Author Archives: Tim Short

Chapter Four: Penance

The Gospel of Mark: 1:4, 14-15: And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins………… After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” The gospel of MarkContinue reading “Chapter Four: Penance”

Chapter Three: Gratitude

The Letter of St. Paul to Titus, 3:3-7: At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, butContinue reading “Chapter Three: Gratitude”

Chapter One: Background and Introduction

The Gospel of Mark 4:26-29: He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then theContinue reading “Chapter One: Background and Introduction”

Letting God’s Will Prevail

I attended Unity Day a couple weeks ago.  This annual early August gathering invites all Secular Franciscans in the Our Lady of Indiana Region (northern half of the state) to a day of formation and fellowship.  There is a guest speaker who gives presentations before and after lunch and there is plenty of time forContinue reading “Letting God’s Will Prevail”

Something New (A Short Story)

I have been thinking hard for some time now about whether or not the material I am posting today belongs on this site. I’ve been working on it for several months and just made a final push to finish it last week. Today’s entry is not part of a formation series or a stand aloneContinue reading “Something New (A Short Story)”

Journey Thru John, Chapter 14: On Peace

If you have one of those bibles where the words of Jesus are indicated in red, take a second look at chapter 14 just on the macro level.  There are 31 verses in the chapter.  Only three of them are in black.  Everything else is in red to indicate that Jesus is speaking.  If youContinue reading “Journey Thru John, Chapter 14: On Peace”

The Secret of Salvation, Revealed By Unceasing Prayer

The below is an excerpt from the book, The Way of a Pilgrim.  The passage that is the source of this material is much longer.  To make it more accessible and suitable to a blog post, I have re-written and condensed it as well as I am able.  Hopefully my audacity is not excessive andContinue reading “The Secret of Salvation, Revealed By Unceasing Prayer”

An Orthodox Perspective on Presence

On the same day that I made my last post, I completed a book I was reading about the Jesus Prayer. The author is Frederica Mathewes-Green. The title of the book is The Jesus Prayer: The Ancient Desert Prayer That Tunes the Heart to God. I forwarded my post to Frederica, asking her to letContinue reading “An Orthodox Perspective on Presence”