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Parallel Lives of Jesus - 10 The Transfiguration
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 10 The Transfiguration
by SPCK - Edward Adams
The Transfiguration The transfiguration is one of the key episodes in the Synoptic Gospels, occurring in all three. Like the baptism with which it connects, the transfiguration is a onetime event in the pre-passion ministry of Jesus. It is sometimes classed as an epiphany story, …
The Monastery Of The Heart - 10 Direction and Counsel
The Monastery Of The Heart - 10 Direction and Counsel
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Direction and Counsel “Do everything with counsel and you will not be sorry afterward.” Benedictine spirituality sets out to build communities that, together, seek the universal God, that hold the wounded of the world in one heart, and that serve the world by being for it oases o…
Great Christian Thinkers - 11 St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Great Christian Thinkers - 11 St. Cyril of Jerusalem
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Cyril of Jerusalem Our attention is focused now on St. Cyril of Jerusalem. His life is woven of two dimensions: on the one hand, pastoral care, and on the other, his involvement, in spite of himself, in the heated controversies that were then tormenting the Church of the East…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 11 Sufficiency and Sharing
The Monastery Of The Heart - 11 Sufficiency and Sharing
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Sufficiency and Sharing “Do everything with moderation.” The purpose of the monastic life is never to amass wealth for the sake of the self. Instead, Benedict’s definition of the relationship between persons and things is sufficiency, not frugality… Taken from The Monastery Of Th…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 12 The Empty Tomb
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 12 The Empty Tomb
by SPCK - Edward Adams
The Empty Tomb None of the four evangelists describes Jesus’ actual resurrection, but they all report the discovery of the empty tomb, and all except Mark recount appearances of the risen Jesus to his followers. The resurrection accounts of the four Gospels are notoriously diffic…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 13 Essay 2 Sex
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 13 Essay 2 Sex
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
Essay 2 Sex Paul is now ready to begin his second essay, which focuses on sexual practice and its theological foundation. The essay comprises four sections and one extended aside. The outline of the overall essay is as follows: 2.1. Immorality and the Church (4:17–6:8) 2.2. (Thre…
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 12 NATURE AS SACRED TEXT
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 12 NATURE AS SACRED TEXT
by Christine Valters Painter
NATURE AS SACRED TEXT Every being is praising God The fire has its flame and praises God. The wind blows the flame and praises God. In the voice we hear the word which praises God. And the word, when heard, praises God. So all of creation is a song of praise to God… Taken from Le…
Great Christian Thinkers - 14 St, Gregory of Nyssa
Great Christian Thinkers - 14 St, Gregory of Nyssa
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Gregory of Nyssa Theologian of Life in the Spirit In the last chapters, I spoke of two great fourth-century Doctors of the Church, Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, a bishop in Cappadocia, in present-day Turkey. Today, we are adding a third, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Basil’s brothe…
Great Christian Thinkers - 13 St. Gregory of Nazianzus
Great Christian Thinkers - 13 St. Gregory of Nazianzus
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Gregory of Nazianzus His Life and Times After discussing St. Basil, a Father of the Church and a great teacher of the faith, I speak now of his friend Gregory of Nazianzus. Like Basil, he was a native of Cappadocia. As a distinguished theologian, orator, and champion of the C…
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 14 Essay 2 Sex (cntd)
Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes - 14 Essay 2 Sex (cntd)
by SPCK-Kenneth E. Bailey
Essay 2 Sex The structure of this apostolic homily is similar to the homily that precedes it in 4:8-16. The one structural difference is that in the previous homily the stand-alone cameo is at the end. Here it is in the beginning. Otherwise the two homilies have the same structur…
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 13 THE SACRED STORIES OF OUR LIVES
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 13 THE SACRED STORIES OF OUR LIVES
by Christine Valters Painter
THE SACRED STORIES OF OUR LIVES Like the Hebrew alphabet, the alphabet of grace has no vowels, and in that sense [God’s] words to us are always veiled, subtle, cryptic, so that it is left to us to delve their meaning, to fill in the vowels, for ourselves by means of all the faith…
Great Christian Thinkers - 15 St. John Chrysostom
Great Christian Thinkers - 15 St. John Chrysostom
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. John Chrysostom The Years in Antioch Recently we observed the sixteenth centenary of St. John Chrysostom’s death (407–2007). It can be said that John of Antioch, nicknamed “Chrysostom,” that is, “golden-mouthed,” because of his eloquence, is also still alive today because of …
The Monastery Of The Heart - 15 Loving Care
The Monastery Of The Heart - 15 Loving Care
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Loving Care “Let those who are not strong have help….” Patience and care are two pillars of Benedictine community. They hold up before our eyes, in blinding light, in immovable form, what is to be the nature of our presence in the world… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by J…
Simply Good News - Good News - For the World?
Simply Good News - Good News - For the World?
by SPCK - N T Wright
Good News – for the World? If the good news really is what it says, there is all the room in the world for delighted celebration of the gospel in the life of every child, woman, and man. To miss this element – to think of Christianity without this deeply personal aspect – is like…
Echoing the Word - Preparation and penitence
Echoing the Word - Preparation and penitence
by SPCK - Paula Gooder & Michael Perham
1 Preparation and penitence The liturgy begins with a greeting between the president and the people; in this greeting the community is gathered and bound together, and relationships are formed and acknowledged. The president may invoke the persons of the Trinity, proclaiming the …
Simply Good News - Turning the Good News into Bad News
Simply Good News - Turning the Good News into Bad News
by SPCK - N T Wright
Turning the Good News into Bad News The first of these, then, has to do with the popular view of what Christianity is all about – and when I say the popular view, I mean the view of most people inside the church as well as outside. Most people in the Western world think of Christ…
Echoing the Word - Blessing and dismissal
Echoing the Word - Blessing and dismissal
by SPCK - Paula Gooder & Michael Perham
21 Blessing and dismissal Although it may be argued that, after the blessing experienced in receiving the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist, no extra words of blessing at the conclusion of the service can add much to the service, a blessing by the president at the end o…
Echoing the Word - Words at the distribution