Psalm 62: “In you alone is my soul at rest. My help comes from you.”

One problem a collection of reflections like this might have relative to other websites of “spirituality” results from the Christian perspective. Books with wider public appeal do not give preference to any such “narrow” perspective. A friend asked me if a book of my reflections would be an appropriate gift for some Jewish friends. I had to say that I didn't think so. No effort is made here to exclude Jewish or Islamic or Hindu readers; in fact we are all indebted to these faiths for insights. I believe with Saint Paul that God has not left any part of the world without some witness to God's love for us.

For Christians that witness shines out in Jesus Christ. I don't think that we can say that it is only in Christ that God has revealed something about God's love for all human beings. On the other hand, to ignore Christ in the interest of a wider appeal would be turning our backs on what has formed and nourished us. Faithful Jews, it seems to me, must affirm that God has shown love for them by the care given the Chosen People and described in the Scriptures.

Other religions affirm a similar message through entirely different images of God or of the power that cares for the world. It's hard to imagine -- impossible to believe -- that God does not make the divine love available to human beings wherever they are.

Psalm 27: “I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness / in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord; be strong; / be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord!”

Reply to Fr. Don at: DTalafous@csbsju.edu

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