What Does it Mean to Backslide?
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Dear family Today March 25 we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation i.e. when Gabriel appears to Mary to tell she would become pregnant and a son to be called Jesus. So its nine months to Christmas and no, no one actually knows when the annunciation actually happened. Its celebrated now because Jesus birth is…
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…
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…
Dear family. In a few months, in June, those in the LGBTQ community will be celebrating Pride month, and our pride in who we are. Many from within the LGBTQ culture, as well as straight Christians, look to their faith for answers on what this all means, whether one can be gay or LGBTQ and…
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…
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…
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…
After our recent meeting a friend of mine and I had a discussion on hell and whether or not it was a place of eternal suffering without end. Many of our Evangelical brothers would believe that it is a place of eternal suffering. However other Christians would say that all who are cast into hell…
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…
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…
At a recent retreat I was at, the topic of forgiveness was discussed and various aspects of it. As I pondered more on what I heard and learned there I began to wonder what would true forgiveness look like? How could we recognize it. Is it simply a matter of saying “I’m sorry, please forgive…
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…
In Matthew 2nd chapter we are introduced to a group of men call Magi or wise men. These were men highly skilled in astrology, astronomy, predicting the future, and were sought after by kings and emperors as advisers to them. In the world of their day they would have been unsurpassed yet I believe that…
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…
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…
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, 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…
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-…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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 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….
I am dreaming of a world without war, A world of peace with justice for all, With no male or female slave or free, Where we all are one as children of God. A dream where the lion can lie with the lamb Where all will know the Lord and seek him Where the…
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…
A while back some of our people went into the “Mature Chat Room” on Christian Gays to discuss the idea of masturbation and “cumming”. Dad Larry found out about it, which started him thinking about a series of studies, of which this is the first one. With that in mind, what does the Bible say…
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…