Only Reckless Confidence In A Source Greater

Our Identity Rests In God's Relentless Tenderness For Us Revealed In Jesus Christ.

The Fierce Words Of Jesus Addressed To The Pharisees Of His Day Stretch Across The Bands Of Time. Today They Are Directed Not Only To Fallen Televangelists But To Each Of Us. We Miss Jesus' Point Entirely When We Use His Words As Weapons Against Others. They Are To Be Taken Personally By Each Of Us. This Is The Form And Shape Of Christian Pharisaism In Our Time. Hypocrisy Is Not Hte Prerogative Of People In High Places. The Most Impoverished Among Us Is Capable Of It. Hypocrisy Is The Natural Expression Of What Is Meanest In Us All.

The Dominant Characteristic Of An Authentic Spiritual Life Is The Gratitude That Flows From Trust — Not Only For All The Gifts That I Receive From God, But Gratitude For All The Suffering. Because In That Purifying Experience, Suffering Has Often Been The Shortest Path To Intimacy With God.

For Ragamuffins, God's Name Is Mercy. We See Our Darkness As A Prized Possession Because It Drives Us Into The Heart Of God. Without Mercy Our Darkness Would Plunge Us Into Despair - For Some, Self-destruction. Time Alone With God Reveals The Unfathomable Depths Of The Poverty Of The Spirit. We Are So Poor That Even Our Poverty Is Not Our Own: It Belongs To The Mysterium Tremendum Of A Loving God.

Without Exposure To Potential Failure, There Is No Risk.