In the concluding post for the “Introduction to Islam” series I quoted the Second Vatican Council document “Nostra Aetate” since it provides Church teaching regarding non-Christian religions in general, and Islam in particular.
In the JP2 Group we will be working through this Council document, once we have concluded our current series.
In preparation for this study I have put together a formatted PDF of this document. I also recorded the text onto MP3, which I thought I would also post here:
I haven’t done one of these in a while so I thought I would share another of my favourite people…
Today’s favourite person is Kahlil Gibran, a Lebanese poet, writer and artist who died in 1931. I’ve generally found that most of my friends haven’t heard of him, which is a bit odd considering that the New Yorker says that he’s the third best-selling poet of all time.
I first encountered Gibran shortly before I was to move away from England. Cheltenham had been my home for the previous six years, but I was soon to start working for Cynergy in the United States. One lunch break, shortly before leaving England, I wandered into a second-hand bookstore. I was rifling through a pile of books when I came across Kahlil’s most well-known book, “The Prophet”. I flicked it open and then began to read. I found it was poetry, something I hadn’t read since school. Here is who the book begins:
Almustafa, the chosen and the beloved…. had waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth…
He climbed the hill without the city walls and looked seaward; and he beheld the ship coming with the mist. Then the gates of his heart were flung open, and his joy flew far over the sea. And he closed his eyes and prayed in the silences of his soul.
But he descended the hill, a sadness came upon him, and he thought in his heart: How shall I go in peace and without sorrow? Nay, not without a wound in the spirit shall I leave this city… It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands. Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst.
Yet I cannot tarry longer. The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark.
I was moved. Gibran’s words articulated exactly what I had been feeling for the previous few weeks as my time in England drew to a close.
In the book, the inhabitants of Orphalese come to the Prophet and ask him to speak to them on various subjects and many of them put me in mind of something from the Psalms or the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Some of these discourses are wonderful (well, except the one on marriage). Here’s my favourite:
Then a woman said, “Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.”
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight…
Gorgeous.
If you would like to read more of Gibran’s poetry, his works are available online, but next time you’re in a second-hand bookstore I’d encourage you to look in the poetry section as you’ll probably be able to pick up one of his beautiful works.
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: September 25th, 2011
The readings this week focus on God’s mercy and exhort us to humility and obedience in following God’s way. There isn’t much technical stuff to deal with in these passages. Instead, these readings are an opportunity for the group to share with one another their struggles in this area and to encourage one another.
“There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways”
– The Didache, c. 65 AD
Reading I: Ezekiel 18:25-28
This section of Ezekiel comes from a longer section entitled “The soul who sins will die” where Ezekiel affirms personal responsibility for one’s own soul and the Prophet outlines all the things that Israel must not do . This long section concludes with the passage below. God affirms that He is indeed just and that, in sinning, it is Israel that is disrupting the right order of things. However, God also affirms that He takes no pleasure in the destruction of sinners. He continually holds out His offer to those who will repent, that he will forgive their sin and spare their life.
Thus says the LORD:
You say, “The LORD’s way is not fair!”Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,he does what is right and just,he shall preserve his life;since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed,he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Earlier this week, I gave a talk entitled “Hidden Treasure: How the Old Testament is unveiled in the New”. In this presentation, I explain how Biblical Typology helps us to see Christ throughout Salvation History.
Hidden Treasure: How the Old Testament is unveiled in the New (Download)
I’ve had quite a few conversations recently where I’ve referenced two of Christ’s parables. In the process of having these discussions, I’ve started to see the importance of these stories and seen the need for every Christian to spend some time with them to grasp the truths they contain, particularly with regards to the nature of the Church. Both of these parables are found in Chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel, in the section known as “The Parables Discourse”…
At the moment on this blog, I am responding to a reader who commented on a post I wrote about Mary, Ark of the New Covenant. In my earlier posts, I dealt with her comments concerning Our Lady, but in her closing paragraph she made a number of assertions concerning the origins of the Catholic Church. In these last two posts I would like to respond to these final assertions:
I would suggest you do… more research about the origins of the roman catholic church which comes from pagan origins when it was founded in Rome by Constantine about 300AD. This is well known in history. Constantine was the first pope, and he mixed paganism with Christianity and that is how the Roman catholic church was born. You will find many parallels between the Roman catholic church and paganism.
In this particular post I think I’d like to spice things up with a little help from Barney Stinson. Since Monica has challenged me to investigate history…
Let’s take a look at each of the assertions in turn…
In the concluding post for the “Introduction to Islam” series I quoted the Second Vatican Council document “Nostra Aetate” since it provides Church teaching regarding non-Christian religions in general, and Islam in particular.
I haven’t done one of these in a while so I thought I would share another of my favourite people…
