Advent

As we move into the season of Advent, many of us will have trouble becoming part of the anticipation of Christ in this part of the Liturgical Year. Perhaps it is our learning that gets in the way. Maybe we have become weary of the literal meaning of the birth narratives, and have not yet found a way to incorporate Myth and metaphor properly into our thoughts and meditations during this wonderful time.

Try this. Think to yourself "The Christ that arrives for me at the end of this Advent will be the Christ I will carry with me the rest of the Liturgical year". Then spend Advent simply meditating on who Jesus is to you, and celebrate his coming.

Br. Michael

Sacred Heart Parish

This blog will soon be linked to a website and a myspace page for Sacred Heart Parish, a Community of the Reformed Catholic Church.

It is a Parish that is being started in Pickerington Ohio (east Columbus area).

The vision for Sacred Heart is to be an inclusive community where people can use their gifts and be who God has created them to be, and a place where we can explore together what it means to be Catholic in the Postmodern era.

Br. Michael

Order of Preachers of John the Beloved

As you may know, I am a Friar of the Order of Preachers of John the Beloved.

We are the Dominican Order of the Reformed Catholic Church, an independent Catholic jusrisdiction.

If you wand more information about the OPJB or the RCC, please comment on this blog, email me at: creationmystic@aol.com

You may also visit the RCC website: www.reformedcatholicchurch.org

The Sacrament of Baptism

In Emerging Catholicism, through its creation-centered spirituality, we are forced to rethink the Augustinian emphasis on Original Sin (and the Modern era's obsession with it). If we are to turn the focus to Original Blessing (which is something more prominent in Genesis and in the Gospels) we must discuss the place of Baptism in the Catholic Faith.

If Baptism is to remain a Sacrament, and not just be regarded as a symbol of our initiation into the Church, we must explore its real meaning.

Perhaps we should ask the question, "What is the real power of Baptism?".

Br. Michael

The Sacrament of the Eucharist (Holy Communion)

The Holy Eucharist is central to the faiths of over a billion Catholic Christians worldwide. However, few take the time to see more than mere tradition when it comes to Communion. How many people who take communion every day have taken an active role in persuing this Mystery?

With more and more people pointing out the "cannibalistic" imagry invoked by the Eucharistic ritual, how can we celebrate this as Catholics today?

Let's begin this discussion.

Br. Michael

The Sacrament of Confession (Penance)

The Sacrament of Confession is one of the most defining Catholic traditions. In the Anglican Communion, individual confession has almost been totally replaced by the "general absolution" given by the priest after the "confession of sin" section of the Mass. Even the encouragement of confession in the traditional sense seems less and less common.

If we are to live as Catholics in the Postmodern world, we must consider what this sacrament can really mean for us, and restore it to our spiritual lives.

I encourage you to post comments here, so we can begin dialogue together on the Sacrament of Confession.

Br. Michael

How Much Do We Really KNow?

We live in an interesting paradox. One one hand we live in an era that is always questioning knowledge that has been passed down to us. On the other hand we still can't live beyond our own time. Not only are we not learning from the past the way we should, but we are still assuming that we basically understand ourselves and the universe.

Consider for a moment that some of the debates of our time are too far beyond our grasp to be debated the way they are. What about the current divisive debate on human sexuality? With this growing debate in which everybody seems to be so sure they are right, and with the thousands of books out there to "teach" us about something that is part of our nature, one has to raise some serious questions.

Is there a concept (or many) dealing with sexuality that we have yet to even think about? I personally think that there is something which we are not able to see right now. One explanation is that there are too few people who are willing to enter into honest dialogue on the subject.
Sexuality is a great Mystery of the Trinity. With mysteries we must "love the questions" as Theologian Marianne Micks suggests. We must take this journey together.

This is why dialogue is so central to the Catholicism of the Postmodern era. It is only thus that we are able to be seekers together, instead of divided worlds unto ourselves, believing that we only have a place for the conclusions we come to ourselves. We are in effect saying "We musn't be the body of Christ".

What if the answer is beyond all of us?

Br. Michael

About this blog.

Greetings!

The purpose of this blog is to offer a journey for those who are wondering how to be Catholic in the Postmodern era. Through this blog, you can enter into dialogue with others who are on this journey, and discuss how we can live the Christian life through Catholic traditions and customs that may be presented to us by our churches in ways that don't seem to relate to us as postmodern christians.

In addition to discussion, I will also post items that will help you in your seeking. Book titles, devotions, bible study items, prayers etc.
Enjoy!

Br. Michael Tigner OPJB