A word from us...
The Living Spirit - December 8th
“We run the risk of concealing Christmas behind bourgeois customs and sentimentality, behind all those traditions that make this holiday dear and precious to us. Yet perhaps the deep meaning is still hiding behind all those things. What this celebration is about is the founding of a final order for the world, a new centre of meaning for all existence. We are not celebrating some children’s holiday, but rather the fact that God has spoken His ultimate Word to the world. Christ is the ultimate Word of God to the world.”
Alfred Delp SJ, Murdered by the Nazis, 2 February 1945
From 1 Timothy 1
"I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen
“We run the risk of concealing Christmas behind bourgeois customs and sentimentality, behind all those traditions that make this holiday dear and precious to us. Yet perhaps the deep meaning is still hiding behind all those things. What this celebration is about is the founding of a final order for the world, a new centre of meaning for all existence. We are not celebrating some children’s holiday, but rather the fact that God has spoken His ultimate Word to the world. Christ is the ultimate Word of God to the world.”
Alfred Delp SJ, Murdered by the Nazis, 2 February 1945
From 1 Timothy 1
"I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen
The Living Spirit - December 1st
“In a world marked by indifference and cynicism, hopelessness and division, it is our task to stand for something different: to point towards the Light that no darkness can overcome, to nurture good will, to enable communication founded on trust, in peace, to bear witness that death has lost its sting, that life is meaningful and beautiful, and of inviolable dignity.”
Eric Varden
From 1 John:
"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
“In a world marked by indifference and cynicism, hopelessness and division, it is our task to stand for something different: to point towards the Light that no darkness can overcome, to nurture good will, to enable communication founded on trust, in peace, to bear witness that death has lost its sting, that life is meaningful and beautiful, and of inviolable dignity.”
Eric Varden
From 1 John:
"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
The Living Spirit - November 24th
Theologians in all the great faiths have devised all kinds of myths to show that [some] type of kenosis or self-emptying, is found in the life of God itself. They do not do this because it sounds edifying, but because this is the way that human nature seems to work. We are most creative and sense other possibilities that transcend our ordinary experience when we leave ourselves behind.
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (2004)
From Philippians
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”
Theologians in all the great faiths have devised all kinds of myths to show that [some] type of kenosis or self-emptying, is found in the life of God itself. They do not do this because it sounds edifying, but because this is the way that human nature seems to work. We are most creative and sense other possibilities that transcend our ordinary experience when we leave ourselves behind.
Karen Armstrong - The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness (2004)
From Philippians
"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.”
The Living Spirit - November 17th
“[W]hat subverts faith in God is not atheism or secularism but what …Adolfo Nicolás calls “the globalisation of superficiality”. Drowned in a flood of triviality, fake news, alternative facts and false promises, the human imagination is confused and broken, unable to concentrate, to treasure a moment, or find truth in silence or the words of a wise teacher.”
From a review of “Alive in God: A Christian Imagination”, by Timothy Radcliffe
From Romans 16:
" I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught: avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."
“[W]hat subverts faith in God is not atheism or secularism but what …Adolfo Nicolás calls “the globalisation of superficiality”. Drowned in a flood of triviality, fake news, alternative facts and false promises, the human imagination is confused and broken, unable to concentrate, to treasure a moment, or find truth in silence or the words of a wise teacher.”
From a review of “Alive in God: A Christian Imagination”, by Timothy Radcliffe
From Romans 16:
" I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught: avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."
The Living Spirit - November 10th
From Romans 12:
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
From Romans 12:
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all."
The Living Spirit - November 3rd
“The most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R.Tolkien.
From Philippians 2:
"For do nothing from rivalry of conceit, but in humility count others more significant then yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind amongst yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
“The most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R.Tolkien.
From Philippians 2:
"For do nothing from rivalry of conceit, but in humility count others more significant then yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind amongst yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”