Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s assertion that “Grace is free, but not cheap; the cost is nothing less than everything” remains a piercing critique of a diluted faith. His seminal work, The Cost of Discipleship, masterfully unpacks the nature of “cheap grace”—a grace divorced from the demanding call to follow Christ. As Bonhoeffer eloquently argues, this counterfeit grace…
Uncertainty
Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that God will grant us a Pope who doubts. And let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks…
Illnesses
Then we will discover that our faithfulness to a small task is the most healing response to the illnesses of our time. — Henri Nouwen. Nouwen’s assertion that “our faithfulness to a small task is the most healing response to the illnesses of our time” prompts: what exactly are the illnesses plaguing our contemporary world? I…
Spring Forth
Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? –– Isaiah 43:18-19. These words from the prophet Isaiah mirror the spirit of renewal and transformation that underpins both the season of Lent and the celebration…
Disruption and Chaos
I still get the weekly bulletin from St. Johns in DC. It began: “Many in our parish have been affected by the recent layoff of Federal workers. Some have already lost their jobs, and some are in fear of losing their jobs. Many of our fellow congregants are seeing their lives and livelihoods turned upside…