Tag Archives: purpose
Beginning as “Beloved”
Original Goodness Beginning as “Beloved” Thursday, October 28, 2021 And a voice came out of the heavens: “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.” —Mark 1:11 In a homily on the Feast of Jesus’ Baptism, Fr. Richard Rohr describes the powerful nature of being named a beloved child of God. We… Continue Reading Beginning as “Beloved”
Participating in Original Goodness
Life as Participation Participating in Original Goodness Monday, September 6, 2021 Everyone and every thing is created in the “image of God.” This is the objective connection or “divine DNA” given by God equally to all creatures at the moment of their conception. The philosopher Owen Barfield (1898–1997) called this phenomenon “original participation.” [1] We… Continue Reading Participating in Original Goodness
Art as Service
Finding God in the Arts Art as Service Friday, August 20, 2021 Few of us feel called to be formal or fine artists, but all of us are called to be creators. Each of us is called to bring creativity, purpose, and passion to our vocation, no matter what it is. Artist and author Julia… Continue Reading Art as Service
Forgiving Reality and Forgiving Ourselves
Choosing Love in a Time of Evil Forgiving Reality and Forgiving Ourselves Thursday, May 20, 2021 Dr. Edith Eger was just 16 years old when she was taken to Auschwitz with her family. She lost her mother and father to the gas chambers the very day they arrived, and she survived with the help and… Continue Reading Forgiving Reality and Forgiving Ourselves
A Gospel Lens
Learning How to See A Gospel Lens Friday, March 5, 2021 You are not here to verify, Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity Or carry report. You are here to kneel Where prayer has been valid. —T. S. Eliot, “Little Gidding” Everybody looks at the world through their own lens, a matrix of culturally inherited qualities,… Continue Reading A Gospel Lens
Love Is the Movement; Doubt Is the Method
Unknowing Love Is the Movement; Doubt Is the Method Tuesday, February 2, 2021 Candlemas Day [1] Today Brian McLaren shares brilliantly how doubt has often been a tool of love, drawing him ever closer to the heart of God. Applying his four-fold spiritual growth process of Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony to himself, Brian writes:… Continue Reading Love Is the Movement; Doubt Is the Method
A New Story to Replace the Old
A New Story A New Story to Replace the Old Thursday, January 14, 2021 In this time of unveiling, new stories need to be told about everything from ecology and faith to money and power, and they need to be told from many different perspectives. Only as we contemplate and engage new paradigms and visions… Continue Reading A New Story to Replace the Old
A New Framing Story
A New Story A New Framing Story Monday, January 11, 2021 Thomas Kuhn’s book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions popularized the term “paradigm shift.” [1] A paradigm is a set of beliefs, images, concepts, and structures that govern the way we think about something. Kuhn (1922–1996) said that paradigm change becomes necessary when the previous paradigm… Continue Reading A New Framing Story
Dying as Disorder
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Two Dying as Disorder Thursday, August 20, 2020 Dying is not extraneous to life; it is a part of the mystery, and we do not understand life until we stand under death. —Richard Rohr There may be nothing more disordering than being diagnosed with a terminal or chronic illness. It upends… Continue Reading Dying as Disorder
Common Ground and Purpose
Alternative Community Common Ground and Purpose Sunday, May 31, 2020 Pentecost Sunday It’s sad to say, but for centuries the Christian vision was narrowed to what we have today—a preoccupation with private salvation. Our “personal relationship with Jesus” seems to be based on a very small notion of Christ. We’ve modeled church after a service… Continue Reading Common Ground and Purpose