Matthew 25 Translation for the 21st Century

by Brother Lawrence Damien Cos “Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?”  Dear CG family Enclosed find my latest article on Baptism for the Dead. It stems from a discussion we had in Sunday school…

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…

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…

During the season of Lent many churches do what are called the Stations of the Cross. These are fourteen stations, which re-enact the last moments of Jesus life here on earth from His condemnation before Pilate through His body being laid in the tomb. We get to walk with Christ along the same path He…

          As we begin this story in I Samuel 3 we find Samuel ministering under Eli. He was given to the Lord by his mother Hannah and has been livingwith Eli learning to be a priest. However, it did not teach one tohear the voice of the Lord and recognize it,…

Dear family and friends We have recently gone through Epiphany/Ordinary Times and been introduced to Jesus in many different settings. Then we came to Shrove Tuesday ate out pancakes, took stock of ourselves, confessed our sins, received absolution and penances to do during Lent, Then we arrived at Ash Wednesday and got faced with our…

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….

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…

We have made it through Easter, encountered the risen Christ and are moving from there. The next two events are Ascension Thursday (or Ascension Sunday if the church doesn’t have Thursday services) and the ten days later is Pentecost which then leads to the beginning of Ordinary Times, which lasts to the beginning of Advent…

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…

Recently the US under president Trump moved the its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in Israel sparking a lot of concern, consternation and violence by those opposed to the move mainly Arabs. Part of the problem as I see it is something called Zionism and the belief on the part of many that we…

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…

Dear Family I was surfing on the internet and came across what were called “Living Humanist Values : The Ten Commitments.” They are based on the Ten Commandments found in the Bible but taken from a humanist standpoint and non religious platform. While I do not endorse Humanism necessarily I think the article makes some…

    Dear family,   In the Christian world, you often hear talk about backslidden Christians. This even though the word never appears in the New Testament. It is an Old Testament concept meaning to fall away. In Zephaniah, chapter 1 we read of judgment being called down on Judah because they have forsaken the…

Dear family, During this Advent season as we approach the coming Christmas season I have been drawn to thinking about and contemplating land, Mother Earth, nature, my cat Mowgli. Especially the song they sing to me and the words of wisdom they speak to me. It’s a song of life, of going on, of new…

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…

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.

How many roads can a gay man walk down Before they will call him a man? How many times must a gay man cry out Before his voice can be heard? And how many gays must take their lives Until we know to many have died? The answer my friend lies with you and me…

Dear Family, As we celebrate Palm Sunday I would like us to consider where we stand concerning Jesus. In today’s readings taken from Mark 14:1-15:47. It starts off with the religious leaders trying to figure out how they can arrest Jesus without starting a riot. They can’t find any legitimate way to take him so…

What is Good Friday All About?   By Brother Lawrence Damien   Dear Family   Today is Good Friday so what is it and why do we celebrate it? This is day that Christians throughout the world commemorate the crucifixion of Christ. Church services recall the account of Jesus death given in Christian scriptures especially…

In recent weeks I have been thinking about how to live victoriously and triumphantly in Christ. I have been thinking about Hebrews 12:1-2 and the fact it says that for the joy that was set before him Jesus endured the cross Hebrews12:2 in the New Revised Standard Version says “…looking to Jesus the pioneer and…

We have gotten through Holy Week and celebrated Easter and now its Easter night.  The disciples are all sitting behind locked doors debating a message they had received earlier in the day.  Certain women had gone to the tomb early in the morning to anoint the body of Jesus.  When they arrived they found an…

Why Did Israel Want a King and What Were The Consequences? By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear Family I participate in a conference call on Monday nights where several of us gather to discuss what we have been reading in the Bible and sharing any insights God may have shown us so all can be…

Dear family Continuing on Lenten journey today I am reflecting on the Book of Revelation and what it may mean for those of us now in the age of Coronavirus. In my evangelical days I saw the Book of Revelation as pointing to the last days just prior to the return of Christ to this…

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…

Sixteen years ago at Thanksgiving 2002 I began a journey that would ultimately take me from the Evangelicalism of my younger years to my becoming a Catholic in 2008 which I still am. During that time as a man dedicated to following the “Word” and Jesus I have had a problem and wrestled over seemingly…

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….

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…

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…

Dear family In the last few months during the having to be shut in due to the Coronavirus I have had a lot of time for reflection and contemplation on various aspects of my life and how well I may be doing in seeking to be more like Christ and fulfilling the ministry he has…