Theologie (13)
Some key quotes for concerning formation within the Church. Christian faith and theology require a philosophy capable, independently of faith, of reaching the existence of God and discovering the meaning of man's existence. Any formation or evangelisation which presents only faith and Revelation is like an eagle with one wing."I am thinking too of those responsible for priestly formation, whether academic or pastoral. I encourage them to pay special attention to the philosophical preparation of those who will proclaim the Gospel to the men and women of today... I ask everyone to look more deeply at man..." Pope John-Paul II, Fides et Ratio, n.106-107 "In our times... it is absolutely necessary to return to First Philosophy in its own right, given the fideism which has impregnated the intelligence of some believers today. The encyclical Fides et Ratio demands of us a renewed search in philosophy, and one which returns to…
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Theologie
dinsdag 05 november 2013 22:07
Geschreven door p. John Mary Jesus
"...Faith and grace, however, do not supress our conditioning. Consequently, grace does not eliminate our heredity, our instincts, or our psychological make-up. Normally grace should transform our conditioning, but this takes time. This can be seen in converts. There is a grace of conversion, and at that moment everything seems easy. They are "struck by lightning" - as when one falls in love. A few years later, however, things become difficult. This does not mean that there is regression. It simply means that the psyche has not changed, that instincts have not changed, that it takes time for God's grace to transform what one is. Grace is the yeast that must make the dough rise, but this does not happen overnight." Extract from Wherever He Goes, Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, o.p., p.168.
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Theologie
John Bradburne is one of Great Britain's most recent figures of holiness. He died in 1979, killed by guerilla fighters in Zimbabwe whilst caring for leppers. A convert from the Anglican Church, his love of Christ in the Eucharist and Our Lady was immense. The following book is a biography written by a friend and priest, Father John Dove. Here's the back cover resume, and one of his poems. "John Bradburne's life was a remarkable spiritual odyssey. After wartime service on the Indian subcontinent, he became a perennial pilgrim, never at home in the world, not even in his native England. Restless wanderings lead him through Europe to the Holy Land, to a succession of religious communities, and ultimately to Africa where he met a violent death during the Zimbabwean war of independence. This deeply sympathetic biography, written by a personal friend, is enriched by extensive quotations from John Bradburne's poems…
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Theologie
Here is an excerpt from the end of Come be my light, the private writings of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. As the editor comments, it's a beautiful story she tells here and one which illustrates her entire life. What's particularly powerful to see is the link between love and light. Mother Teresa, one of this world's greatest lovers, was called by Jesus to "be his light" and in this passage she describes a simple act of love, reaching out to someone and not just waiting for people to come to us, actually as a powerful light... the light of love... a love which tells the person the radical truth that they are loveable, desired, chosen and beautiful, instead of the lie that they are cheap, empty, worthless or merely superficially beautiful or valuable. Lets not forget this amazing capacity we have to love really, to seek out the poor, the lonely, the…
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Theologie
dinsdag 01 januari 2013 15:16
Geschreven door p. John Mary Jesus
Jesus responded, Come and see. It happens very quickly for it is an experience. A personal contact is always a question of experience. One only really knows someone through experience, and not otherwise. One may ofcourse know someone in a historical way. One can know someone based on what others say about him, but this is never direct knowledge. Direct knowledge implies being with a person, living with him. He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where He was staying, and they remained with Him that day. How simple it is. When one stays, one must stay for a while. They remained with Him that day, the whole day. It was about the tenth hour. This is John’s personal observation: to show that it was experimential, the time is noted. When one stay with someone for a…
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Theologie
vrijdag 28 december 2012 21:57
Geschreven door p. John Mary Jesus
"It is a vocation realised in the trust of love. The Christian vocation, in its most “primitive aspect,” that is, its strongest aspect, is precisely this.It is a personal relationship. It is not primarily a question of doctrine. It is a bond of love with a person. Doctrine comes later, but it is always surpassed by love, and must be surpassed by love; otherwise, one is not a Christian." Excerpt from “Wherever He Goes, a retreat on the Gospel of Saint John" p. 252, by M.D. Philippe, o.p.
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Theologie
(Nature, Person and Grace by Br. M.-D. Philippe o.p., continued...) The human person and the child of God This is why we should not consider nature alone but also the human person: the human person at the metaphysical level and the human person in the perspective of wisdom as child of God. When we baptise someone we are baptising a human person, even if this person is not yet very developed, as in the case of a child - in this case they are a person-in-becoming, in hope and his parents, godfather and godmother choose for him. It is much more perfect to consider the gift of grace for the human person than for human nature: the human person as person is the one who recieves grace. To understand this clearly we must consider the person at the level of wisdom, assuming the metaphysical perspective. In…
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Theologie
dinsdag 04 december 2012 22:40
Geschreven door p. John Mary Jesus
"The first moment of the Christian vocation consists in discovering the Lamb, thanks to the testimony of John the Baptist, the testimony of the one whom Providence has placed on our path to indicate: Behold the Lamb of God. We must hear these divine words as John did from the mouth of John the Baptist. The first moment of the Christian vocation consists in discovering the Lamb and following Him, following in Jesus’ footsteps. To follow someone is to accept that He not look at us. It is not always easy to follow someone. We must accept that he go ahead and that we only see his back. According to the Old Testament, God can only be seen from behind. The same holds true for this first moment of the Christian life. We must follow Jesus by placing all our trust in Him, for He is the Lamb, in other…
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Theologie
donderdag 01 november 2012 16:52
Geschreven door p. John Mary Jesus
(Nature, Person and Grace by Br. M.-D. Philippe o.p., continued...) Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus: a new birth In order to adhere better to the mystery of grace through faith, let us consider carefully what Jesus says in the Gospel of Saint John, in conversation with Nicodemus. This is a conversation we should have a particular love for because it is precisely that of Jesus with a theologian. Jesus offers a lesson in theology to a Doctor of the Law - and one might say that Jesus should do the same with theologians from time to time! What does He think of what His theologian disciples have to say about the mystery of God? Jesus gives us a living word. He must often consider that what theologians have to say is much less alive than what He has to say and which flows out from the source. In this regard to the…
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Theologie
zondag 18 maart 2012 00:05
Geschreven door p. John Mary Jesus
(Nature, Person and Grace by Br. M.-D. Philippe o.p., continued...)Grace presupposes nature... The classic expression, which Saint Thomas himself uses, is that "grace presupposes nature1". This is very true: the child we baptise is already alive; whether he is baptised the day he is born or a month later, he is both cases alive with human life. Grace therefore presupposes human nature. Birth to the life of grace presupposes birth to human life. What's more, a child is born with "sin of nature2", i.e. original sin and its consequences. He can do nothing about it. As a descendent of Adam and Eve, as one of the human race, he bears the weight of it. But through baptism he is ransomed by the blood of Christ; baptism confers christian grace upon him which wipes away original fault and gives him the virtues of faith, hope and charity. This grace which he…
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Theologie
De Broeders van Sint Jan hebben hun leven aan God gewijd, ten dienste van God en hun naasten. Zij willen leven volgens het Evangelie van Jezus Christus en zich door hun gebed en hun activiteiten inzetten voor jong en oud.