Prayer: why bother?

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Does praying into the Void make a lot of sense? As far as accomplishing anything significant, not much. It provides some comfort and consolation and maybe a bit of guidance on those rare occasions when the Void responds. People may be entirely justified wondering what’s the point. How often, in reality, does prayer change the outcome of any situation? What are the chances that I’ll get to change God’s mind? Continue Reading →

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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You are disciples. You are prophets. You’ve been summoned; you’ve been empowered; you’ve been sent. For the past few Sundays, we’ve been talking about God’s power—his δυναμις (dynamis). When the gospels spoke of Jesus performing miracles, they used the Greek phrase “doing powerful deeds.” And that is what each of us has been called to do. Continue Reading →

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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We are very used to hearing prayers addressed to “Almighty God,” aren’t we? We were taught that God is all-knowing (omniscient), all-present (omnipresent), and all-powerful (omnipotent). But is this true in real life? You may think I’m being heretical, but, no, it is not strictly speaking true. God’s power—God’s might—God’s δυναμις (dynamis) that we were talking about in last week’s homily—is limited. Nothing limits God’s power, but the divine will itself. God freely introduced limitations in order to create. Continue Reading →