Association Of Catholic Bloggers

Pamela E. Hedrick takes me back into the classroom, with her debut book, Do You Now Believe? In this short, yet jam-packed gem, Hedrick schools us on the balance required between faith and reason. Faith enables reason. But an uncritical faith – a credulity or an unthinking belief that clings to certitude at the expense of understanding – can undermine faith itself and at least slow down the response to the grace of ongoing conversion (p. 77).   What I garnered from reading this book is that many of us have preconceived notions about God and faith, that inhibit us from fully understanding what God wants us to know about Him. It is when we can search beyond our limitations that we position ourselves to understanding God better. It is through this growth of understanding that we experience a transcendence; a conversion. We move from the intellectual to the experiential. We grow in love for God. Read more...

Gospel reflection Today’s Gospel:  John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 This section of scripture leaves me feeling irritated, almost as irritated as Jesus seems to be. Of course part of that frustration is because this was written by John who loves to talk in circles, leaving his readers hanging. At first glance this passage simply talks about Jesus moving around Galilee, not wishing to travel to Judea because the Jews are trying to kill Him. In the end He does slip secretly into Jerusalem but everyone is gossiping about whether He is the Christ or not. Finally Jesus seems angry as He actually shouts out  in the temple. Remember, this is John’s gospel, so Jesus speaks in riddles telling the crowd that yes people know where He comes from physically. However they do not fully grasp where He actually comes from because they do not really know the one who sent Him. Naturally the authorities know that  Jesus is referring to God, the Almighty. They try unsuccessfully to arr...