Often hell is portrayed as a place of punishment and heaven as a place of reward. But this concept easily leads us to think about God as either a policeman, who tries to catch us when we make a mistake and send us to prison when our mistakes become too big, or a Santa...
"Spare the rod, spoil the child." But shepherds don't beat their sheep with the rod. The rod is used to steer the sheep, as a support when the shepherd is tired, and as a weapon to defend the herd from harm. Sheep follow the shepherd because his kindness makes him...
A saint was asked, “What is anger?” He gave a beautiful answer: “It is punishment that we we give ourselves, for someone else’s mistake."
Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of...
Thank God, God is more ready to forgive than to punish. Thank God, Jesus made it quite clear that he had come to be with and to help those in need. “Those who are well do not need a physician,” he said, “but those who are ill.” Jesus said those are the ones he had...
Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.