The Ethics of the Christian Community
Fr. Mark Miller, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

I began to realize that a great deal of our moral teaching tends to focus on actions by individuals-things like lying and gossip, or stealing or losing
one's temper, or sexual sins-such that when we talk about morality for
Catholics we automatically start thinking about topics such as abortion, euthanasia, and not going to Mass on Sunday as the failures or sins of individuals.However, something began to catch my attention over the years as I read the letters of Paul or Peter or James.

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Loving God
Fr. Mark Miller, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

I began to think of the ways in which we know God. St. Paul, in the first
chapter of his letter to the Romans, chastises the Gentiles for worshipping stones and silver or golden idols when the true wonders of God are all around us. Creation, as Ps. 19 tells us, surrounds us with the beauty and the immense creativity of God. We speak of magnificent sunrises or sunsets, the beauty of a forest or a waterfall, the wonder of seeing creatures in the
wild-so the mind ought to move to a sense of wonder before the Creator.

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Desire

Fr. Mark Miller, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

Desire is one of the cornerstones of our lives; but we do not often think of it. We like to be rational in our choices, but we seldom recognize the forces that pull at our desires and how they manipulate our choices. I am sure that you, like me, have at times come home from a store and wondered why I bought certain items. In my case, I wanted them when I saw them; but on later reflection I realized I could easily have done without them.

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Mary, The First Disciple

Fr. Mark Miller, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

The reason that Mary's Feast is set on January 1st, I would suggest, is
because of how she is portrayed in the Scriptures-She is the first disciple. She hears the Word of God about Jesus from the Angel Gabriel and once she has clarified what God is doing, she says her Yes to God. She becomes the model of all disciples in this openness to God and God's Word.

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Do Not Be Afraid

Fr. Mark Miller, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

In our society we take so much for granted, as if we are owed a living. We tend to lose touch with the God who cares for us daily. In many Catholic homes today, families do not even say grace before meals. That troubles me because if a famine were to occur, the first one to be blamed would be God! Yet we often cannot see God's goodness and generosity when it is right in front of our noses.

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Road Bloack to Faith

Fr. Mark Miller, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

Fear, I am learning, is the great roadblock to faith. And yet I often find myself approaching God not out of wonder or awe or praise or enthusiasm but out of fear. I want something; but I find myself approaching God as if I were a child trying to get something out of a parent. Or I see somebody
approaching me after Sunday Mass and I know that he wants money. My
defenses go up and I forget that he may also just want a listening and
sympathetic ear for a few minutes.

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When God Calls Us Home

Fr. Mark Miller, CSsR
Edmonton-Toronto Redemptorists:

I have worked for years in and around palliative and hospice care for the dying. I have been amazed and humbled by the lessons the dying have taught me. The first and most important is that when we care for the dying properly-when they are not in pain, when their symptoms are managed, when they know that they will not be abandoned by their doctors and healthcare team-the dying have a lot to live for!

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