Finding "peace with God": How important is it?

Dear Friends,

Unfortunately the normal commentary today from Daniel has failed to make it through to me. I'm not sure what the delay is but I'll bring it to you when it is available. In its place I've prepared a lead commentary today looking at the following quotation from Thomas Merton which I came across a couple of days ago. <Read today's lead commentary>

Looking for balance in our spirituality… Here is another of those beautifully eclectic reflections by Vince Exley where he pulls togehter a couple of lengthy quotes from other authors he has recently been reading. Vince writes: "At the present time our local Vinnies is struggling with the problem of using plastic bags in our shop. I have dug up some random readings on how we need to care for both persons and the environment and how we need to be Church to do this." <more>

Do we need to re-discover some of the insights of Aquinas? Today's commentary is almost guaranteed to drive any self-respecting fundamentalist into a state of apoplexy. Peregrinus explores how the views of Thomas Aquinas on morality became superceded by the views of the Franciscan, William of Ockham, and that has helped fashion our moral understanding right down to the present day. He advances arguments why a more intelligent understanding of morality suggests we might begin paying more attention to the arguments of Thomas Aquinas. His core argument is for a new synthesis between the valuable viewpoints put forward by both Aquinas and Ockham. <more>

The Master Knot of Human Fate… In this commentary Dr Andrew Thomas Kania leads us through the intriguing and ingenious plot of the Spanish writer, Miguel de Unamuno's book, Niebla. Andrew entitled the essay "The Master Knot of Human Fate" and draws our attention to the following passage from Genesis: "So Yahweh God expelled him from the Garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the Garden he posted cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life." (3: 23-24, The Jerusalem Bible) In short summary, this is a fascinating way of envisaging our own adult relationship with God… <more>

31.3: Looking for positive alternatives… In this penultimate extract from the conclusion to his book, Tom Lee turns his attention to looking at some alternatives that offer some hope for the future. <more>

Reflections on the nature of priesthood #11… In the last few days Tom McMahon journied back to his old seminary with seven of his now octagenarian classmates. He reflects a little on that but at greater length on how the clerical priesthood seems to have lost its way on the journey into the 21st Century. <more>

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life or in our world!

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher