This is the fifth in a series of weekly reflections through the season of Lent, written by Bobby Gross, who contributed the reflections for this past Advent Season. The first appeared on Ash Wednesday. You can browse the second reflection here, third reflection here, and the fourth reflection here. Racism has haunted my whole life. It is like a chronic disease acquired in early childhood, sometimes debilitating, sometimes only hobbling, always painful. Even with the latest in medical treatment, I can never fully … [Read more...] about Lenten Reflections: Resisting Racism
Devotional
Lenten Reflections: Guarding Against Pride
This is the fourth in a series of weekly reflections through the season of Lent, written by Bobby Gross, who contributed the reflections for this past Advent Season. The first appeared on Ash Wednesday. You can browse the second reflection here and the third reflection here. We all know that pride is a problem. It blinds us. It inflates us. It goes before a fall. But we've also bought into certain positive versions of pride: to feel good about who we are and what we do. We raise our kids to have self-esteem … [Read more...] about Lenten Reflections: Guarding Against Pride
Lenten Reflections: Temptation
This is the second in a series of weekly reflections through the season of Lent, written by Bobby Gross, who contributed the reflections for this past Advent Season. The first appeared on Ash Wednesday. We are all subject to temptation. The slippery tendency to think selfishly or perversely. The quick impulse to speak hurtfully or deceptively. The ready inclination to act unkindly if not unjustly. The craven or just plain apathetic inertia that leaves the right things undone. The instinctive choice to privilege … [Read more...] about Lenten Reflections: Temptation
In Honor of Women’s History Month: A Few of My Favorite Women Saints
In honor of Women's History Month, I've gathered for our readers the stories of a few of my favorite women saints. Sadly, even though we've been celebrating Women's History Month in the U.S. since 1987, the Church remains of one of the few places in our society where the contributions of women have not been celebrated like they could be and should be. One reason for the lack of acknowledgement and celebration of women's achievements throughout Church history is that many of the Early Church Fathers embraced Greek … [Read more...] about In Honor of Women’s History Month: A Few of My Favorite Women Saints
Epiphany: Shedding Light
Tomorrow, January 6, is the Feast of the Epiphany, the day the church remembers the revelation of Jesus as God Incarnate, and the homage paid the infant Jesus by the Magi. In this concluding reflection in our Advent and Christmastide series, Bobby Gross helps us reflect on the significance of the day, the season which follows, and the possibility of epiphanies in our lives. The apostle Paul, writing to the earliest Christians in Corinth, makes a remarkable affirmation: For it is the God who said, ‘Let light … [Read more...] about Epiphany: Shedding Light