Transformed into Christ
Three Practical Steps
1. Be filled by God. There is a big difference between an empty gas tank and a full one. Likewise, God wants us to be regularly filling up on his grace, not running on empty. Continue »
Finding Room in God
Pope Benedict XVI reflects on The Ascension of the Lord.
What does the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord mean for us? It does not mean that the Lord has departed to some place far from people and from the world. Christ’s ascension is not a journey into space toward the most remote stars; for basically, the planets, like the earth, are also made of physical elements. Continue »
A Love Stronger than Death
Pope Benedict XVI Words on John 14: 1 - 31
In his farewell discourse, Jesus announced his imminent death and resurrection to his disciples with these mysterious words: "I go away, and I will come to you," he said (John 14:28). Dying is a "going away." Even if the body of the deceased remains behind, he himself has gone away into the unknown, and we cannot follow him (see 13:36). Yet in Jesus’ case, there is something utterly new, which changes the world. Continue »
God Speaks to Us in Many Ways
I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. —John 10:10
I once came across a book describing the senses of deep-sea creatures that never see daylight. Some of them have rows of lights like portholes along their flanks to enable them to see both prey and predators; others create a chemical reaction in their bodies to produce bioluminescent light. It was clear that every animal is endowed with the senses it needs for survival and the instinctive skills to use them competently. Continue »
Roaming in the Spirit
Here, There, and Everywhere
The time: not long after the coming of the Spirit to the disciples on Pentecost. The place: not far from Jerusalem. The characters: a leader among the Jerusalem Christians named Philip, and an Ethiopian government official, unnamed. Continue »
Traveling Companions
Pope Benedict XVI reflects on Luke 24: 13-35
The famous account of the disciples of Emmaus . . . tells the tale of two followers of Christ who, on the day after the Sabbath or the third day after his death, were leaving Jerusalem sad and dejected, bound for a village that was not far off called, precisely, Emmaus. They were joined on their way by the risen Jesus, but did not recognize him. Realizing that they were downhearted, he explained, drawing on the Scriptures, that the Messiah had to suffer and die in order to enter into his glory. Continue »
