TEA: Life in Christ, not just improvement, but transformation

In this episode of “Theology With An English Accent” (TEA) is the first of a few talks I’m giving this Lent at St. Ignatius in Los Angeles. This is a longer version of the talk I gave the previous week in Dodge City which was called “What is the point of Christianity?”. The first 20 minutes is basically identical, after which I get into new material.

Life in Christ: Not mere improvement, but transformation (Download)

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PWJ: S1E40 – MC B4C10 – “Nice people or new men?”

Today we address a question which is often asked by skeptics: why are all Christians not obviously nicer than non-Christians? In response, Jack asks “Did Christ come to make nice people or new men?”

Please send any objections, comments or questions, either via email through my website or tweet us @pintswithjack or message us via Instagram!

Episode 40: Nice people or new men? (Download)

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Wise Words On Wedesday: Catholics are Romantic

romantic

We believe that two people can fall in love and stay in love.

We believe that the biggest jerk can become the holiest person in our lives.

We believe that the lowly are the ones who will be raised, the downtrodden, the blessed, and the ones who are taken advantage of, justified.

We believe that joy changes lives.

That a piece of bread and a cup of wine transforms into the Body and Blood of Christ and consuming that Body and Blood will transform us.

We believe that we can step into a confessional a repentant sinner and walk out a forgiven son or daughter.

We are romantic

– Fr Ryan Mann

Carrots, eggs and coffee

I’ve seen this floating around the Internet in various forms and loved it so much that I’ve reproduced it here in its entirety, rather than simply linking to one of the many sources…

A young woman went to her grandmother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her – her husband had cheated on her and she was devastated. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her grandmother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her granddaughter, she asked, ‘Tell me what you see.’

‘Carrots, eggs, and coffee,’ she replied.

Her grandmother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The grandmother then asked the granddaughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the grandmother asked the granddaughter to sip the coffee. The granddaughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The granddaughter then asked, ‘What does it mean, grandmother?’

Her grandmother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her granddaughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity? Do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain… When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

coffee