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Great Christian Thinkers - 68 St. Bridget of Sweden
Great Christian Thinkers - 68 St. Bridget of Sweden
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Bridget of Sweden On the eve of the Great Jubilee in anticipation of the Year 2000, the Venerable John Paul II proclaimed St. Bridget of Sweden co-patroness of the whole of Europe. I now present her, her message, and the reasons why - still today - this holy woman has much to…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 3 A Single Vision
The Monastery Of The Heart - 3 A Single Vision
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
A Single Vision “Perform the Opus Dei where you are… Those on a journey are not to omit the prescribed hours but to observe them as best they can.” The Benedictine Rule is based on the notion that community life is the preeminent form of the spiritual journey, because it provides…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 7 Retreat and Reflection
The Monastery Of The Heart - 7 Retreat and Reflection
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Retreat and Reflection “The life of a monastic ought to be a continuous Lent.” There is a time in every life when the very act of looking back and taking stock becomes essential to going forward… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 21 Humility
The Monastery Of The Heart - 21 Humility
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Humility “After ascending all these steps of humility, we will quickly arrive at the ‘perfect love’ of God which ‘casts out fear.’” In Benedictine spirituality, there is a twelve-runged ladder that leads to God… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by Joan Chittister
The Monastery Of The Heart - 24 Good Zeal
The Monastery Of The Heart - 24 Good Zeal
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Good Zeal “Just as there is a wicked zeal of bitterness which separates from God, so there is a good zeal which leads to God.” The Rule of Benedict was written in the sixth century, in an ascetical climate more given to personal self-denial than to the discipline of community bui…
Great Christian Thinkers - 31 St. Gregory The Great
Great Christian Thinkers - 31 St. Gregory The Great
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Gregory The Great A Life during Crisis One of the greatest Fathers in the history of the Church, one of four Doctors of the West, Pope St. Gregory was bishop of Rome from 590 to 604. He earned the traditional title of Magnus, the Great… Taken from Great Christian Thinkers by …
Great Christian Thinkers - 65 St. Thomas Aquinas
Great Christian Thinkers - 65 St. Thomas Aquinas
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Thomas Aquinas His Life and Context We continue our meditation on some of the great thinkers of the Middle Ages. We recently looked at the great figure of St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan, and here I discuss the one whom the Church calls the Doctor Communis, namely, St. Thomas A…
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3 The Gospel according to Mark
Parallel Lives of Jesus - 3 The Gospel according to Mark
by SPCK - Edward Adams
The Gospel according to Mark Of the four New Testament Gospels, Mark is the one that most obviously manifests the shared story we have identified. It is also the Gospel that most closely corresponds to the outline of the gospel message given in Acts 10:36–43:1 Mark’s Gospel begin…
CHRISTIANITY AND THE RENEWAL OF NATURE - 7 Exploring a public theology for here on earth
CHRISTIANITY AND THE RENEWAL OF NATURE - 7 Exploring a public theology for here on earth
by SPCK - Sebastian C.H. Kim and Jonathan Draper
Exploring a public theology for here on earth The very nature of a public theology is to engage with occasional issues which grab the public concern and require immediate and/ or long-term attention. The common practice is to argue that the purpose of a public theology is to nurt…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 18 A Listening Heart
The Monastery Of The Heart - 18 A Listening Heart
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
A Listening Heart “Listen carefully to my instructions… and attend to them with the ear of your heart.” There is a magnet in a seeker’s heart whose true north is God. It bends toward the Voice of God with the ear of the heart and, like sunflowers in the sun, turns all of life tow…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 11 Sufficiency and Sharing
The Monastery Of The Heart - 11 Sufficiency and Sharing
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Sufficiency and Sharing “Do everything with moderation.” The purpose of the monastic life is never to amass wealth for the sake of the self. Instead, Benedict’s definition of the relationship between persons and things is sufficiency, not frugality… Taken from The Monastery Of Th…
Great Christian Thinkers - 14 St, Gregory of Nyssa
Great Christian Thinkers - 14 St, Gregory of Nyssa
by SPCK - Pope Benedict XVI
St. Gregory of Nyssa Theologian of Life in the Spirit In the last chapters, I spoke of two great fourth-century Doctors of the Church, Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, a bishop in Cappadocia, in present-day Turkey. Today, we are adding a third, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Basil’s brothe…
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 13 THE SACRED STORIES OF OUR LIVES
Lectio Divina the Sacred Art - 13 THE SACRED STORIES OF OUR LIVES
by Christine Valters Painter
THE SACRED STORIES OF OUR LIVES Like the Hebrew alphabet, the alphabet of grace has no vowels, and in that sense [God’s] words to us are always veiled, subtle, cryptic, so that it is left to us to delve their meaning, to fill in the vowels, for ourselves by means of all the faith…
The Monastery Of The Heart - 15 Loving Care
The Monastery Of The Heart - 15 Loving Care
by SPCK - Joan Chittister
Loving Care “Let those who are not strong have help….” Patience and care are two pillars of Benedictine community. They hold up before our eyes, in blinding light, in immovable form, what is to be the nature of our presence in the world… Taken from The Monastery Of The Heart by J…
Great Christian Thinkers - 8 St. Cyprian