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 3: New Models
Read MORE: Lesson 3: New ModelsA change seems to have taken place in the relationship between church and society. Although it was long coming, most of us did not pay much attention until the recent presidential campaign. It was taken for granted that church and…
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Lesson 2: Church Community in History
Read MORE: Lesson 2: Church Community in HistoryLet’s take a quick look at various kinds of Christian community that have been practiced in our history. Most forms that served well in one period no longer worked in later ones, at least not in their original shapes. Even…
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Lesson 1: The First Christian Community
Read MORE: Lesson 1: The First Christian CommunityA number of my friends are raising questions about Christian community. They are finding our present forms fail to enrich, nourish, or inspire their lives. Many are frustrated after having tried one congregation after another. Our conversations have convinced me…
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Half Truth: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
Read MORE: Half Truth: God Helps Those Who Help Themselves“God helps those who help themselves.” That’s today’s half-truth. The problem of a half-truth, of course is that it is not the whole truth. It is only part of the story. At first a half-truth sounds like something we believe…
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Lesson 9: Eucharist as Ritual
Read MORE: Lesson 9: Eucharist as RitualThe most important challenge for a Eucharist liturgy is to express a community meal rather than an institutional ritual. The Church has not always done a very good job with this one. Too often, the service is regarded as fulfilling…
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Lesson 8: Eucharist as Thanksgiving
Read MORE: Lesson 8: Eucharist as ThanksgivingThe official title of the communion meal is the Eucharist, a Greek word meaning thanksgiving. By examining how this title applies we can learn a lot about the sacrament. First, thanksgiving is given a prominent place in the official account…
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Lesson 7: Eucharist as Remembering
Read MORE: Lesson 7: Eucharist as RememberingIn our technological society, we forget how important remembering the past is for keeping our balance in life. Faith, hope, and love have always been used to summarize how Christians make decisions. Faith primarily is trust in the story that…
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Lesson 6: Eucharist as Eating Together
Read MORE: Lesson 6: Eucharist as Eating TogetherThe sacraments taken together express the fullness of the Christian life. Baptism welcomes us into the community that shares meals with each other and God. Although this might appear to be nothing extraordinary to an outside observer, the Church proclaims…
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Lesson 5: Baptism as Ritual
Read MORE: Lesson 5: Baptism as RitualBack in seminary, quite some time ago, I read an account of an early baptism. My recollection is that it might have been the earliest detailed rite that has come down to us. The candidates had been extensively prepared. Although…
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Lesson 4: Baptism as Community
Read MORE: Lesson 4: Baptism as CommunityBaptism marks the entrance into a new community that follows Jesus. One of its primary features is welcoming believers to the Lord’s table. The modern church makes a huge mistake when it fails to make this the boundary for who…
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…