The Estuary of Theology

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June 30, 2021

The Estuary of Theology 27 Blessed are Those Called to the Supper of the Lamb In the Catholic Church in Japan, people recite the Confession of Faith immediately before the communion*1 that is taken from the confession of Peter the Apostle. On the other hand, the words of the Confession of Faith in the typical edition of the Roman Missal are taken from the words of confession of the centurion,*2 and I heard that people in most countries outside Japan recite them. In this situation, some have suggested that the words of the Confession of Faith as used in Japan should be adapted to the typical edition of the Roman Missal. I heard that in Japan, after the Second Vatican Council, when the liturgical texts were translated into Japanese, some consideration was needed on this point. It seemed that the authorities worried that if after the priest said, “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb,” the congregation were required to respond with the centurion's confession of faith,

May 30, 2021

The Estuary of Theology 26 The Branches of the Vine (2) “ As the Father has loved me , so have I loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you ” (John 15:9-14). The source of the love of which Jesus speaks is the mercy of the Father. The Father's mercy is invisible. The Father's mercy only reveals itself when the Word expresses it. And it is made clear that the Father is the God of mercy. This mercy of God is directed to the concrete means for the end, and the means becomes love. Hence, love is visible. God has said: “ Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let t

April 30, 2021

The Estuary of Theology 25 The Branches of the Vine (1) “ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser . Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit ” (John 15:1-2). In Jesus’ words, “ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser ,” we can see the outpouring of the warm, loving trust of the Son, who, through the knowledge of God, fully shares the will of the merciful Father who continues to satisfy people’s needs. The word “ branch of mine ” refers to the condition of a Christian in whose memory of senses (the five-sense data) the worldview of Jesus appears through the training of the Book of Revelation and who participates in the formation of the twofold spirituality of the Holy Spirit and attends the Mass. The “ branch of mine that bears no fruit ” is the contradiction that each Christian, a weak man, embraces when he/she takes the information of the serpent (accidental info

March 27, 2021

The Estuary of Theology24 The White Robe The training of the Book of Revelation is most effective when we focus on capturing the worldview of Jesus depicted in the text with our senses (five-sense data). Therefore, it is beneficial for us to practise the training, even if it is only a few lines, often whenever it is convenient in a day. The training of the Book of Revelation will infuse the worldview of Jesus into one’s memory of the senses (five-sense data), and by practising it many times a day, the worldview of Jesus is expected to constantly appear in his/her unconscious realm, that is, in his/her memory of the senses (five-sense data), and to be internalized. In the case of those who have trouble in one of their senses, this training will impress the worldview of Jesus more strongly on their memories of the senses (five-sense data) because other senses of them will work more acutely to complement the impaired sense. Moreover, the worldview of Jesus, which has descended to one’s un

March 09, 2021

The Estuary of Theology 23 The Spirituality of the Holy Spirit and the Darkness of No-information If you are experiencing the two kinds of the darkness of no-information before the Eucharist, the darkness of no-information of God and the darkness of no-information of self, it is the evidence that you are formed by the spirituality of the Holy Spirit. They are much like, but not the same as, the experience that one has when he/she is absorbed in and concentrated on something. When one concentrates on his/her plan, he/she may forget him/herself, which means he/she is in a condition of no-information of self. At this time, his/her knowledge of good and evil and the memory of the senses (the five-sense data) are linked with each other to accomplish his/her plan. His/her knowledge of good and evil, while being connected to his/her memory of the senses (the five-sense data), repeats reasoning and judgement using the knowledge already placed in the memory of the knowledge of good and evil. T

February 20, 2021

The Estuary of Theology 22 The Book of Revelation and the Twofold Spirituality of the Holy Spirit The disciples, who were trained directly by Jesus, experienced the life of living with God while they were sharing time with Jesus. They shared the worldview of Jesus, who was divine and human, that is, they shared the worldview of the Kingdom of God. They became accustomed to knowing “God's plan” and equipped with it by being trained by Jesus in the worldview of the Kingdom of God, which was his own. Gradually, they began to separate and distinguish “God's plan” from the information of the “serpent” (accidental information). It was great progress they achieved that the disciples, at the last supper, could say, “ Ah, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure! Now we know that you know all things, and need none to question you; by this we believe that you came from God ” (John 16:29-30). As Jesus said, “ Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am ” (John 8:58