And in this he showed me a little thing, the quantity of a hazelnut, lying in the palm of my hand, as it seemed. And it was as round as any ball. I looked upon it with the eye of my understanding, and thought, ‘What may this be?’ And it was answered generally thus,...
If we could look into each others hearts, and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.
A monk decides to meditate alone. Away from his monastery, he takes a boat and goes to the middle of the lake, closes his eyes and begins to meditate. After a few hours of unperturbed silence, he suddenly feels the blow of another boat hitting his. With his eyes still...
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.
Our situation of "knowing God" is thus similar to that of a baby being held by its mother. In her hands, the baby does not "understand" the mother but rather experiences being known by the mother. In the same way, the revelation of God we have received from God is not...
The question is not whether we should mix Christianity and politics. To follow Jesus is to be political. The issue is whether our understanding of Christianity makes the world more gracious or less gracious. Do we work against injustice, oppression, greed, and...
The person to whom we pray, the man we hope to follow, the one who is risen from the dead, understands us--because he lived a human life, and one that, particularly in his final week, was filled with suffering. from Seven Last Words: An Invitation to a Deeper...
Isaiah understood what Lord Acton failed to note, that it is not only power that tends to corrupt, and absolute power absolutely; powerlessness does the same. It produces lives dreary with self-hatred and stingy with hope. from Credo
The issue should not be oversimplified into whether people will live by God's word or mere human teaching. Given this choice, all religious people will choose "God's word." But for all sides of the debate, God's word is not available directly, only through human...
Jesus experienced the silence of God in the company and companionship of his closest friends. Did they fail him? Yes, perhaps here more than anytime earlier in his ministry, but they did not fail him completely, at least not yet. They were with him--awake or asleep,...