And it's also St. Valentine's Day. So as I do every year, I'm sharing this photo I took of St. Valentine's skull, which is now in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in Rome. It's hard to tell if there are ashes on his forehead, though.
As we begin our lenten pilgrimage, I'm not going to try to do what a lot of people out there are doing, which is give advice for how to fast, or share what they're giving up. I always feel like that is kind of private (as we keep hearing in the gospels in The Journey, Jesus warned against making a show of your fasting, etc.) and there are pretty clear guidelines for fasting that the Church puts out there for us. But if you want more direction, there are some good YouTube channels out there (and some bad ones, so watch out).
And I'm also not going to do that thing where someone might say something like, try to do more than last year, or do better than last year, or something like this. I guess all I'll say is, don't make it a comparison or a contest - not even one where you are competing with yourself or trying for some personal best. Think of Lent as an extended vigil, and keep the focus on the morning, which is Resurrection Day. It's not about last year, or any year in the past, but make it only about this year, this Lent, and a constant awareness of the reality of our need for salvation, and gratitude for it.
Finally, if you want to practice Lent the way it was in the early Church, also keep in mind that during this time there are people preparing for baptism, and for reception into the Church. Lent originally began (at least in part) as a time of fasting with the catechumens preparing for baptism. Maybe you know someone who will be baptized or received in the Church at the Easter Vigil this year. Maybe there are people going through that at your church. Either way, pray for them this Lent, whoever they are.
I'm sure I'll have more thoughts about Lent, but for now, don't just let it go by, be intentional about how you will observe Lent this year, and put it on your calendar. I know for me, if I don't literally write FAST on my calendar every Friday, that day will come when I forget. So if that's you, take the time today to write it on your calendar so that you can keep up with whatever you decide to do.
Here's a short (about a minute) video I took going around the Holy Column in the church of Santa Prassede. This is the column that Jesus was tied to when he was scourged by Pontius Pilate. They don't always have the barrier down, so you usually don't get to see it from all the way around. I wanted to get video of the whole thing all the way around because I ran across a note in an ancient document that said that those who made a pilgrimage (at that time to the Holy Land, since it was still in Jerusalem) could visit the Holy Column, and could see marks left from the hands of Jesus where he gripped it as he was being whipped. I assume that this is pious legend, but I figured since the column has that dark & light marble, maybe there's a place where the dark parts look like hands. I did not see it, but if you do, let me know!
I mentioned in The Journey that I wrote a song based on Isaiah 2, which is one of my favorite OT passages:
In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain, and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it. Many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us go up to the Lord’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations, and set terms for many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
I hope you like the song!
Here is our next set of texts - as we get into John chapter 6, we first encounter Jesus feeding the multitudes - in this case 5,000 families!
Now, as you know, there is also an account o Jesus feeding 4,000, and so you may also know that some scholars might speculate that these are just different versions of the same story that circulated and were handed down orally, until they were written down. Even the fact that both stories occur in the same gospel would not stop that kind of speculation. So I thought the first question I would have to ask was whether the Church fathers thought this was one event or two - BUT (and you see where this is going) I forgot that Jesus himself makes reference to two separate events (in Matthew 16 and in Mark 8) so there is no question for the Church fathers - these are two separate events. So it seems that Jesus performed this sign (miracle) of the feeding of the multitudes on two occasions. It's not just one event told two different ways, and it's also ...
My voice was still recovering from a bad cold, so not sounding my best, but this was a great conversation about pilgrimage, for the Jubilee year - more of this coming in other interviews! (FYI, I think I was the third of three guests that day, so you will have to fast forward to find me)
It seems that one way or another we need to talk about different kinds, or different levels of heresy. What I have been calling heresy vs. heterodoxy, others call heresy on fundamental doctrines vs. heresy on less fundamental doctrines. In other words, Heresy with a capital H (over fundamental doctrines like the Trinity and christology) are the kinds of heresies that move one outside the boundaries of what Christianity is, and that's because the very definition of Christianity is defined according to these fundamental doctrines. To refuse to sign the Creed at the Council of Nicaea in 325, or the Council of Constantinople in 381 - and indeed to reject any of the contents of the Creed today - means that a person is NOT a Christian.
So are the non-chalcedonians, such as the miaphysites (including St. Gregory of Narek, and today's Coptic Christians) - are they heretics? Well, like it is with a lot of things, that depends on your definition of heresy. If you include in your definition of ...
