The heart of covenant is commitment to a person. It means favoring one person over another in a way that is perfectly acceptable and good. A father favors his own children over others' children in the investment of his time, attention, and resources. A husband likewise favors the relationship with his wife over other, secondary commitments. This favoring is necessary because of the limitations of our humanity.
Read MoreOne of the key features of Christian faith is the fact that God invites us into a covenant relationship with himself. What is a covenant? In short, a covenant is a radical commitment to a person, not to a set of behaviors.
Read MoreGuest post: Fr. Anthony Co. I often think about how I don’t know what I don’t know. And this concerns me. So I pray: “Jesus, I know you are filled with surprises…surprise me with more of you.” Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a little time with Darren Wilson, a man who urgently prays the same thing.
Read MoreImagine that tomorrow you wake up and all of our church buildings are gone. And not only the churches, but all of the parish offices, Catholic schools, and so on, along with everything inside of them. Every physical resource vanished, and every person who works for the Church left with nothing beyond what the average American possesses. If you were tasked with advancing the evangelizing mission of the Church in your region and this was your starting point, how would you go about it?
Read MoreThe summons to forgive is an intrinsic part of the Christian life. But recently it occurred to me that there is an important difference between forgiveness and reconciliation. If we don't account for this difference, then the practice of forgiving "seventy times seven times" becomes onerous rather than life-giving, and at worst it can even lead someone to dangerously ignore the need for healthy boundaries. The fundamental difference between forgiveness and reconciliation is that it takes one to forgive, but two to reconcile.
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