by Bonnie O'Neil | Mar 27, 2024 | Grow, Uncategorized
It is finished! was Jesus’ victory cry, uttered in a loud voice before giving up his spirit. In the Greek, it is akin to “Mission accomplished! What mission had he accomplished? What had he set out to do? Jesus was sent to bring about the restoration of everything...
by Bonnie O'Neil | Feb 12, 2024 | Grow, Uncategorized
Ash Wednesday marks, for all believers, the beginning of our journey of reflection to the cross. On this day, pilgrims take their first steps on the Via Dolorosa, as we accompany Christ on his way to Calvary. How terribly inconvenient then, that Ash Wednesday, a day...
by Bonnie O'Neil | Dec 13, 2023 | Grow, Uncategorized
As I write, we sit squarely in Advent, awaiting the coming of our savior-king, Jesus. The ancient Church calendar invites us to wait in expectancy during this four-week season that precedes Christmas and then offers us twelve glorious days in which to celebrate our...
by Bonnie O'Neil | Aug 8, 2023 | Grow, Uncategorized
Scripture is full of references to God as our stronghold. One such Scripture passage I revisited recently is Psalm 46, where the psalmist declares that God is his refuge, strength, and his stronghold. What does it mean that God is our stronghold? The stronghold, or...
by Bonnie O'Neil | Mar 30, 2023 | Grow, Uncategorized
It’s tempting to read the first fifteen verses of the prophetic 59th chapter of Isaiah by only looking outward. The world heaves under the oppression of those who shed blood, whose mouths drip lies and obscenities, whose hands commit wicked acts of violence. These are...
by Bonnie O'Neil | Mar 8, 2023 | Grow, Uncategorized
Lent is one of the harder seasons of the Church year to press into. It’s long and doesn’t have any of the softer edges of Advent. For six-and-a-half weeks, we’re invited to contemplate our sinfulness and Jesus’ atonement. Many of us approach this season asking, how...
