What Does it Mean to Backslide?
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by Brother Lawrence Damien CoS Dear Family, In a week we will celebrate Ash Wednesday and many of us will be going to church to get our foreheads marked with the sign of the cross from ashes made from burning last year’s Palm Branches that were used and blessed on Palm Sunday. So why will…
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…
Within the straight and gay communities there are people who practice BDSM (Bondage, Discipline or Domination, Sadism and Masochism. This is a form of role play involving “slaves” and “masters”. I have no intention of either defending or endorsing, or condemning the practice. However there are principles within these activities, which are applicable to our…
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…
In recent years there has been a rise of Conservative Evangelicalism which has to pass itself off as the legitimate and only form of true Christianity. Theirs is faith-centered in a personal relationship with Jesus, and following a conservative theological understanding of the Bible, as well as a politically conservative agenda. Their idea is to…
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…
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….
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…
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.
By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Muiscas Ceremony for Connectedness “When I consider your heavens the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them] 5 You have made them a little lower…
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…
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…
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…
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…
What can we learn from St. Mary the Mother of Jesus that can apply to us today? Is she relevant to us today? Does she have anything to say to us now that will help us today? Recently I have been studying about Mary and trying to understand, venerate and honor her properly. The following…
What is the Real Story of Easter? By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Today is Easter Sunday the day when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead. If you come from a traditional, fundamentalist either Protestant or Catholic background you may as I was taught that God was mad at humankind because of their…
Some right now might consider me a heretic and want to stone me for even asking such a question. However there are those within the gay community who would insist they were (lovers), and this can be proven from the Bible. So who’s right? There are only five scriptures that speak of any special love…
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…
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…
What is Chrism Mass By Brother Lawrence Damien Cos Dear Family, We are approaching Holy Week. At some point during Holy Week the priests, bishops and the faithful will gather for a Chrism Mass. This mass has two purposes. First it is the time for the blessing of the oils which will be used in…
Dear Family As anyone knows who knows me very well knows I am an pacifist committed to non violence. I believe all wars are immoral and that we as Christians and followers of Jesus are called to be peacemakers. Enclosed find an article that for me sums up the case very well for non violence…
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 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, 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…
Recently there has been much discussion on whether or not to come out of the closet. Who do we tell if we do? Do we tell everyone and flaunt our beliefs in their face? While I live openly as a gay man I also understand the need because of family, church, friends, job and a…
Read chapter 1 “A Passion For Compassion” first Chapter 2 “…and none of the condemned things are to be found in your hands. Then the LORD will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors-…
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…
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…
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…