How to not become Catholic
I little while ago I finished reading a great article series on Catholic Exchanged entitled “How not to become Catholic” by James Tonkowich. I highly recommend it:
Category: Catholicism
The King and I
The following is the parable of the King and the Maiden by Soren Kierkegaard:
Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents. And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden who lived in a poor village in his kingdom. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist – no one dared resist him. But would she love him?
She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know for sure? If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal.
The king, convinced he could not elevate the maiden without crushing her freedom, resolved to descend to her. Clothed as a beggar, he approached her cottage with a worn cloak fluttering loose about him. This was not just a disguise – the king took on a totally new identity – He had renounced his throne to declare his love and to win hers.
Learning from the Artist’s art
“[Y]ou can learn a great deal about an artist from the works he creates. Surely you see that God is more creative than we can possibly imagine, and romatic to the core. Lovers and honeymooners choose places like Hawaii, the Bahamas, or Tuscany as a backdrop for their love. But whose idea was Hawaii, the Bahamas or Tuscany?” – John Eldridge, Epic, Page 46
Superhero For Choice!
Wow…just…wow…
Honestly, who’s this meant to convince?
Liturgy and the Internet Monk
I was recently speaking with a friend from a non-liturgical congregation about the beauty of liturgy. I was going to write a post explaining why we do liturgy, but then I realized that I wouldn’t be able to do any better than Michael Spender’s (aka “The Internet Monk”) piece Dr. StrangeLiturgy:
A little story
At University I became a huge fan of the Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli after first hearing his album Songo. This blind musician has thrilled audiences around the world for years now. In the video below Andrea tells us a little story…
(Thanks to Erika for this one)
Wounds in Heaven?
Today I’d like to talk about one of the songs from a recent album of my favourite contemporary Christian band, Casting Crowns. The song is entitled “Wedding Day” and describes the wedding feast of Heaven when Christ’s Bride, the Church, is finally presented to the Him:
Towards the end of the song there’s a lyric which speaks of the scarred hands of Christ wiping away every tear:
When the hand that bears the only scars and heaven touch her face
And the last tears she’ll ever cried are finally wiped away
And the clouds roll back as He takes her hand and walks her through the gates
Forever we will reign