This is the first week in Advent. What is Advent you ask? Simply, it is the four Sundays before Christmas (see my post from last year). As a separate liturgical season, Advent has its own areas of focus. Perhaps the strongest emphasis (besides preparing to celebrate Jesus' first birth) is on Jesus' return. Jesus' Second Coming can have unpleasant connotations in many modern minds. Popular authors have spun out scenarios of empty cars on the highway in the wake of “the rapture” (the idea that Christians are taken out … [Read more...] about Advent and the Second Coming
Mary
Advent Table Topic: Be Alert for Announcements
Kathleen Norris writes: I once heard a Protestant clergywoman say to an ecumenical assembly, "We all know there was no Virgin Birth. Mary was just an unwed, pregnant teenager, and God told her it was okay. That's the message we need to give girls today, that God loves them, and forget all this nonsense about a Virgin Birth." ... I happened to be sitting between some Russian Orthodox, who were offended theologically, and black Baptists, whose sense of theological affront was mixed with social concern. … [Read more...] about Advent Table Topic: Be Alert for Announcements
Week in Review: Mary Meets Lou Gehrig Edition
What are you reading, watching, thinking about this week? As usual, here's a few which have been on our mind. Let us know your thoughts on any/all of them. If you have items you'd like us to consider for the top five, add them in the comments or send them to Tom or Mike. 1. Mary and the Modern University (First Things): In light of the false perception that religion has little to do with thought, R. R. Reno (Theology, Creighton) asks: What, then, does Christianity add to academic life? What should make … [Read more...] about Week in Review: Mary Meets Lou Gehrig Edition