Rowan Williams: Sacraments of the New Society

We cannot choose our families; nor can we choose the members of the Body of Christ. Like any family, frayed tempers and arguments should not be cause for walking or splitting apart.  The Church is, or should be, a sign of humanity’s reconciliation.  That is Williams’ foundational commitment in On Christian Theology. Is this a…

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“Drunk with the overflow of the House of God”: Jn 4

1. “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty” (Jn 4:14) So Jesus says to the Samaritan woman as she draws up water from the well. At Lent, we are called to examine ourselves, to claim again…

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"Drunk with the overflow of the House of God": Jn 4

1. “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty” (Jn 4:14) So Jesus says to the Samaritan woman as she draws up water from the well. At Lent, we are called to examine ourselves, to claim again…

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Catching the Spirit: John 3:1-17

  1. …no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above (Jn 3:3) We must be born, as we hear Jesus telling Nicodemus, of water and of Spirit. Not only must we be washed clean, but we must be infused with new life, with new humanity. I want to suggest that…

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John Macquarrie’s Paths in Spirituality, Pt. 2

Whenever we come into new knowledge, create anew, make new friends or connections—we transcend ourselves, and we experience the Holy Spirit, says Macquarrie. To experience the Spirit is to experience ek-stasis, to stand out of oneself—to grow. The Church is “the growing point where the upbuilding work of the Spirit proceeds most intensely” (51). This…

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