From the category archives:

THEOLOGY

AGILITY: physical or mental quickness

April 17, 2013

I suspect that most of us think of physical activity when we hear the word agility.  In my case it has to do with that quality which has never been attributed to me.  Agility in physical activity implies that the person has lithe, flexible moves, making (him) capable of twisting, turning, and bending to do [...]

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SOURCE: the place from which something originates

March 22, 2013

Every now and then it gets frustrating to read or listen to people who claim the “truth” based upon their having found a story on the Internet or in some other recently-created resource.   This is true in all walks of life, from politics and economics to biblical references.   It amazes me that well-meaning people believe [...]

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JESUIT: [JEZH-oo-it] : a member of the Roman Catholic order of the Society of Jesus (J.S.)

March 15, 2013

[Thanks to my faithful reader, Jenni Chandler, who suggested that it would be timely to feature the word Jesuit, given the election of Pope Francis I, himself a member of the Jesuit order.   Please consider adding your own word. I also interract with my readers on FaceBook.  Feel free to friend me and add to [...]

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EXISTENTIAL [eg-zi-STEN-shuhl]: that which is known by experience rather than reason; empirical as opposed to theoretical

March 13, 2013

This may sound like a super-intellectual posting, but it really isn’t.  In fact, my purpose in writing this posting is to rescue an academic word, existential, and try to expose it as a word that can be employed in ordinary, everyday conversation. The concept of existential has to do with reality.   It asks us to [...]

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CONCLAVE : a gathering behind locked doors

March 12, 2013

[Thanks go today to my friend, my Priest, The Rev. Pamela Mott, who is soon to become The Rev. Canon Pamela Mott, Canon to the Ordinary of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts.  Her word, Conclave, is particularly apt on this, the first day of the Papal Conclave, where the next Pope of the Roman Catholic [...]

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AGNOSTIC [ag-NOS-tik] : a person who denies or doubts the possibility of the existence of God

March 11, 2013

The confusion between the meanings of agnostic and atheist are sometimes confused, not only by the person reading the terms, but by the persons using the terms.  When someone embraces a position of opposing organized religion it may be more emotional than intellectual, and the person may skip several steps … including the need to [...]

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PAPACY: a non-democratic form of governance for a Church

February 28, 2013

The Papacy has been the manner of governance for the Roman Catholic Church for two thousand years..   It is a system by which a man is elected by his peers to administer the billions of Roman Catholics and the assets of the Vatican, the official home of the Pope.   It is a humongous job, as [...]

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SAINT VALENTINE: a third century saint with a 21st century mission

February 14, 2013

The stories about the man we know as St. Valentine are sketchy.  They have been edited, re-arranged, and adopted for centuries to fit ideas and needs which emerged in the Church.   Today the Roman Catholic Church no longer officially recognizes Valentine as a legitimate Saint, but history is hard to erase.  The Anglican Communion, the [...]

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PURDAH [PUR-duh]: the seclusion of women from the sight of men or strangers, practiced by some Muslims and Hindus.

February 6, 2013

The more we in the non-Islamic world can learn about the traditions and practices of Islam the better.  We have been raised, for the most part, in a culture of ignorance about the religion, and are vulnerable to teachings which are biased and dangerous. One such example came to me in viewing the film, Zero [...]

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28: the number of people who died in the Newtown shootings

December 24, 2012

I recognize that our primary concern in Newtown, Ct., following the shootings 10 days ago is the children and their teachers.  The huge outpouring of grief around the world has been stimulated by the fact that these victims were innocent little children and their brave educators.    Nothing can detract from that, nor should it. But [...]

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