A friend shared with me the concluding stanza of the poem September 1, 1939, by W. H. Auden. Here it is: Defenceless under the night Our world in stupor lies; Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages: May I, composed like them Of Eros and of dust, …
Blessed are the peacemakers
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. μακάριοι οἱ εἰρηνοποιοί, ὅτι αὐτοὶ υἱοὶ θεοῦ κληθήσονται. We attained the highest summits of the Beatitudes with the merciful and the pure of heart. But what do you do when you’re at the heights of Christian faith, spirituality and commitment to Jesus? You …
“Blessed are those who mourn”
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) A wonderful, reassuring promise: those who mourn will be comforted. But what kind of mourning is Jesus talking about? Certainly the mourning that we all experience when we lose someone. But that’s not a uniquely Christian thing. All people mourn! Remember what …
“Blessed are the poor in spirit”
There is no other way to be raised up to God but by constantly looking upwards and having an unceasing desire for sublime things, so as not to be content to stay with what has already been achieved, but to regard it as loss if one fails to attain what lies above. ουκ έστιν …
Blessed salt… Blessed light
Jesus told his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). It’s a temptation to hear these words as requirement rather than blessing, as command rather than commissioning. Jesus is blessing us to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world. But let's not make …
Revolution thwarted – but not dead
It is a fact of human history that revolutions almost always end up as something other than originally intended. The revolution of faith that God initiated in chapter 12 of Genesis, when Abraham obeyed God's call in faith and moved from the land of his father to the land God chose for him, that revolution of …
Blessed are those who are scared
November 16 is the feast day of Saint Matthew, the evangelist. On this day, I call to mind another great saint, Antony of Egypt. At the end of his life, Antony is reported to have said to his disciples: “Live as though you were dying every day. Pay attention to yourselves and remember what I taught …
Ancient Answers 