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- Written by EJ Sweeney
“We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” (I Corinthians 1:23-25) This is Holy Week. This week, millions of Christians will proclaim Christ crucified. Christ crucified will be front and center in their celebrations. Indeed, Christ crucified is the very heart of their faith.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
What has the universe done for you lately? I was listening to a podcast a few days ago. They were talking about the plane that crashed into the Empire State Building one foggy Saturday morning in 1945. A B-25 bomber lost its bearings in the thick fog and crashed some seventy floors up. Tragically, fourteen people died. But it could have been much worse. Had it been a weekday, when the Empire State Building was full, there would have been thousands of casualties.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
A parent would rather die than lose a child; to die themselves rather than to suffer the loss of their child. This hit home for me early in my teaching career when one of my students died tragically in a car crash. I will never forget going to the wake and looking into his parents’ eyes. It was as if they had died. Even though they were going through the motions, doing what people do at wakes, when I looked into their eyes, they were utterly lifeless.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Have you ever tried Ignatian prayer? Have you ever heard of Ignatian prayer before? Do you have any idea what I’m talking about!
Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Jesuits, one of the largest and most influential religious orders in the Catholic Church. He was also a mystic, someone who had phenomenal experiences of God. One of the prayer techniques which he regularly used and which every Jesuit to this day is taught, is called Ignatian prayer.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Two years ago, I saw the most remarkable thing I’ve ever seen in church. I was completely taken aback. It was after the service. I had decided to stay a few minutes and say a few prayers, to spend some time with the Lord. I was sitting about halfway up on the left hand side of the church. When I turned to leave, I noticed that there was only one other person in the church at that moment, a young woman who was sitting on the right side of the church toward the back.
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- Written by EJ Sweeney
Let me pose a “does a tree falling in a forest with nobody around to hear it make a sound” kind of question: Can God be vulnerable? Well, on the one hand, obviously not. He’s all-powerful. Immortal. Transcendent. By nature, one of the most obvious things about God is that He is immune to any weakness, pain, or rejection. But if this is true, then He isn’t affected by anything that happens to us. In which case, He’s indifferent to us. In which case, He can’t be a God of infinite goodness and love. So, on the other hand, being a God of love, obviously yes. He can—He has to be—vulnerable. Uggggggh! Which is it?
