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 7: Pope Leo and Safeguarding Humanity
Read MORE: Lesson 7: Pope Leo and Safeguarding HumanityPope Leo subtitled his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Safeguarding Humanity in a Time of Artificial Intelligence. His examination of how we might do this centers on whether we will use this new technology to build a civilization of love or a culture of…
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Lesson 6: Pope Francis on Social Love, Politics, and the Common Good
Read MORE: Lesson 6: Pope Francis on Social Love, Politics, and the Common GoodMost people see Pope Francis as humble, someone who chose not to live an imperial lifestyle. Those who follow more closely know he was less authoritarian than many of his predecessors about church doctrine. He recognized that the Gospel can…
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Lesson 4: Pope John Paul II and the Civilization of Love
Read MORE: Lesson 4: Pope John Paul II and the Civilization of LoveI decided to trace the development of the “civilization of love” concept after reading Pope Leo’s encyclical. I was intrigued by its potential and surprised I was not aware of its long history. As expected, the development is not always…
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Lesson 1: Civilization of Love
Read MORE: Lesson 1: Civilization of LoveThe term “civilization of love” first caught my attention when I read the conclusion of Pope Leo’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. Although I knew I had seen it previously, this was the first time I realized it was more than a passing…
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Lesson 7: What We Learned About Forgiveness
Read MORE: Lesson 7: What We Learned About ForgivenessI decided to write this series after being disturbed by powerful people claiming forgiveness is for losers. People around me also seemed to have difficulty saying, “I’m sorry!” or “Please forgive me!” And of course, my Roman Catholic friends were…
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Lesson 6: Forgive and Forget
Read MORE: Lesson 6: Forgive and ForgetYou often hear people say they’re willing to forgive someone who offended them, but they’re not going to forget what they did. Their intention is to make clear they’re not naïve. Forgiveness will not open the way for the offender…
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Lesson 5: Cheap Grace vs. Costly Forgiveness (Bonhoeffer)
Read MORE: Lesson 5: Cheap Grace vs. Costly Forgiveness (Bonhoeffer)Dietrich Bonhoeffer is usually cited for drawing our attention to cheap grace. He defined it as “preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance… grace without discipleship.” He was criticizing the Lutheran church for not opposing the Nazi regime. Most of its pastors…
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Lesson 4: Forgiving Oneself
Read MORE: Lesson 4: Forgiving OneselfHaving established that forgiveness is an intrinsic part of Christian love, I’d like to look at some of the issues. The first is the ability to forgive yourself. Even though you might be convinced God has absolved you, it’s impossible…
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Lesson 7: Compassion for the Religiously Abused
Read MORE: Lesson 7: Compassion for the Religiously AbusedEarly on I realized some people thought I could do no wrong because I was ordained. Of course, others disrespected me for the same reason. Still, I realized I could manipulate this first group if I wanted to. Three of…
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Lesson 3: Transformation
Read MORE: Lesson 3: TransformationArguments about Christian characteristics in the New Testament follow a common pattern. Although they discuss particular specifics, they regard a transformed life as the essential factor. Paul is very explicit about this in Romans 12: “Do not be conformed to…
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…