Tapping into the Active Word of God
Scripture says, “The Word of God is living and effective.” It speaks to us personally. In the terrific book The Greatest Reformer, a biography of Pope Francis, there is an incident that illustrates this. Shortly after Pope Francis was made pope, a few evangelical pastors he used to pray with in Argentina visited him. One confided that God had given him a word for the new pope. From his iPad he read from Jeremiah, chapter 1: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations . . . . See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” (more…)
Mottos and Brands as Guides for Spirituality
Company brands, or slogans, identify their purpose and are used in publicity. They become familiar to us. What fast-food restaurant’s is “I’m lovin’ it”? What insurance company assures us that we are in good hands? What drugstore is on the corner of happy and healthy? Unless you never watch television, you probably know the answers are McDonalds, Allstate, and Walgreens. On being consecrated, bishops choose a coat of arms and a motto. (more…)
Ordinary Time in the Church Year (or Extraordinary)
According to the Church calendar, this is the first week in Ordinary Time. The weeks are referred to by ordinal numbers, which is why they are called ordinary. There are 34 of them. In the usual sense of the word ordinary, these weeks are not special seasons like Advent or Easter. But is any week actually “ordinary”? Considering that out of the zillion or so planets and other things floating in the limitless universe, our little planet daily sustains our lives, I’d say that any week is extraordinary. The fact we human beings can think, create, imagine, choose, and love, unlike other creatures such as the billions of insect species, I’d call that extraordinary. (more…)
Mysterious Match: An Epiphany or What?
During my meditation time, I light a candle. One day the wick wouldn’t light. When the match burned my finger, I dropped it into the candle where it burned up, black and crisp. However, the tip flamed for the entire half hour. For about two weeks now, whenever I’ve lit that match, it burns, but the match isn’t consumed! Is this my personal burning bush or menorah that burned without oil in the Temple? Once before a strange thing happened, but it was eventually explained. From rocks I bought back from the Holy Land, water seeped out, making a puddle on my bookshelf. Frightened, I put them outside my room for the night! But then Sister Jeanmarie, a chemistry professor, explained that the rocks from the Dead Sea were loaded with chemicals that interacted with the atmosphere. Mystery solved. Does anyone know why my dead match still ignites? (more…)
Gold from Kings, Gold from Us
In keeping with the Christmas season, I’m continuing to share excerpts from my book Voices: Messages in Gospel Symbols. Chapter 2 is a meditation on gold: First among the three gifts the kings from the east present to Jesus is gold. Gold is the best they can offer. This most precious metal is a gift for a king, fitting tribute to the newborn king of heaven and earth. The infant is himself God’s gift to us—the Son, the Father’s treasure, not only precious but priceless (though he would someday be valued at only thirty pieces of silver). And this unparalleled gift is the culmination of a world full of golden gifts: sunbeams, dandelions, autumn leaves golden agers, and smiles. God is never outdone when it comes to gift-giving. (more…)
