16 June 2017
 
Christ in Need


When you receive another, you receive Him. [...] 
Let a hungry Christ be fed here, a thirsty Christ to be
given drink, a naked Christ to be clothed, a foreigner
Christ to be taken in, an ill Christ be visited,” he said.
“These are needs that arise on the journey. This is
how we are to live in a world where Christ is in need.
           

                                                         ST. AUGUSTINE

11 June 2017
 
The Politics of Discipleship

 As Christians, we bring to God all the concerns and connections
we have with the contemporary world [...]: the crisis of democracy,
the reduction of life to economics and consumption, and the
various roles that religion is playing and being forced to play in the
public sphere. Praying is thus the most political act any Christian
can engage in—richly layered, nuanced, and continuous.

                                                                         Graham Ward

04 June 2017

Come, Oh Holy Ghost

Come oh Holy Ghost, come from heav'n above, light of light divine,
Oh come to us, oh father of the poor, You are the source of all earthly store,
Guide our coming, guide our going, as we pray to you,
You alone the saving grace, Spirit of truth heal our wounds,
Our strength renew,  Come oh Holy Ghost.

26 January 2017

On Division

Let us intercede for those who are involved in some transgression,

that forbearance and humility may be given them, so that they may

submit, not to us but to the will of God. For in this way the merciful

remembrance of them in the presence of God and all saints will

be fruitful and perfect for them. Let us accept correction, which

no one ought to resent, dear friends. The reproof which we give

one another is good and exceedingly useful, for it unites us with

the will of God. For thus says the Holy Word: "The Lord has indeed

disciplined me, but has not handed me over to death."

                                                                          ST. CLEMENT OF ROME

6 January 2017

A Strange New Flood

Come then and see, this new and strange flood, greater and more

 powerful than that which occurred in the days of Noah. There the

water of the flood destroyed the human race; but here the water

of baptism, by the power of him who is baptized in it, has called

back the dead to life. There the dove carried the olive branch in its

beak, denoting the fragrance of the sweet-smelling savor of the Lord

Christ, but here the Holy Spirit, descending in the form of a dove,

reveals to us the presence of our merciful God.

                                                   Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople

7 November 2016

O Saving Victim, Open Wide

O saving Victim, open wide

the gate of heaven to man below;

our foes press on from every side;

thine aid supply; thy strength bestow.

All praise and thanks to thee ascend

for evermore, blest One in Three;

O grant us life that shall not end

in our true native land with thee.

     Thomas Aquinas, thirteenth century

23October 2016

The Life of God in the Life of the Parish

“The Life of God in the parish implies an end of commercialism in the financial affairs of the parish. If we cook, it will be for the hungry; if we sew, it will be for the needy; if we collect clothes, it will be for the ill-clad; if we eat, it will be for the joy of being together as children of God and not to raise funds for Him who is the Creator and Owner of the world’s wealth. The kingdom of God is not buying one another’s pies, but in faithful stewards of the gifts with which God has bountifully endowed even the poorest. The problem of parish finance is not getting into people’s purses, but getting God into people’s hearts.” -- A.C. Piepkorn, The Life of God in the Life of the Parish – In the Church, p. 117-118.