison.
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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
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