Often attributed to Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, this poem was actually written by Bishop Ken Untener of Saginaw in memory of Romero, an amazing, inspiring follower of and martyr for Christ. It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision. …
“Keeping the Faith in Grad School,” by Lakelyn Taylor (January Column)
Keeping the Faith in Grad School Column Description: Writing as a Christian who is a doctoral student at a public institution of higher learning, Lakelyn reflects on how graduate students can maintain their faith in graduate school when it seems hard to do. This column is not about how to “beat” the “other” side in debates about religion or secular …
“Pass the Peace,” by John Hatch, from the Column: Crossed My Mind
Crossed My Mind: Thoughts on Culture and Communication By John Hatch, Ph.D. Eastern University Column Description: As Christians, we are called to have the mind of Christ. This goes against the grain of our social and cultural conditioning. We seek personal or political advancement; Christ seeks the lost and the least. We grasp for cultural ascendency; Christ descends to the …
Column Entry, Seeking Refuge: An Advent Story, by Dennis Smith
Column Title: Bearing Witness: Reflections on a Life in Mission Column Entry: Seeking Refuge: An Advent Story Column Description: If you hang around long enough, mingle with enough folks in enough places on this fragile planet, and pay attention at least part of the time, life happens. And with life, stories. In this monthly column, Dennis Smith, former President of …
A Prayer to Communicate With and For Love, by St Thérèse of Lisieux
Communicating with and for Love Heavenly Father: “I will let no tiny sacrifice pass, no look, no word. I wish to profit by the smallest actions, and to do them for Love. I wish to suffer for Love’s sake, and for Love’s sake even to rejoice: thus shall I strew flowers.”[i] —St Thérèse of Lisieux * Keywords: sacrifice, words, love, …
A Prayer Before Study, by St. Thomas Aquinas
A Prayer Before Study “Creator of all things, true Source of light and wisdom, lofty origin of all being, graciously let a ray of your brilliance penetrate into the darkness of my understanding and take from me the double darkness in which I have been born, an obscurity of both sin and ignorance. Give me a sharp sense of understanding, …
“Whither Grace?” by John Hatch, from the Column: Crossed My Mind
Crossed My Mind: Thoughts on Culture and Communication By John Hatch, Ph.D. Eastern University Column Description: As Christians, we are called to have the mind of Christ. This goes against the grain of our social and cultural conditioning. We seek personal or political advancement; Christ seeks the lost and the least. We grasp for cultural ascendency; Christ descends to the …
Monday Morning Prayer for Compassion, Sympathy, and Sacrifice
Compassion, Sympathy, and Sacrifice Oh God, I wish from now on to be the first to become conscious of all that the world loves, pursues, and suffers; I want to be the first to seek, to sympathize and to suffer; the first to unfold and sacrifice myself, to become more widely human and more nobly of the earth than of …
Monday morning Communication Prayer
Listening and Speaking Teach me your way of looking at people: as you glanced at Peter after his denial, as you penetrated the heart of the rich young man and the hearts of your disciples. I would like to meet you as you really are, since your image changes those with whom you come into contact. Remember John the Baptist’s …
Prizing Communication in Christian Discipleship, by Brandon Knight
Column Title: In Search of Right Words: Saint Augustine, Rhetoric, and Preaching By Brandon Knight, Ph.D. William Carey University Column Description: Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, in his work On Christian Doctrine, illustrates the important relationship between preaching and rhetoric. Even in his day—and still today—many questioned what use the church could possibly gain from the study of oratory. Nevertheless, …
