Perfection or Fruitfulness?

From the Thinking Faith archives spiritual director Christopher Chapman offered a way into Sunday’s gospel selection. His conviction remains current: “Old or young, God will dare us once more to emerge into being. The Spirit will lead us beyond ourselves in fruitful generosity.”

In tomorrow's #gospel, the sower who scatters seed amidst rocks, birds and thorns is not being wasteful: this is how the field is. But the sower also knows there are pockets of good soil and so is liberal in the sowing. https://t.co/nb9u4BmL1I #gospel

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 11, 2020

Radical Rethink

Pope Francis has called this time of pandemic one of conversion: “…pass from the hyper-virtual, fleshless world to the suffering flesh of the poor. This is the conversion we have to undergo. And if we don’t start there, there will be no conversion.” The turn toward “suffering flesh” is not immediately inviting.

At Thinking Faith Karen Eliasen considers a story to assist this turn, the “story of Miriam’s wilderness bout of...‘a harmful skin disease’.” Ms. Eliasen notes the story of Miriam speaks to today's circumstances: “...in a complex mix of power struggle, emotional outbursts, disease, isolation–and even spitting. Add to this already compelling mix the timeless ur-issues of gender and prayer, and the juicy ingredients are all there to be squeezed for contemporary pandemic relevance.”

Are you familiar with the story of Miriam in Numbers 12? An episode that reads as a heated and traumatic encounter with Moses, Aaron and God might well lead us towards something entirely more hopeful, suggests Karen Eliasen. https://t.co/Yy4GsGAjQ0

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 4, 2020

Benefit of Doubt

“The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples.” [Pope St. Gregory the Great, Homily 26.7]

Jesuit Harry Elias is in good company when he acknowledged, “I am not convinced that [doubting] is a fair descriptor” of the Apostle Thomas. Another convincing quality for today: Father Elias wrote his reflection after leading a bible study with “immigration detention centre residents.”

Doubting Thomas and faith in the resurrection: https://t.co/hFctFM3aUE #feast

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 3, 2020

Tomorrow: Racial Justice Webinar

Among the details is a transatlantic podcast. It may help prep for the Zoom Webinar “for Young Adults (18-35) on July 4th 2-4 pm.”

As the Black Lives Matter movement reverberates around the world, how can we as Catholics respond to the fight for racial justice?
Join a Zoom webinar for Young Adults (18-35) on July 4th 2-4 pm.
email yam@jesuit.org.uk or message via the FB page
https://t.co/hNkDxFvBSq pic.twitter.com/sFkdAfBCV2

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) July 2, 2020

World After Covid-19: Part 2

Last week, Frank Turner SJ mapped out the complex matrix of factors that decision-makers must take into account as they respond to Covid-19. Now he explains how Christian tradition can inform those decisions. https://t.co/EGmpOlT3fP

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) June 29, 2020

Looking Forward Cautiously

At the British e-zine, Thinking Faith, Jesuit Frank Turner considers in “a two-part article…the complex political, economic, environmental and civic terrain to which coronavirus has directed our attention, and from which decisions must be made.” Fr. Turner does not limit himself to the U.K. or to Europe.

The tweet below opens onto links to Part 1 and to other posts, including the approaching Solemnity of Ss. Peter and Paul. 

A post-Covid world and the #feast of #StPeter and #StPaul: https://t.co/049HJ4fCuF

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) June 27, 2020

Sacred Heart: Entering the Solemnity

T hinking Faith just posted an archived item by Jesuit James Hanvey. In it he “explains why this devotion will always be central to the life of the Church and why it is the foundation of our intimacy with Christ.”

The devotion to the #SacredHeart is the foundation of our intimacy with Christ. ‘Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, has a heart… With him it is always personal.’ https://t.co/Jr4WlJPpn2

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) June 19, 2020

Cosmos and the Body of Christ

Early in his tenure as pope Francis called attention to contemporary gnosticism, “a purely subjective faith whose only interest is a certain experience or a set of ideas and bits of information which are meant to console and enlighten, but which ultimately keep one imprisoned in his or her own thoughts and feelings” (Joy of the Gospel, 94). Early in its life the church faced gnosticism. St. Irenaeus of Lyons was confronted by it and responded to it.

Jesuit John Moffatt noted that the ancient bishop “a story affirming God’s relation to the cosmos that binds the Eucharist into the goodness of the created order and the practice of social justice and care of creation.” Most fitting as contemporary Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ.

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Wiki-image Procissão de Corpus Christi (Goiânia, Brasil) 2019 by “Eugenio Hansen, OFS | CC BY-SA 4.0"

“No More Than You Have”

A single “community of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, also known as Trappists,” exists in Britain. Nick Hamer made a documentary that “shows the everyday life of” the monks. The monks switched from working their dairy farm to “a state-of-the-art brewery.” A trailer follows Jesuit Paul Nicholson’s review.

‘Do you ever think that you’ve wasted your life?’ https://t.co/63N7plqgPG #OutsidetheCity #Film

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) June 9, 2020

Christian Hope Is Practical

Jesuit James Hanvey noted that witnesses of hope are open, and they are empowered by the Spirit to “realise new possibilities.” The gospel paves the way for new possibilities because it “opens up paths of encounter.” Fr. Hanvey offered a video-prayer to help us encounter Christ.

‘All of us who live from the gift of faith are witnesses of hope – a real, practical hope, which is not trapped in the old patterns but can realise new possibilities.’ https://t.co/t4S0PW4OQo

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) June 9, 2020

Upcoming

Some locales celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension on 21May; more will celebrate on 24May. Thinking Faith offers archived resources: one surveys the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus’ closing words to his disciples speak to contemporary people; and 

"Ignatius was no sentimentalist. If he used kingly language to speak of Jesus it was quite simply because he knew Jesus as a King." Why does @DamianHoward8 think this is key our understanding of the #Ascension? https://t.co/B519mOfJZM

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) May 20, 2020

Coping Assistance

Many regions observe May to deepen awareness of mental health. Does religion have its role to play in mental health? Jesuit Dr. Roger Dawson examined the process of coping and religion’s role. He concluded that “religion can meet important needs for intimacy, meaning, self-actualisation and spiritual fulfilment. Those are outcomes that every mental health professional can appreciate and will want to promote.”

Perhaps more people than ever will be thinking about this question during #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek (18-24 May) this year. @drrogerdawson asks: is religion good for your mental health? https://t.co/YoZ8AVAjer pic.twitter.com/ozy5dHCSLh

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) May 18, 2020

Interested in more resources?

We are here for you: if you're struggling to find peace of mind and heart in this time of crisis, find prayerful support in resources for #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek from @ThinkingFaith, @prayasugo and @JesuitsBritain. https://t.co/VwVLl2RjeY pic.twitter.com/1W9KME6cVR

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) May 18, 2020

Way Forward Has its Guide

The rhythm of Lent-Easter aims to assist Christians to move with risen Jesus, to move more like him, to follow his way. From Thinking Faith archives Jesuit Joseph Simmons tours the Way to help Christians restart and continue their journey—this year with pandemic-shaped “contours.”

Formed by our Lenten discipline and with Easter eyes, we hope to be able to see more clearly the contours of life's journey, for ourselves and others, says Joseph Simmons SJ. ‘No matter where we are in life, we are always somewhere on the Easter path.’ https://t.co/EZUXeUFPiY

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) May 10, 2020

Sunday’s 2nd Reading

T hinking Faith reposted Jesuit Peter Edmond’s guide to selections from the First Letter of Peter, read this year on the Sundays of Easter. Tomorrow’s verses remind: “Jesus is not the only building stone. The people can take pride in being living stones who build themselves up in God’s sight not as a temple but as a holy priesthood.”

In the second reading for the fifth Sunday of Easter, we are invited to join pilgrims of old on pilgrimage to God’s temple in Jerusalem: https://t.co/xdZJmtRdSa pic.twitter.com/ugDQavOrS2

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) May 9, 2020

“Dynamic and Continuous”

From the perspective of staying home routinely the phrase “dynamic and continuous” can feel alien. Staying home avoids contagion—contracting and spreading it. It also invites considering things differently.

The Christian virtue of hope is “dynamic and continuous,”  wrote  Emeritus Pope Benedict in an encyclical letter devoted to hope. Christian hope “makes things happen and is life-changing …The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life.”

Frances Murphy cited those words and others in her review of the 1997 film, “Life is Beautiful.” Thinking Faith reposted it. It may be worth rewatching to secure a continuing sense of beauty during life in pandemic.

"It is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in my own life, or the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for." If this is a message you need to hear at the moment, find it on screen: https://t.co/Ur6zJnMBci

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) April 28, 2020

Thomas: Not A Doubter More Than Contemporary Folk

Thomas figures large in the Easter Octave gospel selection. He may be less of a doubter than his inherited moniker suggests. We may be more his twin siblings than we may admit. Thinking Faith drew from its archives a reflection Jesuit Harry Elias wrote when he worked with detained immigrants.

Faith needs to be mediated through the senses, it can be aroused and encouraged by what is seen, touched and heard; but it cannot be reduced to sensory experience. …Central to Thomas’s and our faith in the resurrection is not so much that there is life after death in a risen body, but that Jesus is vindicated as Lord and God.

#DoubtingThomas and faith in the #resurrection: https://t.co/hFctFM3aUE #gospel #Easter

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) April 18, 2020

Women at the Forefront

In 2016 Pope Francis elevated the rank of the celebration of St. Mary Magdalene from a Memorial to a Feast. His decree placed her 22 July liturgical celebrations on a par with those of the Apostles. The decree was overdue: St. Thomas Aquinas had called Mary Magdalene “the Apostle to the Apostles.” She took news of the Resurrection to the men.

Easter Tuesday remembers Mary’s apostolic role. Thinking Faith reposted Jesuit Brian Purfield’s reflection on Tuesday’s gospel passage.

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Wiki-image Newark, St Mary Magdalene church, window s2, panel c4 by “Jules & Jenny from Lincoln, UK | CC BY 2.0"

Meaning of It

The Pope’s British biographer and Pope Francis conversed. Their conversation was published today. Francis spoke of the “meaning of the coronavirus pandemic.” His biographer, “Austen Ivereigh reveals exclusively to Thinking Faith how the interview—the pope’s first for English-language Catholic publications—came about, and how the pope sees a world in crisis being offered the chance to change.”

[Links to their conversation are at the end of this exclusive.]

Remembering our future: @Pontifex speaks to @austeni about the #corona crisis: https://t.co/0essHuseUF

— Thinking Faith (@ThinkingFaith) April 8, 2020