Michael Creavey's Blog, page 5

Gratefulness: Happiness' Prerequisite

As I look around our world right now, I see a great deal of the following: fear, anger, pain, frustration, rage, jealousy, aggression, pride, vanity, arrogance, hatred, and the list goes on.

Here's what I'm hardly seeing at all: humility, moral courage, faith, hope, love (real love, which isn't some vague feeling or political slogan, but genuinely willing the good of another and making real sacrifices for them), longsuffering, endurance, joy, peace, patience, and gratitude.

What I'm deeply conce...

The Word (3 of 3) - "The Power of Words"

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." I doubt there's a single person among us who hasn't heard that old rhyme at some point. Usually we hear it as children when we've just encountered a bully's taunts or a parent or teacher is trying to convince us to avoid fighting in favor of a higher road.

While those goals are all well and good, the problem is that the saying just isn't true. I don't know who first came up with this old adage. Our friend Wikipedia, citing Ga...

The Word (2 of 3) - "The Good Word"

In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, Psalm 107(106):20 reads "ἀπέστειλεν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἰάσατο αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐρρύσατο αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῶν διαφθορῶν αὐτῶν." The English translation reads, "[God] sent forth his word to heal them, and snatched them from the grave."

The psalmist recounts the struggle of his people, both spiritually and earthly. He recounts the arduous toil of the Israelites under the whips of the Egyptians and God's might at work through Moses that freed them...

The Word (1 of 3) - "THE Word"

What is a “word”? Is it only a symbolic reference? Is it, when spoken, just some arbitrary sound we make, a noise to which we attach a meaning that we could have attached otherwise? Is “dog” something we made up? Or is “dog-ness” something substantial - something really real? There is something about all of this that intrigues us. It bewilders and entices both imagination and intellect.

When I speak I use words. I use bodily mechanisms to deliberately communicate to others. I ask for things. I...

Facing Threats w/ Faith, Hope, and Love

In a time of great uncertainty and fear, I am as tempted to anxiety and even panic as anyone else. Perhaps I should instead take seriously some advice I just came across from a man who was far more acquainted with suffering than I am - C.S. Lewis. Commenting on how he was able to be getting on with life amidst the mounting fears of nuclear war, he wrote:

"'How are we to live in an atomic age?' I am tempted to reply: 'Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited...

Abraham: Idol Shop = Bull: China Shop

An ancient Midrash legend tells of Abraham in his early life, living in Ur of the Chaldees in Mesopotamia, "the land between two rivers" (Tigris & Euphrates).

Abraham was the son of Terah, a man who earned his living as an idol maker. Day in and day out, Terah worked diligently crafting "gods" of stone and wood. The rich pantheon of the ancient gods made it so there was no shortage of work for Terah. But his son did not share his worldview or his enthusiasm for idol worship, even at a young age...

Incorporation into the Whole Christ

These incredible insights from Saint Augustine blew my mind this morning so I had to share!

,Commentary of St Augustine on Psalm 60

,,,, In Christ we suffered temptation, and in him we overcame the Devil

Our pilgrimage on earth cannot be exempt from trial. We progress by means of trial. No one knows himself except through trial, or receives a crown except after victory, or strives except against an enemy or temptations.

The one who cries from the ends of the earth is in anguish, but is not le...

My Spiritual Fireteam

A war rages within us. In this combat, as in all earthly struggles, it is essential to possess the proper tools: ammunition, strategy, composure, and the appropriate armor. But there is no such thing as "an army of one". Perhaps the most important resource a soldier has are his fellow soldiers.

It's no less true in the realm of spiritual warfare. For some reason this is a hard lesson for me to learn. I began the fight with the immaculate armor of the Heavenly Host, bestowed on all recruits thro...

Of Yokes and Burdens

,Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Now, I'll be honest with you. EVERY time I hear this, my first reaction is something like this (even if only deep down): "HUH?!"

If you're anything like me, at first glance this seems like a rather tricky saying of Our Lord. Followin...