Category Archives: Ministry

Becoming One Under God – Theonomy rather than Autonomy or Heteronomy

As one meditates through Lent one reflects on realities one knew about, but which come alive anew. One such was Bp Robert Barron’s citing Paul Tillich’s analysis that peoples and nations alternate between heteronomy (when one’s life is determined by … Continue reading

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Sheep and Goats

If you go into the Stone Chapel of Lanier Theological Library on the north edge of Houston, you will see in the dome of the apse a figure of Jesus in a composite view of final judgment, left hand gesturing … Continue reading

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Restoring Community

I was sitting in a cell group of the Brothers and Sisters of Charity, Domestic, as Sr. Carolyn taught, discussing the origins of the BSCD.She noted that John Michael Talbot had had his earliest vision of Christian community in 1971 (see … Continue reading

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The Acquisition of the Holy Spirit

I have been reading theology and especially spirituality for decades – it is part of my life. As one part of this I have been reading (or having read to me) Bible since I was one year old. Some have … Continue reading

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Responding to Evil – Biblical and Eastern Christian Perspectives

There is no minimizing or ignoring the fact that reports of evil actions are swirling about the Catholic Church in the USA, many of them are true, at least in essence. It is also true that the perpetrators are apparently … Continue reading

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The Elder Thaddeus Meets Edwin Friedman: What do they have to say to the latest clergy sexual abuse revelations?

We live in anxious times with all types of black and white thinking, herding, and other anxious behavior described by Rabbi Edwin Friedman in Failure of Nervein 1996 (he was writing on it when he died ini 1996, for the … Continue reading

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The Gift of Miracles and Series Summary

Again, notice that this series is rooted in biblical studies, although it is illustrated through the lives of the saints and informed by pastoral experience. Furthermore, this series as a whole was intended for cell group teaching, not as a … Continue reading

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Gifts of Healing

The previous blog post had to do with the gift of faith as the gift of trust, which is based on relationship with the one whom one trusts. We examined this from a number of perspectives and noted that it … Continue reading

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The Gift of Faith

[Note that this is a quick draft of my teaching for Tuesday June 11. I would like to rework it, but in a sense that will happen as I apply this to healing and miracles in the coming weeks.] The … Continue reading

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Prophecy and Teaching, genuine and false

Prophecy abounded in the ancient world around Israel, as well as in the first century world of the early Christians. It ranged from the more mantic and ecstatic prophets, such as the prophets of Ba’al (or, more properly, the Ba’alim, … Continue reading

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