Tag Archives: God
Growing into Our Incarnation
Human Bodies: Week 1 Growing into Our Incarnation Monday, April 2, 2018 Make ready for the Christ, Whose smile, like lightning, Sets free the song of everlasting glory That now sleeps, in your paper flesh, like dynamite. —Thomas Merton [1] When God gives of Godself, one of two things happens: either flesh is inspirited or… Continue Reading Growing into Our Incarnation
Irreplaceable “Thisness”
Thisness Irreplaceable “Thisness” Sunday, March 18, 2018 Each mortal thing does one thing and the same; Deals out that being indoors each one dwells; Selves—goes itself; myself it speaks and spells, Crying what I do is me: for that I came. —Gerard Manley Hopkins [1] Franciscan philosopher-theologian Blessed John Duns Scotus (1266-1308) taught extensively on… Continue Reading Irreplaceable “Thisness”
The Substance of God
The Natural World: Week 2 The Substance of God Tuesday, March 13, 2018 Many indigenous spiritualities, Franciscans, and Celts saw creation as good, as a theophany or revelation of God’s very being, just as Genesis taught. How did Christianity come to be so divorced from nature? John Philip Newell (b. 1953), a poet and scholar… Continue Reading The Substance of God
Nature as a Mirror of God
The Natural World: Week 2 Nature as a Mirror of God Monday, March 12, 2018 Long ago, St. Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), named a Doctor of the Church in 2012, communicated creation spirituality through music, art, poetry, medicine, gardening, and reflections on nature. She wrote in her famous book, Scivias: You understand so little of what… Continue Reading Nature as a Mirror of God
Nature Reflects God’s Goodness
The Natural World: Week 2 Nature Reflects God’s Goodness Tuesday, March 6, 2018 To start with words of the great Doctor of the Church, Thomas Aquinas: “Grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it.” [1] Grace brings nature to a sense of its own sanctity, and it evokes this sacredness within the human heart. Aquinas… Continue Reading Nature Reflects God’s Goodness
Participating in Creation
Evolution Participating in Creation Thursday, March 1, 2018 In her book, God’s Ecstasy: The Creation of a Self-Creating World, the little- known but outstanding theologian Beatrice Bruteau (1930-2014) makes some excellent points about why contemplatives ought to embrace evolution: People who identify themselves as contemplatives may shy away from science for a number of reasons.… Continue Reading Participating in Creation
All Things Change and Grow
Evolution All Things Change and Grow Monday, February 26, 2018 It is hard for me to understand why some Christians are so threatened by the notion of evolution. Are they not observing reality? Why this stalwart attachment to inertness? Perhaps static things appear more controllable? I suspect such resistance largely comes from our ego and… Continue Reading All Things Change and Grow
Creation Continues
Evolution Creation Continues Sunday, February 25, 2018 Karl Rahner said that we are “pressured” from within to evolve. That pressure is what we have always called the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit is creatively at work in this moment, urging us to evolve, to become a new kind of human being such as the world… Continue Reading Creation Continues
Our Work in Co-Creating
Creation: Week 2 Our Work in Co-Creating Friday, February 23, 2018 The Great Work now . . . is to carry out the transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans would be present to the planet in a mutually beneficial manner. —Thomas Berry [1] Again, I offer… Continue Reading Our Work in Co-Creating
The Universe Is Love
Creation: Week 2 The Universe Is Love Thursday, February 22, 2018 The future can exist only when we understand the universe as composed of subjects to be communed with, not as objects to be exploited. —Thomas Berry [1] Cynthia Bourgeault, a faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation, writes about how the ancient… Continue Reading The Universe Is Love
