Category: meditations
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Aleph is for Analogy
The post is an active exploration of analogy in theology by way of the letter A’s history and the silent Aleph in Hebrew, shedding light on the mystery of divine revelation and hidden prefigurement.
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Debt or Trespass?
The post discusses the concept of sin and God’s eternal self-gift, emphasizing that the Greek use of ‘debt’ in the Lord’s Prayer doesn’t simply mean trespass or sin, but rather refers to how we often fall short of receiving, sharing, and modeling God’s love.
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All is Grace
The post discusses the concept of an individual’s “garment”, representing their aptitudes, burdens, and weaknesses. It underscores the understanding that life experiences contribute to the garment, whether desirable or not. The idea of “Charism” is defined as a spiritual gift, which might also originate from our wounds or troubles. The author emphasizes the importance of…
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The Burned Icons
AN ELDER SAT his cell praying before his icons. On the stand before him was a large piece of wood, scared but mostly empty, ancient wood. In the middle of the wood was what seemed like a face, although there was a slash through it. Towards the upper left, there was a flash of color,…
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The True Story of Sleeping Beauty
The Readings for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary I wrote this in 2018. Reposting for the feast (which will be on Monday). LET ME TELL YOU A love story. This is a real love story, not a romance, such as we pass off today as love; nor is it a “chick flick” sort…
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Life Just Keeps Coming
JMJ✙ The Readings for the 19th Sunday, Tempus per Annum Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side. Matthew 14:22 BY WAY OF DISCUSSING THIS GOSPEL, let me link back to the story we heard on Wednesday in the first reading from the Book of Numbers: sending the…
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Swords and Pieces
JMJ✙ The Readings for the 15th Monday, Tempus per Annum “I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” Matthew 10:34 THIS GOSPEL CAN BE Unnerving – especially if you’re used to “Gentle Jesus Meek and Mild” or if you want to imagine that. He’s not. He wasn’t. He won’t be. Nevertheless, this Gospel…
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Seeds and Earthlings
JMJ✙ The Readings for the 15th Sunday, Tempus per Annum “My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 HOW OFTEN ARE WE ASKED in homilies “what kind of dirt are you”? The seed is the word of God and it…
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Peniel
JMJ✙ The Readings for the Memorial of St Benedict, Abbot14th Tuesday, Tempus per Annum “Because I have seen God face to face,” he said, “yet my life has been spared.” Genesis 32:30 THE AUTHOR is continually surprised at the different ways ancient stories are read by Christians as compared to Jews. The rabbinic tradition is…
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All Saints: the Body of Messiah
The Readings for the Solemnity of theBody and Blood of Christ The Readings for the Sunday of All Saints So Jesus said to them, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the…
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Barren Trees Die
JMJ✙ The Readings for the 8th Friday of Ordinary Time And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it. Mark 11:14 (RSVCE) SO MANY SERMONS ON this passage make it out to be about Israel, or the Temple priesthood. In fact, the footnotes on the…
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Nothing Ordinary
JMJ✙ The Readings for the Visitation of Mary8th Wednesday of Ordinary Time The Lord your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 (RSVCE) WHEN MARY Visits Elizabeth their…
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Overcoming the World
JMJ✙ The Readings for 7th Monday after Easter I have overcome the world. John 16:33 JESUS SAYS HE HAS OVERCOME the world. Yet, this is before his Crucifixion, before the Agony in the Garden – just before the High Priestly prayer. How has he already overcome the world? What does this mean for us? John…
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In Downers, Hope
BY WAY Of method: selected verses from Psalm 88 (BCP ’79 translation – a personal fave) interspersed with the refrain from Psalm 136. Language was ironed out to be in the third person to match the refrain. Not all the verses of Ps 88 are used, just the ones that match my current #mood. The…
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I Don’t Want To Think
AN EMERGING PATTERN seems to indicate that more-common sins are ways to cope or deal with situations: like alcohol is used to numb the brain, so are other things. If “I don’t want to think about this just now” there are distractions with which to numb the pain. Those brain-numbing pain solutions are sins. Yes,…
Orthoparadoxy 