Looking for Something to Strectch Your Christian Thinking?
I've become a huge fan of the late Orthodox Theologian Alexander Schmemann. His works continue to amaze me and enliven my faith. I found a web site devoted to him for all those out there who would like to know more about him:
Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann Web Site
Let me also recommend three books written by him. Remember he is was an Orthodox priest, so there will some things that are different for Catholics--but this is solid stuff:
The Eucharist Sacrament of the Kingdom:...
A great book on the Mass and everything pertaining to it.
If you only buy one, buy this one! It'll give you a whole new outlook on what it means to be a follower of Christ!
Celebration of Faith: I Believe. . ....
A shorter work that goes through the Creed among other beliefs.
Here is a sample of his writing from the web site above:
Just as the Church of the Old Covenant, the old Israel, existed as a passage to the New Covenant, was instituted in order to prepare the ways of the Lord, the Church as institution exists in order to reveal — in "this world" — the "world to come," the Kingdom of God, fulfilled and manifested in Christ. She is the passage of the "old" into the "new" — yet what is being redeemed, renewed and transfigured through her is not the "Church," but the old life itself, the old Adam and the whole of creation. And she is this "passage" precisely because as institution she is "bone of the bones and flesh of the flesh" of this world, because she stands for the whole creation, truly represents it, assumes all of its life and offers it — in Christ — to God. She is indeed instituted for the world and not as a separate "religious" institution existing for the specifically religious needs of men. She represents — "makes present" — the whole of mankind, because mankind and creation were called from the very beginning to be the Temple of the Holy Spirit and the receptacle of Divine life. The Church is thus the restoration by God and the acceptance by man of the original and eternal destiny of creation itself. She is the presence of the Divine Act, which restores and the obedience of men who accept this act. Yet it is only when she performs and fulfills this "passage," when, in other terms, she transcends herself as "institution" and "society" and becomes indeed the new life of the new creation, that she is the Body of Christ. As institution the Church is in this world the sacrament of the Body of Christ, of the Kingdom of God and the world to come.
We recover thus the eschatological dimension of the Church. The body of Christ is not and can never be of this world. "This world" condemned Christ, the bearer of new life, to death and by doing this it has condemned itself to death. The new life, which shone forth from the grave, is the life of the "new eon," of the age, which in terms of this world is still "to come." The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, by inaugurating a new eon, announced the end of this world, for as no one can partake of the "new life" without dying in the baptismal death, no one can have Christ as his life unless he has died and is constantly dying to this world: "for ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). But then nothing which is of this world — no institution, no society, no church — can be identified with the new eon, the new being. The most perfect Christian community — be it completely separated from the evils of the world — as a community is still of this world, living its life, depending on it. It is only by passing into the new eon, by an anticipation — in faith, hope and love — ofthe world to come, that a community can partake of the Body of Christ, and indeed manifest itself as the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ can never be "part" of this world, for Christ has ascended into heaven and his Kingdom is Heaven...
Monday, July 28, 2003
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Pay Attention Today at Mass to the First Reading and the Gospel
First the First Reading from
Bible Gateway : 2KGS 4:42-44;:
"A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. 'Give it to the people to eat,' Elisha said.
'How can I set this before a hundred men?' his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, 'Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.' ' Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD . "
Then the Gospel from John 6:1-15:
Jesus said to Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little”. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down”. Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost”. So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!”
Notice the response of the crowd to Jesus' miracle? "This indeed is the prophet who is come into the world!" They immediately see that Jesus is like Elisha the Prophet (what we heard in the first reading) but at the end of this section of John's Gospel, Jesus will show that he is greater than Elisha for he will give Himself as Bread (of course many will and do find this too much to believe and leave him).
Monitor the sermon you hear today and see if the preacher brings out the obvious connection.
First the First Reading from
Bible Gateway : 2KGS 4:42-44;:
"A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. 'Give it to the people to eat,' Elisha said.
'How can I set this before a hundred men?' his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, 'Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: 'They will eat and have some left over.' ' Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD . "
Then the Gospel from John 6:1-15:
Jesus said to Philip, “How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” This he said to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little”. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are they among so many?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down”. Now there was much grass in the place; so the men sat down, in number about five thousand. Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, that nothing may be lost”. So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign which he had done, they said, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world!”
Notice the response of the crowd to Jesus' miracle? "This indeed is the prophet who is come into the world!" They immediately see that Jesus is like Elisha the Prophet (what we heard in the first reading) but at the end of this section of John's Gospel, Jesus will show that he is greater than Elisha for he will give Himself as Bread (of course many will and do find this too much to believe and leave him).
Monitor the sermon you hear today and see if the preacher brings out the obvious connection.
Mystery of How the Pyramids were Built, Solved?
From the Canadians, of course, News - Ottawa - canada.com network:
"'Modern man's concept of how ancient man moved rock is balderdash,' he said, standing outside his Onondaga Crescent house in Nepean, surrounded by logs, rocks and rope. 'I've reduced moving rocks to the pyramid to a mom-and-pop operation.'
In order to move large rocks intelligently, he said, you have to use the weight of the rock. Friction must be eliminated and momentum, once it starts, has to be maintained.
Mr. Raina believes that the rectangular rocks were moved from the quarry to the site of the pyramid by fastening wooden planks to the four sides of the slabs (almost like the bottom of a rocking chair) and then pulling it along with a rope so it rolls.
He uses the wooden casing filled with concrete on his driveway to demonstrate."
"I've had a seven-year-old girl pull 535 pounds herself," he said.
From the Canadians, of course, News - Ottawa - canada.com network:
"'Modern man's concept of how ancient man moved rock is balderdash,' he said, standing outside his Onondaga Crescent house in Nepean, surrounded by logs, rocks and rope. 'I've reduced moving rocks to the pyramid to a mom-and-pop operation.'
In order to move large rocks intelligently, he said, you have to use the weight of the rock. Friction must be eliminated and momentum, once it starts, has to be maintained.
Mr. Raina believes that the rectangular rocks were moved from the quarry to the site of the pyramid by fastening wooden planks to the four sides of the slabs (almost like the bottom of a rocking chair) and then pulling it along with a rope so it rolls.
He uses the wooden casing filled with concrete on his driveway to demonstrate."
"I've had a seven-year-old girl pull 535 pounds herself," he said.
New Dominican Habit?
Strange how they felt the need to be attired in something other than "lay" clothes for their trial. Even stranger is that they chose to dress like Iranian Moslem women, now if those Iranian women would follow the nuns lead and try to destroy their potential nuclear arsenal, we'd all have something to cheer about. Who knows, perhaps thats what the good sisters are hoping to inspire.
From Yahoo! News - Top Stories Photos - AP
Strange how they felt the need to be attired in something other than "lay" clothes for their trial. Even stranger is that they chose to dress like Iranian Moslem women, now if those Iranian women would follow the nuns lead and try to destroy their potential nuclear arsenal, we'd all have something to cheer about. Who knows, perhaps thats what the good sisters are hoping to inspire.
From Yahoo! News - Top Stories Photos - AP
Saturday, July 26, 2003
Nuns Receive Prison Sentence
I'm all for non-violent protest and I'm all for peace and against war. But I agree with this sentence, mainly because these good sisters were not non-violent in their protest and because the time they serve will give them a chance to live in community for awhile.
From MSNBC-Nuns sentenced for antiwar protest:
"As for vandalizing the silo, Hudson said: “When someone holds a gun to your head or someone else’s head, do you not have a right and a duty to enter that arena and stop that crime?”
Many of those outside court waved antiwar banners, including one that read: “No Blood for Oil.”
The Roman Catholic nuns are longtime antiwar activists. Platte and Gilbert lived in a Baltimore activist community founded by the late peace activist Philip Berrigan. Hudson lived in a similar community in Poulsbo, Wash.
After their arrest, the women chose to stay in jail, refusing the government’s offer to release them on their own recognizance."
I'm all for non-violent protest and I'm all for peace and against war. But I agree with this sentence, mainly because these good sisters were not non-violent in their protest and because the time they serve will give them a chance to live in community for awhile.
From MSNBC-Nuns sentenced for antiwar protest:
"As for vandalizing the silo, Hudson said: “When someone holds a gun to your head or someone else’s head, do you not have a right and a duty to enter that arena and stop that crime?”
Many of those outside court waved antiwar banners, including one that read: “No Blood for Oil.”
The Roman Catholic nuns are longtime antiwar activists. Platte and Gilbert lived in a Baltimore activist community founded by the late peace activist Philip Berrigan. Hudson lived in a similar community in Poulsbo, Wash.
After their arrest, the women chose to stay in jail, refusing the government’s offer to release them on their own recognizance."
Wow! Quoted in a Homily
Thanks to Father Schaefer!
From A Collection of Father Schaefer's homilies:
" I was reading the current issue of Our Sunday Visitor. Michael Dubruiel wrote a column on the first reading in today's Mass. God seems to be speaking to us in this story of Jonah.
God told the prophet Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh and tell them that God is greatly offended with their wickedness and immoral life. God told Jonah that in 40 days God will destroy their city if they don't repent.
Jonah didn't really want to warn the people "
Thanks to Father Schaefer!
From A Collection of Father Schaefer's homilies:
" I was reading the current issue of Our Sunday Visitor. Michael Dubruiel wrote a column on the first reading in today's Mass. God seems to be speaking to us in this story of Jonah.
God told the prophet Jonah to go to the great city of Nineveh and tell them that God is greatly offended with their wickedness and immoral life. God told Jonah that in 40 days God will destroy their city if they don't repent.
Jonah didn't really want to warn the people "
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