"We are travellers…not yet in our native land" – St. Augustine
For a long time I’ve been a big fan of Dr. Bergsma’s work, owning many of his lectures on MP3, as well as leading a study of his book “Bible Basics for Catholics” in which he renders salvation history through a series of adorable stick figures.
A few weeks ago Dr. Bergsma released a new book, “New Testament Basics for Catholics”. Here’s a presentation lecture on the content of the book:
I’m a Pope Benedict XVI fan. I wasn’t always. In fact, I was dead set against Cardinal Ratzinger becoming Pope. However, when I started to read the writings of the man I discovered a loving, shy academic who never wanted to be Pope.
There’s a lot I love about Pope Francis too, not least of which is his connection to the Eastern Church. However, I have to admit I get really irritated when I hear Pope Benedict negatively contrasted to his successor. Pope Francis is an extrovert, Benedict is not, so it’s inevitable that their styles will be different. However, where it counts…
This is the fastest way to get through a checkbox…and is kinda genius!
“Those who take no other guidance in the spiritual life but their particular dispositions and feelings, who fancy that they have nothing more important to do than to examine themselves as to whether they feel devout or not, such can have no stability nor any certain rule; because our dispositions change continually, sometimes owing to our own sloth, sometimes by the ordinance of God, Who varies His gifts towards us according to our needs”
– Brother Lawrence, Practice of the Presence of God
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?
So earlier this year I decided to give Country music a bit of a break and tuned my car’s radio to the local Christian music station. Initially I wasn’t very impressed, but over the months I’ve found quite a few diamonds among the rough. One of them was by a band I hadn’t heard from in years, the wonderfully named “Big Daddy Weave”. Today’s song is “My Story”…
If I told you my story…you would hear hope that wouldn’t let go
If I told you my story…you would hear love that never gave up
If I told you my story…you would hear life but it wasn’t mine
If I should speak then let it be…
…of the grace that is greater than all my sin
…of when justice was served and where mercy wins
…of the kindness of Jesus that draws me in
…to tell you my story is to tell of Him
If I told you my story…you would hear victory over the enemy
If told you my story…you would hear freedom that was won for me
If I told you my story…you would hear life overcome the grave
If I should speak then let it be…
This is my story this is my song praising my Savior all the day long