Sister theologians and biblical scholars explore the quest for God in light of the global reality.
An important lesson in my life is one that I'm still learning. It involves welcoming and trusting God as a loving father, rather than as a severe judge or "divine tester." Once, when I was quite young and probably came home with some catechism lesson about heaven and hell, my dad said with great conviction, that as a father he could never consign any of his children to unending torment — that is, to hell. His conviction was an awakening for me.
We want to change, but we cannot seem to get beyond a cultural depression. Although we mark this new year as "2018" maybe we should mark it 4.5618 billion years (the approximate age of Earth) or 202,018, the approximate age of the Homo sapiens species.
What drew me to Thomas Merton (and still does) was his deep inner search for truth and light, his inner yearning for God.
Christmastime on the planet of the rich is a world of consumption. In fact, what we realize around this time of the year is that we have a lot of stuff — so much stuff that many people donate to charity (as tax write-offs) or simply opt out of giving gifts.
The discoveries of science today do not cease to astound. For centuries we thought of ourselves as solid, fixed human beings in a stable, fixed universe. Now we must rethink ourselves as disco dancers in a bubble gum universe. Quantum physics has undermined all the great discoveries of matter, from Aristotle to Newton, and we are now left with the wondrous reality of wave-particle duality. Now we must face the startling discovery that quantum physics may govern the realms of biological life as well.
Christian life anchors itself in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Discipleship has been the hallmark of the committed Christian, inspired by the words of Jesus, "Follow me." Almost 2,000 years later and millions of committed followers, the good news of Jesus is still like seed on rocky ground. The winds blow and the seed is scattered. After many years in religious life, I have begun to wonder if following Jesus is the whole story and if this, indeed, is the mark of religious life.
In the Litany of Loreto, Mary is called "cause of our joy." There are many reasons for considering her such; many of them are caught up by the feast of the Assumption. This glorious feast, celebrated today, August 15, is a testimony to the power of the laity and of our devotion to the mother of God. It also underscores Catholic belief in the goodness of the human body and in its promised resurrection. The feast likewise counters any and all tendencies to think that the female human body is excluded from such goodness and from the possibility of glorification with God in eternity.
In the wake of the brutal killings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and multiple horrific acts of violence and hatred against police and against men of color by police in several American cities, I cry out with so many of you who yearn for a change of heart, individually and collectively.
For centuries, the Church taught that God is impassible, that God could suffer in his humanity but not his divinity. This belief became difficult in the 20th century when war after war — and all that war entailed — consumed millions of innocent lives.
Speaking of God - The results of the recent U.S. presidential primaries are not only startling, but a wake-up call to the reality that our political system no longer works.
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