The word of the day is “parallel.”  In our reading of James 4:7-5:9, we find more gems of the “wisdom from above,” wisdom that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (OSB James 3:17). Our passage is like a string of pearls. Each saying holds a perfect, complete, and thoughtful insight into living by and in the grace of God (James 4:6). However, we may have difficulty grasping the depth of wisdom in these pearls of divine truth because we are unfamiliar with their literary form. The teachings are not narratives, sermons, letters, or lectures. They are aphorisms or short, pithy sayings after the model of the…
The word of the day is “parallel.”  In our reading of James 4:7-5:9, we find more gems of the “wisdom from above,” a wisdom that is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (OSB James 3:17). Our passage is like a string of pearls, each one giving a perfect, complete, and thoughtful insight into living by and in the grace of God (James 4:6). However, we may have difficulty grasping the depth of wisdom in these nuggets of divine truth because we are unfamiliar with their literary form. The teachings are not narratives, sermons, letters, or lectures. They are aphorisms or short pithy sayings after the model of…
The word for today is “age.”  In video games, the gamer explores different worlds.  The potential for the creation of such alternative universes is endless. But these possibilities pose a question.  In what “world” do we live?  In our reading of 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, Paul speaks of “being wise in this age” (OSB vs. 18).  Again, he speaks of the “wisdom of this world” (OSB vs. 19).  Today we explore the thought that the Lord has called us to live in a higher reality than “this age” or “this world.” In his comments on our reading, St. John Chrysostom says, “For all with us goes by contraries” (NfPF1:12, 54).  The opposites that the famous preacher has in mind are summed up in…