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Word of Life Conference in San Diego

October 20, 2018 pilgrim Leave a comment

If you’re in the San Diego area in November, you should come out to my parish, Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church in San Diego, as we will be hosting “The Word of Life” Biblical conference.

Our speaker will be Fr. Deacon Daniel Dozier. I’ve heard him speak at a previous event in Phoenix, Arizona and I can assure you that you won’t be disappointed.

The conference will run from 10:30am – 4:30pm. Registration is by donation, with a suggested donation of $25. You can register here.

Catholicism

When West meets East

April 21, 2015 pilgrim Leave a comment

This is one of the many reasons I love Pope Francis. A while ago, back when the Pope was visiting Rio de Janiero, the public saw the pope wearing something around his right wrist.

This series of beads is known as “chotki” or “komboskini”. It is a prayer rope, much like a rosary, whose invention is typically attributed to St. Pachomius in the fourth century and is still used today by eastern Christians, both Eastern Orthodox and Catholic.

One prays by the chotki by reciting “The Jesus Prayer” on each bead/knot:

“Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”

Although typically 100 beads, they can vary. There are also sometimes additional beads with invocations of Mary (“The Theotokos“).

One of the first things I noted reading Pope Francis’ bio upon being a elected Pope was that he had strong connections to Eastern Christianity. It’s great to see him exposing the West to more of what the East has to offer 🙂

Catholicism

TEA: Resisting Temptation With C.S. Lewis

March 7, 2020 pilgrim 2 comments

I went back to St. Ignatius in LA this past week to give them a Lenten talk about temptation and C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.

Resisting Temptation With C.S. Lewis (Download)

You can subscribe to “Theology With An English Accent” manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (Feed | iTunes | Google Play).

Podcast

Qur’an Cover-to-Cover: Day 20 (“Joseph”)

December 28, 2016 pilgrim 2 comments

Thus far in the Qur’an we have encountered the stories of the prophets Adam, Noah, Hud, Salih, Abraham, Jacob, Shu’ayb, Moses and of Isa’s mother, Mary. Today we hear about the story of Joseph the patriarch, the one whom the Bible describes as having a “coat of many colours”:

Surah 12 – “Joseph” (Yusuf)
We open with the affirmation that the Qur’an is a “clear Book”. There is also the assertion by Allah that He is revealing “the best of stories” to Muhammad, about which he was previously unfamiliar. This seems to me to me an unlikely claim, given that Muhammad would have certainly had contact with Jews while he was a merchant trader.

We are then treated to the Islamic version of the story of the Patriach Joseph. Joseph tells his father about his dream where the sun, moon and stars bowed down to him. Jacob tells Joseph not to share this dream with his brothers, for fear they will plot against him.

(Although I’ve questioned previously whether the author of the Qur’an knew Isaac was the father of Jacob, this chapter does appear to recognize that correct relationship when Jacob is quoted as saying “[Allah will] complete His favour upon you and upon the family of Jacob, as He completed it upon your fathers before, Abraham and Isaac”)

Apologetics

TEA: How to read the Bible like a Catholic (St. Ignatius)

April 12, 2018 pilgrim Leave a comment

During Lent, I gave two talks at St. Ignatius Catholic parish in Los Angeles. Here is the first talk I gave on reading Sacred Scripture:

“How to read the Bible like a Catholic” (Download)

Q&A (Download)

— Questions —

• What does Jesus mean when he says that, to be his disciple, we must “hate mother and father”?

• What is apologetics?

• What kind of Bible would you recommend?

• If I want to read a book of the Bible, where should I start?

• Why do some people leave the Catholic Faith?

Catholicism

Scripture Nerd Moment…

August 24, 2015 pilgrim Leave a comment

This afternoon I came across something which made me chuckle while I was out taking my afternoon stroll with Scott Hahn (Dr. Hahn couldn’t make it in person but was considerate enough to be present on my iPod).

I was walking through one of Seattle’s many lovely parks and I came across some children’s play equipment:

I noticed that the bars of the fence enclosing the area had names written on them. I assumed that these were the names of the donors who helped pay for the equipment. It was then that I noticed one particular entry:

The Thomas family appeared to have wanted a Bible verse included with their name. Their choice of verse made me chuckle. Can you guess what text is found in Luke 18:16?

Catholicism

Pro-Life March and Christian Unity

January 22, 2014 pilgrim One comment

Today is the March For Life in Washington DC. This past Sunday, my priest noted the providential intersection between this event and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which began last week.

Although it can sometimes be a source of conflict, protection of the unborn and the pro-life cause is really an issue which can unite Christians of all denominations together, as well as with people of good will…

Catholics and Protestants

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