September 19, 2026

Deism is the practical theology of most well-meaning religious people in our society today.  For such ones, “God” is an abstraction, a vague force, who stands ambiguously on the edge of time manipulating the created order just enough to keep things going.  This “God” is like the absent parent who goes to work and pays the bill, but is not to be found at the dinner table, around the campfire, or hanging out in the den.  In the deistic household and culture, sacred spaces become containers for personalities, idols, and superstitious behavior.  Difficult conversations lose their spiritual point of reference and easily get out of control.  One’s sense of mission devolves into a self-contained advertising campaign that replaces identity with superficiality.  Mental obsessions emerge as hearts built for the infinite search in vain for meaning in the finite.  Simply put, there are many who cry “Lord, Lord,” but few who have the courage to actually encounter the Lord in the glorious immanence of the present moment (Mt 7:21-23).  In the week ahead, let’s make the move from cold deistic conviction to the risk of interior faith.  We shall discover the warmth of a loving father, the intimacy of a beloved friend, the peace of a living spirit, and a God who happily dwells in our flesh (Jn 1:14).  Ave Crux, Spes Unica.