The Narthex
Divine Omnipotence and Forgiveness of Sins
God pardons evil when man truly takes responsibility for it
By John M. Grondelski | September 29th 2025 12:40 PMOne of God’s attributes -- omnipotence -- generates all sorts of ideas, many of them mistaken. That’s why the Collect from last Sunday’s Mass (26th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C) provides an eye-opening perspective: O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy... God’s…
READ FULL BLOG POSTA Good Film about Sin
It shows sin has its consequences and demands some measure of atonement
By John M. Grondelski | March 7th 2025 11:29 AMAs we settle into Lent, let me recommend a good film about sin worth watching: Sven Nykvist’s 1991 film The Ox. The film is set in 1867 Sweden. Mid-19th century Sweden was not like wealthy, 21st-century Sweden. There is a reason Minnesota and North Dakota have as many Swedes and…
READ FULL BLOG POSTDon’t Take Your Anger to Bed
Anger inflates to seem a lot bigger and more important than it often really is
By John M. Grondelski | September 21st 2023 1:06 PMLast Sunday’s readings focused on the corrosive effect of unjust anger and its ability to choke off -- as in the case of the wicked servant’s debtor, literally -- mercy. There is, of course, the danger of thinking that all anger is always bad. That’s not true. Anger is an…
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