Beatitudes Blog
A Wakeful Faith: Expecting Christ Every Day
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For...
“Lord, Teach Us to Pray”: Petition As Contemplation
"Lord, teach us to pray." He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come....
The Greatest Commandment, the Good Samaritan, and Love’s Paradox
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul,...
The Right Use of Freedom
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery....For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one...
Realizing Hope: Sermon on Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our...
God’s Love and Anger
Does God’s anger in scripture put you off? Before you trash your Bible, read this.
Beyond the Codependency Conundrum
Thoughts on drawing the line between the kind of unselfishness that serves and the kind that sickens.
Brother of the Prodigal: Their Father Elaborates on Life and Death
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4). Then [the prodigal’s older brother] became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working...
Faltering Is Not Failure In Faith: A Maundy Thursday Meditation
Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” And he said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and...
Blessed Poverty and Knowing Christ
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven....Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Mt 5:3, 6). Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount – and all his teachings in Matthew, for that matter – with this...
Jesus Versus Belief In a Just World
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7). Psychology of Victim-Blaming and Belief in a Just World In the 1960s, a young psychologist-in-training named Melvin Lerner noticed that many who worked with him to help psychiatric patients tended to...
Temptations of the Beloved
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God....Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:8, 10). Read Luke 4:1-13 At his birth thirty years before, angels roused shepherds and rushed them to see the...
As a psychotherapist and spiritual director, I bring well-honed insight and skill to these posts; yet, my vulnerability plays a more important part, for more than advice from experts, serious people of faith need resonance with fellow travelers.
In my writing and in your reading and comments, may we face our challenges in God’s compassionate presence rather than in a private dressing room where we try in vain to make ourselves presentable to God at an appointed meeting. God meets us where we are.
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