Brian Mackey

“Gregory’s words remain a sharp and timely rebuke to the continuing temptation to practice theology as though we could separate the exercise of our mind from the development of our character.”
― Christopher A. Hall, Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers

“God in his love has chosen to reveal himself. We understand God to be self-sufficient and not in need of our gifts and service. God is not "served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:25). He has chosen to speak to us because he desires to be in relationship with us-he desires to make friends with us.”
― James C. Wilhoit, Discovering Lectio Divina: Bringing Scripture into Ordinary Life

“It is only natural for the human mind to follow verbal and conceptual triggers. One "hook word" associates with author Jean Leclercq described words in monastic reading that link passages or ideas-and the understanding of a passage builds not through logical analysis but rather through a not-entirely-random accumulation of passages, ideas and experiences surrounding the passage at hand. Psychologists who study the human brain and nervous system speak about the development and spread of neural networks. Our mind naturally tends to follow associations that are strongly connected.”
― James C. Wilhoit, Discovering Lectio Divina: Bringing Scripture into Ordinary Life

“When Moses heard the voice of God, he shook with terror and hid his face in the folds of his robe. Why? Because he was about to receive a couple of chapters of the book of Exodus? No! He was awestruck because the voice he heard made real and immediate the presence of the Holy One of Israel. In the words, Moses met God. And so can we.”
― Chris Webb, The Fire of the Word: Meeting God on Holy Ground