wonderful thoughts from the Pope, intellectually coherent and practically relevant and doable IMO
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 2: Truth and Facts
Read MORE: Lesson 2: Truth and FactsAt first, I was taken aback when people read last week’s lesson as a political statement. My intention was simply to point out that a healthy society depends on being able to trust that people are telling the truth. The…
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Lesson 1: Trust
Read MORE: Lesson 1: TrustThe present concern with fake news and a post-truth culture goes deeper than we usually acknowledge. I pulled out some quotes from Sissela Bok’s 1978 book, Lying, that I used when writing about trust decades ago. She wrote that “trust…
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Lesson 18: God, Truth, and Reality
Read MORE: Lesson 18: God, Truth, and RealitySister Joan ended her book with a reprise of the monastic vision found in the Benedictine Rule. She emphasized it offers a practical way to live the Gospel now by discerning God’s presence in all creation. I understand that as…
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Lesson 17: Peace- Sign of the Disarmed Heart
Read MORE: Lesson 17: Peace- Sign of the Disarmed HeartAbout half way through the chapter, Chittister wrote that being at peace gives “the courage to evaluate what is patently wrong but never open for discussion.” As soon as I read her words, a brash comment made by an executive…
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Lesson 16: The Way of Conversion
Read MORE: Lesson 16: The Way of ConversionI was recently at a conference where a female Roman Catholic scholar who had worked in ecumenical relationships for decades revealed she was finally beginning to appreciate that the most important first step in healing our broken Church was coming…
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What Does the Future Hold?
Read MORE: What Does the Future Hold?This is a paper I offered to the Adams County Torch Club on December 15. It prompted a lot of discussion. I found myself reminding people several times, “Now remember I am a Christian.” I have a feeling we shall…
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Christmas is Always
Read MORE: Christmas is AlwaysThis is an article Kerry Walters, one of our participants, wrote for the Sunbury Daily Item on December 24. Kerry publishes a weekly column “Faith Matters.” His messages always speak to me. I hoped this one would do the same…
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An Advent Vision of Hope
Read MORE: An Advent Vision of HopeThe following is a sermon I proclaimed on the Second Sunday in Advent. The lesson was Isaiah 11: 1-10. I hoped it would speak to the present situation in the Christian community. Advent is special this year. We are all…
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Lesson 15: New Christian Communities
Read MORE: Lesson 15: New Christian CommunitiesI promised to share some of my friends’ understanding of modern Christian community. Kerry Walters is a retired philosophy professor whose words often appear in the Huffington Post. I think his following Facebook post speaks for itself. I’d be interested…
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Lesson 14: Stability
Read MORE: Lesson 14: StabilityIf my first attraction to the Benedictine Rule was its hospitality, my second was its stability. A pastor easily felt the impact of the mobile technology at first offered and then demanded. Children leaving town for college, exciting vocations, and…
Recent Comments
I absolutely love these ideas, especially paying attention to beauty and reducing your needs.
Fritz a wonderful lesson – and esp. reading has a flow I found encompassing. If only …….. yes we can…