For Everything There is a Season and a Reason

Dear. family, Why did Jesus die? Many Evangelicals would answer to appease an angry God. God was upset with the fall of our first parents and was going to send everyone to hell. Jesus came then to solve that problem and save all who would believe in him. However, is that the case or is…

Back in the 1960’s the 5th Dimension sang a song called “Age of Aquarius”. In the song, So they claimed that the dawning of the age of Aquarius was happening right then. What is this age about? What will it be like? How can we identify it? Can it be a reality or is it…

What is Lazarus Saturday? By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear family In about a week we will be celebrating Holy Week and for most of us here in the West that will begin on Palm Sunday marking the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. However within the Orthodox Churches Holy Week starts a day earlier…

Dear Family, On September 29, in the Roman Catholic Church, Episcopal/Anglican Church, and many other church traditions, we will celebrate the Feast Of Saint Michael and all Angels.  So why does the church have this celebration? First, to remind us that we have spirits we can call on, to help us through this life.  The…

Dear Family, Bruce sent me a copy of a chat that happened in chat the other night after I left between Bruce, Dad and Father Steve. They were discussing morning stars and how both Satan/Lucifer and Jesus are referred to as morning stars and wondering why? Enclosed find my response to them in case anyone…

What Can We Learn From An Adulterous Woman? Dear family. For several weeks now I have been stuck meditating and thinking about the woman caught in the act of adultery by religious leaders looking for a way to find fault with Jesus. The story is found in the Gospel of John chapter 8:2-10. Jesus had…

Dear family Here is my next chapter. Hope you are enjoying this and comments welcomed. Brother Lawrence Damien Cos   Down The Mountain To The Valley To Confront Life (Chapter 2) In our last chapter we were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moses, Elijah, Jesus and God. What an experience that must have been….

What is Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday? By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear family Palm Sunday has come and gone. Holy Week has begun and we are about to witness and be a part of the last few moments of Christ’s life. The first major event of that week comes on Maundy Thursday or Holy…

“To be like Jesus, To be like Jesus, All I ask is to be like Him, Through all life’s journey, From earth to glory, All I ask is to be like Him.”   Dear Family Back in my Evangelical days I used to sing the above song a lot. Then would come the trials, tests…

Brother Lawrence Damien  Cos (Community of Solitude) was born in Maine in 1948, started teaching/preaching in 1966, and was ordained to the ministry in 1970. I was raised in the Congregational faith and later became Church of Christ, then Pentecostal, then Episcopal then Independent Catholic. which I still am today. I was educated at Melodyland…

As I was meditating on the messages of this past weekend specifically the message of Pastor John on Saturday morning and Pastor Cavalain’s on Friday night and Saturday morning I began to feel God speaking to me what I believe may be the next step in fulfillment of the vision of the tapestry given to…

Dear family As I believe most of you know I am a monk and a member of a monastic community called “The Community of Solitude”. So what is solitude? It is my belief that the whole universal church is called to spend periods of time in solitude seeking God and yet for me and other…

The following study is based on an article sent to me by Bruce Kine called Close Encounters of the Sacred Kind by Lee Speigel, a contributor to AOL News. It also includes the opinions of Rev. Barry Downing, a retired Presbyterian minister who believes that earth has been visited by extraterrestrial beings since Bible times…

Why Do WE Celebrate Palm Sunday? By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear family, Tomorrow is Palm Sunday when the Christian Church celebrates Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It is the last Sunday of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week. Jesus is coming fresh from raising Lazarus from the dead. While many believed in him…

Dear Family, Many when joining a monastic community change their name as I myself did. Why do we do this? What is the meaning of it?  Is it something the Catholic Church dreamed up or is there a biblical basis for the practice?  In my last post I shared how I changed my name and…

Reflections on Radical Jesus the Taboo Breaker By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear Family, Today’s gospel reading was on the women at the well of Jacob in Samaria. If we read this from a 21st century we might think what is so shocking about this passage. After all men talk to women everyday even women…

Dear family Enclosed a draft of a new book I am considering writing and a draft of the first chapter of what I believe will be many more to come hopefully. Interested in getting reaction to what I have to say and as always all comments welcomed. Look forward to hearing back from you all….

Is God and Environmentalist? By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear Family On Saturday April 22 we will be celebrating Earth Day here in the USA. That got me to thinking about what God might think of Earth Day? What would God think of our handling of the earth? Would he or she care? Many believe…

INTRODUCTION Recently many of my friends and I have been discussing compassion and the compassionate Christ. What is it, what would it look like are questions we have asked ourselves and discussed with each other. One important issue we need to address and think about is how do we bring the reality of a compassionate…

Today is forty days since we celebrated Easter and the glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the grave. Now He is preparing to return back to the father and no longer be visible to the disciples and others whom He has just spent the last forty days with teaching and instructing them. The disciples…

St. Patrick Versus the Snakes All Gory Be to Jesus How St. Patrick Drove All the Snakes in Ireland in to the Sea By Brother Lawrence Damien Dear family Today is Saint Patrick’s Day. Allegedly he drove all the snakes in Ireland into the sea and that is why there are no snakes in Ireland…

Dear family,   Enclosed find a study I did for a group on Saturday I belong to. I thought others might be blessed by it and want to participate or share with others. There are no right or wrong answers. It is intended to get us thinking about the true meaning of Christmas for each…

What is Shrove Tuesday (aka Fat Tuesday)? By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos A week from today many will be gathering in their churches to eat pancakes and celebrate Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday. It marks the end of Ordinary times or Epiphany depending on your tradition and getting ready for Ash Wednesday and the beginning…

Dear Family A couple of days I posted an article on peace and violence I had found on the internet that I thought made a good case for non violence and peace. Today I would like to explore that a bit further with some of my own thoughts Two Different Views On War 1. Just…

The Annunciation of the Lord By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear family, Saturday March 25 will be The Annunciation of the Lord also known as The Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also known as the Annunciation or Our Lady or Lady Day in England. It is Christian celebration of the announcement by…

Today we celebrate Good Friday, the day on which our Lord, Savior, and Master was crucified and buried. What is the significance of this day?  Some may see it as a sad time and see no reason to call it good.  Others may say that Christ couldn’t have died on Friday as that would be…

A look at what the Bible says about homosexuality as discovered by a conservative Evangelical Charismatic Gay Christian pastor

 Preface

 As a gay Christian for many years I have struggled with the issues of the Bible and homosexuality. I have tried to reconcile what I was taught, what I thought I understood the Bible to…

Dear family Enclosed find a 21st rendition of the words of Jesus found in Matthew 25 I found on the internet. I believe they have a very pointed message for our time. Any comments would be welcomed. Brother Lawrence Damien Cos I was molested and you didn’t believe me I was LGBTQ and you dehumanized…

In recent days there has been much discussion on what it means to be “Born Again”. Some would say it just a confession of faith and giving ones heart to the Lord. Others would insist that one must be baptized, speak in tongues, dress a certain way, subscribe to a certain doctrine, or belong to…

Session 1 Length of Time: 30 Opening Prayer Hindu Peace Prayer I desire neither earthly kingdom, nor paradise; not even freedom from birth and death. I desire only the deliverance from grief of those afflicted by misery.