We talk about the pursuit of Truth, of Veritas. When will we admit that Truth rarely comes dressed for dinner parties? It does not arrive ribbon-tied, polished, or polite. Think instead of Jesus on the cross: disfigured, broken, utterly human. Not a sight we would post on our Instagram feed or even on Facebook. AndContinue reading “The Ugly Truth”
Author Archives: acollins16
A prayer
Loving God, We walk through life knowing the world holds illness, loss and struggle. Yet when those shadows touch our own circle, we feel the tremor of our own mortality and the fear of meaning slipping away. Suffering is not just pain but the unravelling of our story. Be with us as we stand besideContinue reading “A prayer”
We all want heaven. What are we doing about it?
Aquinas says our true end is happiness in God and that charity gives shape to every other virtue. If that’s true, then everyday life becomes deeply theological: how we answer emails, correct a misunderstanding, or hold a boundary is either training our hearts for heaven or dragging them away. Personal formation is not an add-on;Continue reading “We all want heaven. What are we doing about it?”
Lifted UP
There is something profoundly human about the Feast of the Assumption. It is a moment that does not draw us away from our humanity, even though at first glance it may seem otherworldly as Mary is taken body and soul into heaven (a concept that challenges the finite human cognition), rather it plunges us intoContinue reading “Lifted UP”
The Weight of What Is Gone: A Theology of Loss
There are days when absence barks louder than presence. Loss is not a chapter we choose, yet it writes itself into the margins of our lives. It is in silence as you enter a space, follow routine, or go to say good morning or good night. We do not invite grief, but she enters anyway,Continue reading “The Weight of What Is Gone: A Theology of Loss”
Jubilee Hospitality
In this Jubilee year hospitality is about encounter not entertainment. At the table of our encounter we offer belonging, not simply food. It is the offer of a seat at the table that matters most. In a world addicted to efficiency and exhausted by division, hospitality is an act of resistance. We need to rememberContinue reading “Jubilee Hospitality”
Sacred in a shifting world
There’s a strange discomfort that comes with the word tradition these days. It can feel like an anchor, a shackle or a heavy weight at times., depending on who’s holding it. In secular discourse, tradition is often seen as the antithesis of progress – something dusty, rigid, inherited without interrogation. Sometimes, in my Church, it’sContinue reading “Sacred in a shifting world”
Looking for the dead
We begin at the tomb—don’t we always? Early in the morning, like Mary Magdalene, or hiding behind closed doors like Thomas. We want proof. A body. Something cold and sealed and heavy with certainty. We want to lay hands on what’s no longer alive because, frankly, it’s easier to believe in death than in resurrection.Continue reading “Looking for the dead”
The things that settle
I’ve been thinking a lot about dust lately. After all, I see it regularly. Not metaphorical dust—just actual, ordinary, slow-settling dust. The kind that gathers on shelves you stop noticing. The kind that creeps in where no one goes. I used to brush it away every weekend, as if it were some sort of failureContinue reading “The things that settle”
Strength of mind and will
It’s easy to mistake strength for survival. To think that getting through something — intact, upright, still functioning — is enough. And sometimes it is. Christian strength, the kind we don’t always talk about, is not just about endurance. It’s about being formed. It’s about will and mind working together to become more than whatContinue reading “Strength of mind and will”
The Female Theologian 