Fr. Joseph Allen

Living in God's Presence: Part Three

In the third and final lecture, Fr. Joseph investigates how the interface of our narrative story and that of Jesus Christ works, such that we can see the presence of God through that interaction. We all have a unique story we hold up to His, but we must be ready to hear what His story demands of ours through patterns centering on transformation, celebration, assumptions, and rebirth.

Living in God's Presence: Part Two

Fr. Joseph, in the second lecture, explains how we attempt to show God’s presence using narrative theology. The master narrative is that of Jesus Christ, but we must lift up our story to interface with it, whether through admiration, imitation, or explanation.

Living in God's Presence: Part One

In the first lecture of the series, Fr. Joseph discusses how we experience God, who dwells at a summit always beyond our reach, and what is involved as we continually scale upward toward that height, in the transformative process of finding the Kingdom.

Following in His Footsteps: Part Five

The Gospel according to St. John, as Fr. Joseph explains, is the most unique, powerful, and majestic of the four. Jesus Christ’s actions in St. John are never simply acts but are always imbued with deeper meaning. Fr. Joseph notes that this is the “cosmic Gospel”: all of life is involved, and when God penetrates all of life, it is given a new dimension. The bond of faith between disciples and the Messiah is key, and the command to love is the person of Jesus Christ.

Following in His Footsteps: Part Four

Fr. Joseph explores “Luke-Acts” in the fourth lecture, noting the continuity of apostleship between the two books. This structure aligns with the central point of St. Luke, who emphasized the deep connection between Christology and Ecclesiology. Fr. Joseph discusses multiple distinctions of the Gospel according to St. Luke and the Book of Acts, including the use of time and space, interesting character appearances, focus on the Life of the Spirit, proclamation of universal salvation, emphasis on prophesy, and criticality of the Eucharist.