Please read Pope Francis' new and first encyclical Lumen Fidei - The Light of Faith. You know that I will be reading it as a PDF.
"Unless you believe, you will not understand." (cf. Is 7:9)
god's compassion for our suffering
On March 9, 2013, I gave a powerful talk on God’s Compassion for Our Suffering during a conference on Three Things Talks at St. John’s University. I was so happy to speak about the compassion of our Father who reaches out to us through his Son and Holy Spirit.
In the course of the talk, I lead the audience through thinking about the story of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32).
Luke 15:11-32
The Parable of the Prodigal and His Brother
11 Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.” So he divided his property between them. 13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living. 14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. 16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything. 17 But when he came to himself he said, “How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.’ ” 20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. 21 Then the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” 22 But the father said to his slaves, “Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” And they began to celebrate.
25 ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. 27 He replied, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.” 28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. 29 But he answered his father, “Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!” 31 Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” ’
freedom and belonging
On May 27, 2012, the Feast of Pentecost (and my birthday), I presented on the blessings of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of freedom. The goal of the presentation was learning about the blessings of belonging to each other in the Holy Spirit.
In the presentation, I am welcoming new members to the Fraternity of St. Maximillian Kolbe, which is a lay group supporting the mission of Heart’s Home, a secular institute that serves the poorest of the poor.
If you would like to follow along, I examine three biblical passages Acts 2:1-13, Exodus 19:1-25, and Galatians 5:16-26, which are the readings for the Feast of Pentecost.
Please listen to learn the blessings of belonging freely to a family of compassion.
THE2210 spring 2013 has begun
Dear soon-to-be long-suffering students of THE 2210,
Greetings and salutations!
Welcome to your new course with me on Ecclesiology. You can find what you are looking for in the menu sidebar "THE2210 clicky here" where you will see the option to view the syllabus or the schedule.
We have much to learn together.
Carpe Ekklesia!
desert island bookshelf 2
The next book in the desert island bookshelf series must be Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises.
Continuing with my desert island bookshelf series, the next book has to do with exercise. New year, new you. And the new year must mean a new spiritual life.
The loneliness of the desert island makes me think of the grace of a long silent retreat. And the masterwork of this soulful fitness regime must be Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises.
My favorite translation was delivered to me by a trusted Jesuit. The Louis J. Puhl translation is traditional, accurate, and securely delivered.
Your spirit is not yet what it ought to be. Try following the holy guide, Ignatius, so that you can dedicate your desert island experience to an intimate following of the Lord.
Colloquy bliss awaits.
be a creator
Be a creator or a producer, but avoid being a seller. Yes, sometimes be a consumer, but better to be a creator or a producer.
Being created in the image of God means creating and not just consuming. It means you have the gift to make.
on suffering book available
My co-edited book, On Suffering: An Inter-disciplinary Dialogue on Narrative and Meaning of Suffering, is published and available. This book gathers really smart academics from around the world from different disciplines who are interested in finding meaning in human suffering.
My friend and co-editor, Nate Hinerman, are happy to have brought these good people together to dialogue on an essential question. Why do we suffer?
This book offers many different answers from many different perspectives. You will find a critical debate here about the scope of one's narrative of meaning--is the meaning-making of suffering personal, communal, or meta-narrative?
I hope you will read our book as you consider how to make sense of suffering.
On Suffering: An Inter-disciplinary Dialogue on Narrative and the Meaning of Suffering
desertislandbookshelf
If you were on a desert island and you had only one bookshelf, what would be on it?
So begins a series here on books that I would make sure survived the shipwreck so I could read foundational writing while I wait for rescue.
To start off, I'm making sure I have a Bible with me, hopefully an Ignatius Bible 2nd edition (RSVCE).
The Bible is everything to me. Everything.
Of course as I write this series, I think of the G. K. Chesterton's thoughts on desert island reading. He feels "certain that everyone would take Thomas'Guide to Practical Shipbuilding so that they could get away from the island as quickly as possible." (from Chesterton as Seen by His Contemporaries)
But on the desert island that is this world, the Bible is that shipbuilding guide. And yes, it does tell you how to build an ark.
worthy obsession
In deciding which theology books, journals, and blogs are worthy of our time and attention, let us remember our obsession is not words, but the Word.
Now that's a worthy obsession.
do scientists pray
In a letter to Albert Einstein, a sixth-grade girl speaking on behalf of her Sunday School class asked this question "Do scientists pray?" and "could we believe in both science and religion?"
Einstein's reply was that a scientist must be faithful to the "laws of nature" and this means that "a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish." After this initial no, he unexpectably opened everything by admiting intelletual humility and accepting human wonder. He wrote that
"we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the curent achievements in science. But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man."
With this statement, Einstein seemed to suggest a "yes" to a scientist at prayer, if we understand prayer as encounter with the divine leading to wonder. He concluded that "In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort." While thankfully different from a naïve understanding of religiosity, I think that Einstein provides a way for any serious scientist to re-evaluate his or her preconception of prayer.
So yes, even scientists pray, especially the serious ones.