deacon's corner

Spirituality Of Brokenness

14. January 2015 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

Taking the measure of it

During the keynote address at a recent conference, Brother Loughlan Sofield, S.T. spoke of the Spirituality of Failure, an interesting and provocative notion by which he propounded that it is from our failures that we derive a deeper spirituality rather than from our successes. As an internationally recognized and highly respected psychologist and author, Brother Sofield speaks with almost certain authority. Without a more complete explanation I cannot and will not question what was said, but would humbly suggest that a recasting of the slogan might be duly warranted.

What Price For Your Life?

07. January 2015 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

What is it worth?

Travel anywhere around the globe and you will discover one irreducible, ineluctable fact, which is: virtually anything can be obtained in some form or fashion for a price. Almost everything you might possibly desire (good or bad) can be bought if you have something of sufficient value to pay for it. But for any transaction to occur there must first be a price established which requires a valuation to be made, which is for most people a dark art involving voodoo magic along with intricate and complex financial methods and processes. At its core, valuation is simply deciding what a thing is worth, its value, the price which others should be willing to pay.

Only God Is God

30. December 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

On the essential existence of God

It is at times the simple things that beckon, that in some inestimable way evoke within a longing for that which we cannot grasp and an acknowledgement of a presence beyond our power to comprehend.

What Love Is This

21. December 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

A gift undeserved

Christmas is upon us, a time when Christians around the world celebrate the birth of the only Son of God. As it often does, curiosity compelled me to investigate the etymology—the history, origin, form, and meaning—of the word “Christmas”. I am fully aware that I am one of a very small number who might find this of even the slightest interest, but please bear with me for a moment.

When Faith Doesn’t Matter Enough

17. December 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

radiating the love of God in our daily lives

The French political thinker and historian Alexis de Tocqueville was greatly impressed by what he saw during his travels throughout America in the early 19^th Century. First published in 1835 his book Democracy in America extolled its virtues and its dedication to liberty and democracy. In it he wrote “I have a passionate love for liberty, law, and respect for rights … Liberty is my foremost passion. But one also finds in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to want to bring the strong down to their level, and which reduces men to preferring equality in servitude to inequality in freedom.”[1]

From A Single Thought

10. December 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

it all came to be

It is an awesome wonder to consider the beginnings of space, time, and the universe within which we reside. Only a few are familiar with the theory of “the primeval atom,” first proposed by the Belgian physicist Georges Lemaitre, although most would recognize it today as the Big Bang.

From Common Clay

01. December 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

As unique as a snowflake

Within the soul of every life beats the desire to obtain some measure of immortality, a yearning to be long-remembered, to leave a legacy that bespeaks of purpose and achievement. This longing for a place above the common fray resides by nature within every human heart, extending far beyond the Warholian aesthetic that prescribes to everyone their “fifteen minutes of fame”.

A Ship Of Fools

24. November 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

adrift on a sea of irrelevance

Arguably, the debate concerning the existence of God has been waging for a very long time, and no doubt the battle will continue into the far distant future. Perhaps it may even go on until the end of time itself when, irrespective of which side of the argument you reside, it will be resolved without the necessity for further controversy. Rest assured, eventually the answer to the question will become perfectly obvious to everyone.

A Calculus Of Consequences

17. November 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

Improving the bottom line

There are times – pivotal moments in our lives – when we find ourselves ill-at-ease, filled with a pervasive, foreboding sensation that something is amiss, that what we are seeing and feeling, what we are experiencing is somehow not exactly as it should be. It is as if we are out-of-sync with the rest of the world, constantly shifting in and out of phase and we can neither discover the causes of our discomfort nor resolve any of its debilitating effects. We simply cannot make sense of it, wondering what is wrong, and finding no answers to sooth our soul or to calm those unsettling thoughts that fill our mind.

Paying It Forward

11. November 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Reflections

You can give me nothing in return

It is truly amazing how often you will hear the gentle whisperings of God’s Voice if you but only listen. Admittedly, it takes an open mind and an attentive ear, but if you keep God always in your heart and on your mind you will hear it.