Ecumenism, the desire for unity among Christians of different denominations, is something that waxes and wanes in the Christian community. Unity between Christians at times seems near at hand, tantalizingly just out of reach, and at other times it seems…
Ecumenism
The Prodigal Brothers
I think that most of us are familiar with the Prodigal Son parable. It is one of the longest and most memorable of all of Jesus’ stories. It is filled with vivid detail and heartfelt emotion. And yet, as many…
Around the Year with Von Trapp Family
Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family by Maria Augusta Von Trapp is surprisingly upbeat and joyful, especially when we recall that in The Sound of Music ends with the Von Trapp troupe fleeing their beloved Austria. The 1965…
I Have Held the Grail
I love the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In that story, our hero has to save his father and find something I had not heard of until I saw the movie as a child: the Holy Grail. The…
Scared Tradition and Traditions
Do you hear the song, Tradition, from Fiddler on the Roof, when you think about tradition? I do! Tevya asks the question, “How do we keep our balance?” and then says, “I can tell you in one word, tradition!” I…
A Love Story
Let me tell you a story, a special story. It is my favourite story. An old story, it is still fresh and ever new. It is a love story. God made the world and everything in it, including you and…
Lent: Spiritual Boot Camp
This Wednesday we are going to being the holy season of Lent. I often equate Lent to spiritual boot camp. I love the Rocky movies. They have provided me with years of continual uplift and entertainment. These movies are almost…
Lessons from a Troubadour
John Michael Talbot’s Lessons from a Troubadour: A Lifetime of Parables, Prose, and Stories brings to mind the first time I heard his music in the early 1980s. He’s known internationally as a composer and musician, but I find him…
Let…Love Continue
Love is patient, love is kind. It bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:7) We thank you Lord for this bountiful harvest and the opportunity to share it. May God Continue to bless all of…
Courage and Conviction
“I have loved justice and hated iniquity. Therefore, I die in exile.” These were some of the last recorded words of Pope St. Gregory VII. He was one of the great reformer popes you stood up to the corruption that…