Vivat Agnus Dei

Otto Friedrich Theodor von Möller, John's Sermon on Patmos A general response to: How did the Jewish laws affect Paul's ministry? How did the early Christian's allegiance to Jewish law (ie. dietary law, circumcision) make ministry difficult when addressing both Jews and Gentiles? The Christian call to conversion requires a profound transformation of heart, rooted in faith and love, yet it must also respect the cultural identities of those being evangelized. Jesus Himself proclaimed, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and “the time is fulfilled… repent and believe in the gospel”  (Matt 4:17, Mark 1:15).  Scripture and Church teaching warn against both extremes: imposing unnecessary cultural practices can suffocate the Gospel—“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery”—and unbounded relativism can dilute it—“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us” ...

How can we as Church and parish be inspired by the virtue of hope exemplified by young people? What virtues, habits and practices will help us to accompany young people as they take up their call and go out to serve the world? The Church must embrace the hope and vitality of young people by taking their struggles and questions seriously, offering compassionate guidance, and witnessing to the Christian life as both a relationship with God and a battle for holiness. In turn, older generations can be renewed by the faith and innocence of youth, fostering a reciprocal journey toward truth and evangelization. 1. Hope in Youth As older folks, we should be inspired by the newness of efforts they put forth which speak to the reality of struggle. Indeed, what Christ says concerning youth is striking. “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”, don’t lead them astray, and “unless you change and become like childr...

Christ invites us into communion with Himself and others, and today’s culture, often marked by isolation and brokenness, challenges achieving this communion. Our sins and attachments restrain us from healthy communion. As ministers to the youth (young adults to the learning toddlers), we should aspire to both live out of our relationship with Jesus and teach our understanding of what the Church has to offer in terms of communion. Contemporary youth face cultural pressures like social media and self-gratification that prioritize instant validation or enjoyment over authentic relationships, often resulting in isolation and a lack of relational depth. Youth ministry must therefore provide a counter-cultural space for authentic, discipleship-focused communion. [1] Effective youth ministry requires a relational approach that combines discipleship, empathy for youth’s unique struggles, and loving discipline, guiding them in social-emotional learning and the joy, truth, goodness, and beau...

Christ's Farewell to Mary Those who cannot understand the Church and what She actually teaches, hastily take up a loose statement or common condemning, one-line tropes which apparently discredit Her. The issue is it becomes a strawman fallacy, condemning something without truly knowing beforehand and looking elsewhere for truth wandering and settling for a normal that is believed to be the best possible as if one themselves has a monopoly on truth. Tragically, this is the state of the culture and because of this, there is no one grand reason in particular for the deference from the faith on the personal convictions of those who hold this or that in contempt whether it be that the Church contains sinners to the fact She must make decisions. The false but powerful narratives drive the darkness that man has invited in place of God and man remains there shocked at the killing of a world at war in every way feeling trapped and alone. This gives a particular expression to what Christ...

"Well, I don't judge people on their worst mistakes." Natasha Romanoff of the MCU In order to know what it means to love most deeply, most boldly, most mercifully, we must first answer: how does God love? To do this well we must begin by saying that even to say that human words cannot begin to broach the answer is itself an understatement of just how incomprehensibly infinite and exceeding to human sense, expression, and estimation the love of God truly is, let alone the fact we are the aspiring fallen beloved of Him Who alone loves. Candidly, my original post/first attempt on this was focused on the end in mind and not so much on deriving what God has provided us in answering this question and in doing what He has taught/shown us, after all He gave the command. Nevertheless, it is precisely this question (how does God love?) whose answer truly answers what it means to "love the sinner and hate the sin", to not "judge people by their sins", and so not...

Since we have consistently tried to elucidate the concept of love in its deepest truest sense it feels appropriate to continue by expanding on its various aspects. This time we shall discuss what the human will needs to make/prove love true. Love joins with reality in the knowledge of the universal and particular good of a person. (Further, introduction to this aspect of love can be found when we discussed the what and how of love .) First, we must question what our perception tells us about what is good first for ourselves and next for others. After all, we are called to "Love others as yourself" and " treat them as you wish to be treated "(Luke 6:31; Matthew 22:37–39, Luke 10:27, Mark 12:30-31). Aquinas says "Goodness and being are really the same, and differ only in idea; which is clear from the following argument. The essence of goodness consists in this, that it is in some way desirable. Hence the Philosopher says (Ethic. i): "Goodness is what all des...

What do you believe? Would you know how to answer if I asked you a question about this or that aspect of your understanding of reality and its implications? If you did, would you be able to make it simple and say it with conviction? If the above questions made you somewhat uncomfortable, it would seem you have some investigation before you. The reality is most people in the West don’t have many strong convictions about what is true except murder is wrong and the dishes should be scraped before being put in the dishwasher. They can answer how to clean their house and how to do it, but when it comes to why one should go to church on Sunday, they just shrug their shoulders and say something like, “Gotta stay churched”. Atheists live what they believe, they know why they think they are right, and they will happily throw out what they perceive to be outside the bounds of what can be felt right without religion. Are Christians as diligent about what is true? Sadly, I think the closest thing ...