The light of the world

Today was a beautiful, sunny day as I drove toward Mt. Irenaeus. Today’s Gospel was about the young man born blind who regains his sight as a result of a miracle that Jesus performs. Blindness is always assumed to be a physical defect and nowadays no one even assumes that the victim got his disease through his sin or the sin of a parent. In the time of Jesus such was not the case. We’ve made some progress since then. We understand that blindness is caused my many conditions, but that sin is not one of them.

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What is a monk?

A couple of nights ago over dinner my brother-in-law asked exactly that, “what is a monk?”  I had to stop and think. I could get out, “a group of people who live apart.”  Monk comes from “monos” a Greek word which means “alone.”  Wikipedia also defines a monk as a person who practices “religious asceticism.” Either of those definitionns could apply to a number of people and not be limited to a group of men or women living in a monastic community.

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In the desert

Today I drove with my Mom from Tempe, AZ with my Mom down Route 60 south toward Florence, AZ. There was a monastery to see, a Greek Orthodox monastery at that. It is called St. Anthony’s Monastery. It is like no other monastery I’ve ever visited. I’ve never visited a Greek Orthodox church either. I … Read more

The desert

I will lead you into the desert, and there I will speak to your heart.–Hosea 2:14 Tomorrow I will be traveling to Tempe, Arizona to visit my sister and brother-in-law. I’m grateful to be invited to their home for a week. It’ll be nice to be away from the snow and cold for a week. … Read more

Counting the cost

I’ve been on the couch most of today. I’ve had a 24 hour virus. Chills, fever and a bit achey. Today was one of those lovely midwinter days where there were only high cirrus clouds and almost unrestricted sun. That’s a real gift in our area. We are one of the grayest areas of the … Read more

Minus 5

It’s minus 5 outside tonight and as I looked outside I spotted two deer moving through the snow. They crossed the road in front of our home. I could see their silhouettes in the street light. It must be cold even for deer. They move with such stealth. They could be angels and perhaps they … Read more