In a book entitled Peculiar Treasures, the renowned novelist and spiritual writer Frederick Buechner reflects on the character of Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus with a kiss and then died by suicide. Buechner, who had lost his own father to suicide, speculates on the reasons why Judas dies by suicide. Referring to an ancient…
Imagine being born blind and living into adulthood without ever having seen light and colour. Then, through some miraculous operation, doctors are able to give you sight. What would you feel immediately upon opening your eyes? Wonder? Bewilderment? Ecstasy? Pain? Some combination of all of these? We now know the answer to that question. This…
Who still reads poetry? In a digital age and in a time when the empirical has for the most part replaced the spiritual, what’s the value of poetry? What does it bring to the table? One of the intellectual giants of our generation, Charles Taylor, in a recent book Cosmic Connections, Poetry in the Age…
This may seem a frivolous or impious question, it’s anything but that. It’s an important question and a reverent one as well. Why? Because healthy humour and playful banter help bring joy, lightness of heart, and healthy perspective into our lives. Can we imagine all that wonderful lightness of heart having no connection to God?…
What do you do when a wound or a loss leaves you hopelessly disconsolate and there’s nothing you can do to amend the situation? As well, what do you do or say when you are trying to console someone who is paralysed by loss? For example, what do you say to someone who is keeping…
The Acts of the Apostles says that it was at Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians”. I once heard a challenging homily where the priest asked: “If you were put on trial and accused of being a Christian, would they find enough evidence to convict you?” An interesting question, without a…
God is the object of all desire, no matter how earthy and unholy our desire might seem. Everything we desire is inside of God. Both Jesus and the Psalms tell us this. God is the object of all desire and only in God will our deepest longings be satisfied. We express this in our prayers,…
It is better for you that I go away” These are some of Jesus’ parting words on the night before he died. How can it be better for us when someone we love deeply goes away? That would make sense only if the relationship is dysfunctional or abusive. But how can that be true in…
The main character in TS Eliot’s play Murder in the Cathedral is Thomas a Beckett, a bishop, who from every outward appearance is saint. He is scrupulously honest, generous to a fault, and a defender of the faith who dies as a martyr. Yet, at a certain point in his life, prior to his martyrdom,…
There is a poignant scene in the series The Chosen which, irrespective of our reaction to it, demands reflection. This is the scene: Just before curing Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever, Jesus has a private conversation with Peter’s wife. He begins by telling her that he knows how close they are to each other as…