Word and Silence

The Gospels say that Jesus began his ministry by coming into Galilee and preaching the Gospel. So what was the Gospel he preached? Well, we know what it wasn't: "Jesus has died for your sins", because at this stage, he obviously hadn't. It seems that what he proclaimed as Good News was the Kingdom of God. So what on earth is that? I'm glad you asked...

Meister Eckart said "God is no thing". We are people whose brains seem hardwired to think in terms of things so the great mystic's words are hard to fathom. In this episode talk about how language affects the way we perceive God and how we might get around the shortcomings of language to think of God. 

St. Ignatius Loyola offers a form of daily prayer which is invaluable in developing an ongoing and deepening spiritual life. Today I look, briefly, at the life of St Ignatius and at what he calls "The Examen of Consciousness"

Reality is complicated and puzzling; exhilarating and joyous; bewildering and sometimes dangerous. Reality is beyond our ability to comprehend and difficult to navigate. And so, just to be able to live we need to have a map - or a number of maps - to help us find our way about. Religion is one such map. It is useful, but also has a few pitfalls to watch out for. 
Today I am looking at Religion, as a general concept, through the metaphor of a map. 

Following the example of St Ignatius Loyola, a way of deepening our engagement with a Biblical passage is to imagine our way into the story and inhabit it. This contemplative exercise is a way for you to engage with the story of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, as it is found in Mark Chapter 10. 

A brief reflection on the story of Bartimaeus, which is found in Mark chapter 10, verse 46-end. 
This reflection is by way of introduction to the Ignatian contemplation on the same passage, which follows in the next episode of this podcast.