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The Lord of Time & Space

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tardisA few days ago I received this email:

Any chance you could write about miracles that involve time (if there are any). There are miracles of all types it seems, but I’ve never heard of a miracle that involved some manipulation of time. Just curious if perhaps you had.

The first example I thought was from the Book of Joshua where one reading of the text (Joshua 10) would suggest that time stood still while the Israelites won the battle.

The other example I thought of was that of “bilocation”. In miracles of bilocation, a person is seen in two different places at the same time. In fact, the patron Saint of this blog, St. Drogo, was reported to have bilocated.

The final miracle I thought of was the Eucharist since, through the words of consecration, the sacrifice of Jesus is made present on our altars.

These were the only three examples I could think of though. I guess the problem with miracles concerning time is that they’re kinda hard to keep track of!

Can anyone think of any other examples of miracles concerning time?

Sunday Lectionary: All you need is love

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I’m going to start trying to make these Sunday Lectionary posts a little bit shorter, both so that I get more of my weekend back and also so more people read them!

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time: October 23rd, 2011

The Readings this week focus around the “vertical” and “horizontal” dimensions of our faith, how we love God and how we love our neighbour. This finds its simplest and clearest expression in today’s Gospel passage when Jesus is asked which is the greatest of all the commandments…

“Therefore the first commandment teaches every kind of godliness. For to love God with the whole heart is the cause of every good.

The second commandment includes the righteous acts we do toward other people. The first commandment prepares the way for the second and in turn is established by the second. For the person who is grounded in the love of God clearly also loves his neighbor in all things himself.

The kind of person who fulfills these two commandments experiences all the commandments.”

– St. Cyril of Alexandria, Early Church Father, 5th Century

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IC XC

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This past weekend I was visiting a friend in Washington State and, at the church we visited, saw the following cross hanging above the altar:

Cross at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Yakima

…and this reminded me of something else which I came to understand through studying Greek that I had meant to share…

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Your advice is needed!

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SabbaticalLovely readers! I’d like your advice please!

At the end of this week things are going to change… My company just approved my request for a two-month sabbatical.

I’m going to use the time for three things. First and foremost, I’m going to use this time to discern the road ahead. Next, I’m going to take this opportunity to tick some things off my bucket list. Finally, I’m going to use the time to have a bit of a rest, a shabbat, if you will…

I’m currently planning how I’m going to structure those two months, and this is where I’d appreciate your input. I will be spending the first week of the sabbatical on retreat at a monastery at an undisclosed location in another part of the United States…

After that, what should I do? Or, put another way, if you had two months off work, how would you spend your time?

Sunday Lectionary: Teach Us To Pray

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Today I’m going to cheat a bit.

Shocking, I know…

I’m in the middle of writing several other blog entries at the moment, so rather than spending time writing a brand-new entry for this Sunday’s Gospel, I’m going to recycle something I wrote a few years ago.

The Gospel in this Sunday’s Lectionary continues on from last week in Luke’s Gospel:

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,one of his disciples said to him,”Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say:Father, hallowed be your name,your kingdom come.Give us each day our daily breadand forgive us our sinsfor we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,and do not subject us to the final test.”

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friendto whom he goes at midnight and says,’Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journeyand I have nothing to offer him,’and he says in reply from within,’Do not bother me; the door has already been lockedand my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’I tell you,if he does not get up to give the visitor the loavesbecause of their friendship,he will get up to give him whatever he needsbecause of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;seek and you will find;knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives;and the one who seeks, finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

What father among you would hand his son a snakewhen he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked,know how to give good gifts to your children,how much more will the Father in heavengive the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” – Luke 11:1-13

Below is a reflection I gave on this same passage at a “Cheltenham In Prayer” service back in 2004…

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When Church Sucks…

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When Christians get together there’s really nothing we love to do more than to complain! In my experience, what we especially like to do is to have a good whine about the problems we have with our parish. In response to this, I would like to write a series of short posts about some common complaints I’ve heard. Today I’ll begin with one of the most common criticisms:

“Our priest’s homilies are boring…”

As I say, this is a very common complaint. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve heard people say something like this. Unfortunately, it’s often a reason given as to why someone left to join a Protestant congregation. 🙁

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