bible

  • Trinity Sunday

    So what? Last Sunday was the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity for Catholics – basically there’s a lineup of deep-topic feast days on Sundays from Ascension to Pentecost to Trinity Sunday to Corpus Christi that celebrate different important but hard to grasp theological concepts. If you are the type that thinks that faith is

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  • Millstones

    Millstones

    I’m glad I’m not a Catholic bishop in the US. In the Gospels, Jesus saves his harshest words for religious leaders that lead their followers astray. I think especially of Matthew 18, where, after saying that his followers should humble themselves like a little child, he says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who

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  • Holy Week

    Where are you this Holy Week? For those of you who are Catholic, Holy Week – starting with Palm Sunday and ending with Easter – includes a LOT of listening to Bible stories. Especially if you participate in the Triduum – marked by the services on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil on

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  • Reconciling

    A couple quick things about the readings chosen by the Church for the 4th Sunday of Lent (which was today).  The Gospel is the parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15, one of the most famous stories Jesus tells. It’s worth noting (I think I heard Luke Johnson say this) that the context for

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  • Canticle of Lent

    Canticle of Lent

    Altissimu, omnipotente bon Signore, Tue so le laude, la gloria e l’honore et onne benedictione. One year I tried to give up impatient driving for Lent. That didn’t go so great. Count me among those who can’t wait for autonomous vehicles to replace all the other drivers on the road. Ad Te solo, Altissimo, se

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  • You first

    You first. Starting with yesterday’s Gospel, the readings for daily mass have some challenging things to say about how we Christians ought to act. Yesterday, we heard: “Love your enemies,  do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you,  pray for those who mistreat you.” And: “Give to everyone who asks of

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  • Completing the course

    Completing the course

    OK, so, when you’re too sick to go to any of the Christmas masses, part of the makeup assignment is to read the readings for all the variations of masses – Christmas Eve vigil, Christmas mass during the night, Christmas mass at dawn (which probably isn’t too crowded), Christmas mass during the day. It’s not

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  • Stage 5 God

    Stage 5 God

    We have a Stage 5 God, a Stage 4 Church, and too many Stage 3 leaders. One of my favorite books on leadership is Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright. Their approach presupposes that people are social in nature, that workplaces are essentially tribes (or tribes of tribes, if they’re big

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  • The Party and The Daily Grind

    The Party and The Daily Grind

    In Luke 21 (which is the Gospel for the first week of Advent this year), Jesus warns his followers about a final judgment day, saying, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.” Of course,

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