Passiontide When you listen carefully to the words of the Act of Consecration of Man you will eventually notice that a few times something is lacking. Although in itself the text is perfect, it sounds as if some sentences are not complete. The verb is lacking: Christ in us Christ in the lifting of our […]
“The Light of the Body is Your Eye” (Lk.11:34) A large part of our lives—maybe the largest part—consists of watching events without being able to do anything. That is true for the news the world dishes up for us every day; it is also true for countless events that happen to us. Natural disasters, illness, […]
Youth Adventure Camps! This summer, the Youth Adventure Camp of The Christian Community is going to the trail, to the beach, to the rivers. We will run outdoor adventure camps this summer with room for twenty participants on each trip. Each trip will create an independent and full camp experience, with singing, stories and projects […]
The Transfiguration on the Mountain (Mt.17:1-13) Each era has its own images of Christ. Each of these images has its own one-sidedness, but maybe together they form the whole truth. In the first few centuries of Christianity there were only symbols of abundant life and trust: the fish, the anchor, the shepherd. Only in the […]
The Temptation in the Desert (Mt.4) In countless ways power is wielded over people in our time. True, the battle for power is as old as humanity, but the battle is getting worse. We know the weapons through which this happens: Force is power. Money is power. Knowledge is power. Not only physical weapons are […]
Luke 18: 18-34 One of the most striking and most disturbing phenomena of our time is the division that is growing on all fronts of society. It does not stop at the national borders, when peoples keep off anything that goes beyond self-interest. We see this division also in groups and individuals who fight for […]
STAND UP! (Jn.5:8) Illness is everyone’s affair. This not only means that we will all fall ill some time or other, but that each human being carries a lifelong ailment with him or her. In the language of the Act of Consecration of Man this is called the sickness of sin. A critical question applies […]
“According to Your Faith, So Let It Be” (Mt.8:13) It is in our social environment not at all a matter of course to trust people. How often is our trust in others betrayed? But as foolhardy as it is to blindly trust people, so destructive can it be to face the whole world with distrust. […]
“And His Disciples Believed in Him” (Jn.2:11) In a society where everything is focused on visible, tangible results, we all actually live according to the principle of first seeing, then believing. Whether we want to or not, we have in a certain sense all become materialists. We want to see, hear, touch and taste—then only […]
And His Mother Kept All These Words in Her Heart Lack of understanding separates people all over the earth. It causes barriers between individuals, groups, and peoples. Wherever we go, everywhere on earth we see the tangible results of these invisible hurdles. Lack of mutual understanding can escalate so badly that people exclude each other […]