A Season of Enlightenment: The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received. —Luke 1:1-4 “There are three stages of spiritual development: the carnal, the spiritual, and the divine,” an old monk once explained to a novice. “What is the carnal stage?” the novice asked. “That’s the stage,” the old monk said, “when trees are seen as trees and mountains are seen as mountains.” “And the spiritual?” the novice asked eagerly. “That’s when we look more deeply into things. Then trees are no longer trees and mountains are no longer mountains,” the old monk answered. “And the divine?” the novice asked breathlessly. “Ah,” the old monk sa...