Our Rosary

June 16, 2019June 5, 2019

Father, Son, Holy Spirit

I find our Christian faith to be amazing.

It seems that we often focus on the three persons of the trinity like they were three people stuffed into a single package. Well, I’m not sure about calling the Holy Spirit “people” – maybe he’s in between the cracks? That’s a weird image

But I’m coming to realize that the REAL message here is that we have a God of relationship. God himself already is a relationship of 3 persons, but then each of us also are invited to be part of that relationship as well.

June 9, 2019June 14, 2019

Coming of the Holy Spirit

Today, with great joy, we focus on the Spirit that Jesus said the Father would send.

“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”
John 14:26

Without the Holy Spirit, Jesus is just a remembered character from a story 2000 years old. Compelling, yes, but a lot less active.

June 2, 2019June 14, 2019

Eternity

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last,
the beginning and the end.”
Rev 22:14

Everything that I do, everything I understand, is based on time. My own time – my life – started at a particular point and will end at a particular point. And time goes in exactly one direction.

I enjoy science fiction and time travel stories, but still … that’s just tweaking around the edges. The idea of true eternity just blows me away.

May 31, 2019June 14, 2019

It’s real!

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Luke 1:39-45

We have just completed the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection, and suddenly we’ve switched to the time before Jesus’ birth. I find this to be one of the wonderful things about our yearly liturgical cycle.

We have another chance to meet Jesus!

May 30, 2019May 19, 2019

Ascension

The resurrected Son of God left us after just a few weeks – forty days in the Christian tradition.

But there was so much more to learn! There still is, nearly 2000 years later!

At some stage, you have to let your kiddos grow up and navigate the world in their own way.

May 26, 2019June 14, 2019

Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
John 14:27

Our world certainly doesn’t seem peaceful. The news is more and more stressful every day, trying to drive me nuts.

Time to check out of the daily disaster feed and return to my Rock, my Savior.

May 19, 2019May 4, 2019

The hands of God

As a child, I grew up with the idea that God acted through miracles in the world. If He wanted me to have a bike, then one would just magically show up one day.

Because God can do that.

Since then, I’ve learned that God’s gifts and presence come primarily through peoples’ actions. Our priest is an obvious choice, but most of God’s actions show up just through my daily random encounters.

But this presents me with a huge challenge!

May 12, 2019April 30, 2019

Our Shepherd

The metaphor of sheep and shepherd keeps cropping up in Jesus’ teachings.

When I first noticed this, it almost seemed offensive. After all, people keep telling me that sheep are rather stupid, and without a shepherd they’d quickly devolve into chaos.

OK, that’s maybe a little more accurate than I had hoped.

May 5, 2019June 14, 2019

Blessing and honor, glory and might

“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor, glory and might,
forever and ever.”
Rev 5:13

This is about God, the universe, and all of humanity. Not only humanity, actually, but all of creation.

It’s all about the great gifts we’ve been given. So glory and honor and blessing are our appropriate response.

April 28, 2019April 14, 2019

Peace

Photo by J A N U P R A S A D on Unsplash

We just witnessed the greatest miracle of all time. God’s Son left us, then returned on the third day. Or at least that’s what they’re telling us.

Of course it doesn’t feel like a miracle right now. Only the benefit of time will show us the salvation of all humanity.

Jesus is here with us. His words? “Peace be with you.”