Over the years I have often been asked about a passage in Matthew’s Gospel: “So be perfect,* just as your heavenly Father is perfect“. (Mt 5:48). Most people just wonder how in the world we could ever be perfect like God. Kind of a non-starter, so why try. Not only is it possible – it is commanded by Christ and empowered by his grace.
Be perfect, telios, the Greek word does not mean to be without sin, spot or blemish, but rather speaks of wholeness, a completeness, a certain end point, goal or destiny that is ours – in the end. In other words, to look to what God intends for us: our destiny, our divine calling – a project for this lifetime. A project that with the grace of God is ours in the here and now – and forever. A project that will reach “perfection” in heaven as we are then fully, wholly and completely what we were intended to be. Continue reading
Today is the Feast of St. Martha and the day’s celebration offers the celebrant 
In today’s 
Good and Loving God – so far today, I am doing well.
We easily speak the phrase “heaven and earth.” But most of us have trouble thinking about the concept of heaven the way the Bible actually describes it. We tend to imagine it as a beautiful place where we go after we die, but it’s so much more than that. Heaven and earth—God’s space and humans’ space—were originally united as one. When humanity chose to go their own way, those two spaces were driven apart. 
Today’s 
We here in Florida, the current epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, are entering the heart of hurricane season. All seasoned Floridians are quietly watching the forecasts from the tropics and west of the Azores Islands. As the philosopher George Santayana remarked, “Those who cannot remember the 
friarmusings 