Follow this link to read an interesting article about folks at church being bored by the Word, “It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out. Don’t spend a lot of time in the Bible, we tell our preachers, but be sure to get to personal illustrations, examples from daily life, and most importantly, an application that we can use. It’s easy to see how this culture has profoundly reshaped the dynamics of preaching and teaching. All the demands have been placed on the shoulders of the preacher, so anxious are we to meet needs and stay relevant. No longer are listeners asked to listen humbly to the proclamation of God’s Word, in all its mystery and glory. To be sure, we want the preacher to begin with the Word—we’re Christians after all—but only as a starting point, and only as long as he moves on to things that really interest us,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/novemberweb-only/144-41.0.html?start=1 .
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from the Rule of St. Benedict.
The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience, which comes naturally to those who cherish Christ above all. Because of the holy service they have professed, or because of dread of hell and for the glory of everlasting life, they carry out the superior’s order as promptly as if the command came from God Himself. The Lord says of people like this: No sooner did they hear than they obeyed; again, He tells teachers: Whoever listens to you, listens to me. Such people as these immediately put aside their own concerns, abandon their own will, and lay down whatever they have in hand, leaving it unfinished. With the ready step of obedience, they follow the voice of authority in their actions. Almost at the same moment, then, as the master gives the instruction the disciple quickly puts it into practice in the fear of God; and both actions are swiftly completed as one. Continue Reading »
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Theophilus Cafe is a place where we can have a running dialogue based on a question or issue that I post. Think of the Cafe as a virtual coffee house where you can gather with your friends and discuss the posted topic or just reflect on it. Please post your thoughts or response on this topic in the comments. So the question today is: Does the world suffer more from those that are spiritually and morally defective than from those who are genetically defective?
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Sometime during October 31, 1517, the day before the Feast of All Saints, the 33-year-old Martin Luther posted theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The door functioned as a bulletin board for various announcements related to academic and church affairs. The theses were written in Latin and printed on a folio sheet by the printer John Gruenenberg, one of the many entrepreneurs in the new print medium first used in Germany about 1450. Luther was calling for a “disputation on the power and efficacy of indulgences out of love and zeal for truth and the desire to bring it to light,” follow this link to read more about Luther’s role in igniting the flame of reform, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/1990/issue28/2835.html?start=1 .
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from a sermon by St. Bernard, 1090 – 1153, a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian monastic order.
Why do we praise and glorify the saints and keep a festival of them? Of what use to them are earthly honors when the heavenly Father honors them? What is the point of our praise? The saints do not need our honors and devotion. Evidently, then, our commemoration of them aids us, not them. For my part, however, I confess that I am inflamed with desire when I remember them.
The first desire aroused or increased by the recollection of the saints is to enjoy their society and to merit becoming their fellow citizens and companions; to mingle with the patriarchs, apostles, prophets, martyrs, confessors, and virgins – in a word, the whole communion of saints. The Church of these earlier men and women is waiting for us, yet we are oblivious to it. The saints want our company, and we disdain them! Continue Reading »
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Coffee Talk Redux is a reflection on things God is teaching me. In some cases the ideas for these topics may arise from some conversation I may have had with someone, or a thought that crossed my mind, something I have written, or perhaps something I read somewhere, or maybe a combination of all of these. In any case think of this as a discussion on what God is teaching us to help us grow in our understanding of His will for us.
For our life to be fruitful and joyful we must live a life in the Spirit of the resurrected Christ, a life in His truth. Gaudium de Veritate, our Joy is from the Truth that is found in Christ. To bear this fruit of joy we need water and that water is the living water of the truth of Jesus Christ. Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman likens His truth to His living water when He tells her in John 4:13-14, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus is telling the woman and us as well today wherein the truth lies. The truth is not in the ways of the world as in the water from the well, but the real or absolute truth is in the living water found in Christ. The Samaritan woman recognizes that her thirst will only be quenched by the truth found in Christ. She says in verse 15, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.” Continue Reading »
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I found this piece on what I would call Centering Prayer on page 168 in an article by Deborah Hanus in the Fall 2008 journal Spiritual Life: A Journal of Contemporary Spirituality.
Spend a few moments becoming quiet in body and mind. Be attentive to your breathing and allow your breath to calm you. In the quiet of your heart ask God for what you want and need at this time in your life. In your mind’s eye see yourself as you are today. Hear a voice calling you by name. You recognize the voice as that of Christ, and you turn to see Him beckoning to you. As you draw near to Him, He takes you into a gentle embrace. Allow yourself to be still in His embrace. Perhaps Christ speaks to you, perhaps you remain in stillness with Him. Stay there, loved by Christ, for as long as you wish. When you are ready, close the meditation with a slow praying of the Our Father.
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Follow this link to read an essay from the online Christianity Today on many of England’s atheists returning to faith, In recent years Great Britain’s chief export to the U.S. has been a payload of books by atheist authors such as evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and literary critic Christopher Hitchens. They contend that faith is irrational in the face of modern science. Other prominent British atheists seem to be having second thoughts. Is there some revival sweeping England? No; they are examining the rationality of Christianity, the very beliefs Dawkins and others are so profitably engaging, but are coming to opposite conclusions, http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/october/33.58.html?start=1 .
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Theophilus Cafe is a place where we can have a running dialogue based on a question or issue that I post. Think of the Cafe as a virtual coffee house where you can gather with your friends and discuss the posted topic or just reflect on it. Please post your thoughts or response on this topic in the comments. So the question today is: What are some of your favorite blogs?
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a meditation by Saint Therese of Lisieux, better known as the Little Flower of Jesus, she was born on January 2, 1873 and died at age 24. The account of the eleven years of her religious life which was marked by her continual growth in holiness may be found in her autobiography, Story of a Soul.
When He had gone up the hill, Jesus called those He wanted; and they came to Him. Jesus does not call those who are worthy to be called, but those He wants, or as Saint Paul says, God takes pity on whomever He wishes, and has mercy on whomever He pleases. So what counts is not what we will or try to do, but the mercy of God. Continue Reading »
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