The Apostle’s Creed states the fundamental beliefs of the faith: “I believe in God the Father. . . He was raised again from the dead. . . I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, Read more…
Where simplicity is a special emphasis of the Quakers, the Catholic tradition of spirituality speaks more frequently of recollection. (I have white spots on my fingers.) In recollection, we re-collect all of our powers and turn inside, seeking God in silence and stillness, with whole heart and mind and soul Read more…
Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12. To this end we always pray for you, asking that God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and Read more…
Read Joel 2:23-32 and Jeremiah 20:7-9. Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my Read more…
Read Jeremiah 31:27-34 and 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5. In those days, they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” But all shall die for their own sins. (Jeremiah 31:29-30a) The day is surely coming, says the Lord, when I will Read more…
I almost missed my daughter’s birth. While my wife and I were preparing for this event, she decided that she wanted to experience it to the full and to avoid any possible ill effects on our daughter. So she decided not to have an epidural anesthetic, and she asked me Read more…
Read 2 Timothy 1:1-14. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the Read more…
Read 1 Timothy 6:6-19. There is great gain in Godliness combined with contentment. (1 Tim. 6:6) See also Ruysbroeck, The Sparkling Stone Joy and sorrow. Pain and elation. Heaven and hell. Why is life like that? Why is one moment ablaze with glory, every cloud, every leaf, every person a Read more…
Read Luke 16:1-13. Do you like to run? Do you love to get out there, pound the pavement, feel the wind in your hair, see the world flow by, breathe the fresh air, sweat away the stress of the day? Me neither. I know someone who doesn’t like to run. Read more…
In the 14th century, when Ruysbroeck lived, there was no doubt a great deal of illiteracy, especially if that is understood to mean the inability to read and write Latin, the language of the church. Therefore images and rituals were a significant component in worship. Churches had stained glass windows Read more…