casual theology

“Christian community is like the Christian's sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God […] The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together I recently read Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a great book examining the essence of Christian community. Living in community is an indispensable part of following Christ. Pope Benedict said, “A Christian cannot live and be fully Christian without community.” We are united in Christ as one body. Community allows us to put into practice Jesus’ command to “love each other as I have loved you.” As a member of the Brothers & Sisters of Charity , the call to community is central to our way of life. Our constitution clear...

Over the past few weeks I've been following a few controversial blog postings and comment wars with unfortunate Catholic on Catholic attacks. Mostly these have been in the form of staunchly conservative Catholics and Catholics who aren't so staunchly conservative. (I'm not talking about liberal, cafeteria Catholics, just those who have a slightly more relaxed attitude towards the faith while still embracing and upholding it. Basically, good Catholics who are okay with the liturgical changes of Vatican II and aren't horribly scandalized by a guitar being used at mass.) So this just got me thinking and stirred up some comments/observations I wanted to make. Let me first say that I want to be clear that I do not personally know anyone involved in these debates, nor am I judging or directing this post to anyone in particular. I have known really, really conservative, Latin-mass loving Catholics. I have know some really far left field, Obama-loving, women priest sup...

Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my LORD has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. (Isaiah 49:14-15) This passage from Isaiah is the first reading for this coming Sunday, March 2 nd . How ironic that we hear these words proclaimed while we live in an age when many women DO forget their infants and show the opposite of tenderness for the children in their wombs. Just a few weeks ago marked the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. More than 55 million infants have been aborted by their mothers in our country. As we prepare to enter into Lent next week I am also reminded of the words of Jesus that we commemorate at the eighth station of the cross: Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children, for indeed, the days are coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never...

Okay, so maybe this is a bit of a cop out but I'm sick and have a fever so for day two of the 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge I'm posting this link to my previous article on the  Eucharist and Theology of the Body (it's one of my favorites). Here's hoping I feel better tomorrow. I've already got a couple ideas brewing.

I’ve got a confession to make. I love to watch makeover shows. Specifically, I love watching Restaurant Impossible, Hotel Impossible, and Kitchen Nightmares. All of these shows have the same basic premise, a troubled business calls for help, an expert comes in to save the day by renovating the décor (which almost always involves some serious cleaning), working with the owners and staff, implementing changes to workflows and practices. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The success or failure depends on how well the owners follow the expert’s advice. As Catholics we experience our own version of a spiritual makeover, a kind of Redemption Impossible, when we encounter the Gospel. We’ve messed up. Through sin and bad choices we’ve allowed our souls to fall into disrepair. In our hour of need we call out to God to save us. We meet our Savior in the confessional. He hears our cry and pours out his grace upon us. Not content with merely fixing what’s broken, he redeems the mess...