Forthcoming Books from Liturgical Press
Recently I received an email announcing new titles from Liturgical Press, one of the leading publishers on Benedictine, monastic, and general Christian spirituality. I’m taking the liberty of posting the contents of that email here on my blog, because pretty much every title listed looks wonderful to me — and, I suppose, will interest anyone visiting this blog as well. Michael Casey on the prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict, anyone? Joan Chittister exploring the radical nature of the Benedictine way? Plus new offerings from Bonnie Thurston, John Michael Talbot, and Macrina Wiederkehr? Can anyone say “more books to read than I have time to read them?”
N.B. These are forthcoming titles, but click on the book cover and/or title to pre-order from Amazon.
 AbideKeeping Vigil with the Word of God Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB September 2011 Price: $16.95 |
 Wrestling with GodKilian McDonnell, OSB August 2011 Price: $10.95 |
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 The Radical Christian LifeA Year with Saint Benedict Joan Chittister, OSB September 2011 Price: $15.95 |
 The Road to Eternal LifeReflections on the Prologue of Benedict’s Rule Michael Casey, OCSO September 2011 Price: $19.95 |
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 Belonging to BordersA Sojourn in the Celtic Tradition Bonnie Thurston July 2011 Price: $14.95 |
 Blessings of St. BenedictJohn Michael Talbot September 2011 Price: $15.95 |
My favorite moments at the Wild Goose Festival…
Here in no particular order are ten moments that mattered to me at the Wild Goose Festival.
1. Hearing Paul Knitter talk about “dual belonging” as a way to integrate Christian faith with wisdom from other traditions.
2. Enjoying the “Wild Goose Brew” with Tim and Suzanne.
3. Doug Pagitt‘s talk about Christianity in the “Inventive Age.”
4. Tearing up as I told Gareth Higgins about my daughter’s health issues.
5. The Patheos party on Thursday night, conversing with the likes of Troy Bronsink, Leo Brunnick and Mike Morell.
6. Sharing a mango with one of the keynote speakers, as he offered me thoughtful and sensible advice about my career.
7. Telling new friends Lynne and Christine my spiritual journey, with all its twist and turns — and appreciating the freedom to be fully honest with folks I had only met moments before.
8. Introducing my old Pagan friend Pat to my (relatively) new Pagan friends Alison Leigh Lilly and Jeff Lilly.
9. Riffing on the connection between contemplation and God’s playfulness in the Storytelling tent Saturday after sundown.
10. Reconnecting with all the wonderful people I met in Northern Ireland last year (like Colin from Scotland and Chip Andrus).
What was so delightful about this event was the sheer abundance of creative, visionary people who were present. Not just the musicians and speakers, either: some of my favorite bloggers were in attendance, even though they were not scheduled to give a talk. This was the kind of place where just lingering at a table while you finished a beer could lead to a powerful and meaningful conversation with a stranger (about to become a new friend). As great as the speakers and musicians were, just as much magic took place far away from the stages and the tents as did within them.
Sunday morning, shortly before I left for home, I stood in line to use the porta-potty and struck up a conversation with the woman standing next to me. She was a science teacher from up north; and we talked about how wonderful the event was, because there were real conversations going on about the relationship between faith and science, and faith and social justice, and Christianity and other traditions, and the role of contemplation within all of the above. “To have all four of these conversations going on at the same time, in the same space, is truly extraordinary,” I mused. This, then, is the gift of the Wild Goose Festival: relationships (both old and new) and conversations (even difficult ones about tough topics). I think it is truly in such conversations and relationships that the movement of the Holy Spirit (er, the Wild Goose) can take place.
Images from the Wild Goose Festival
I’m home from the Wild Goose Festival. What an amazing experience it was!
Hopefully I’ll find the time sometime soon to write about the experience. But in the meantime, here are a few photos to give you a glimpse of the experience. The first two photos I took using my iPhone; the other two are courtesy of conference attendee Christine M. Anderson.
Richard Rohr, speaking on "Contemplation and Action"
The Interfaith Panel. Left to right: Rabbi Or Rose, Paul Knitter, Imam Abdullah Antepli, and Bowie Snodgrass.
My dear friend, and executive director of the Wild Goose Festival, Gareth Higgins.
Yours truly, speaking on the spirituality of loving one's neighbor as oneself.
Mark Your Calendars…
The Abbey Church, Monastery of the Holy Spirit. Image by gail des jardin via Flickr
These dates are subject to change, but will probably stay as they are. If you’d like to participate in a retreat that I will be leading or co-leading at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA, in 2012, here are the dates to hold:
June 15 – 17, 2012: The Spirituality of George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis
July 13 – 15, 2012: Spiritual Writing and Journal Keeping
August 10 – 12, 2012: Of Gods and Men: Cistercian Spirituality and Interfaith Relationships
September 14 – 16, 2012: Spirituality of the English Mystics
November 9 – 11, 2012: Wisdom of the Christian Mystics
Progressive Christianity and Mysticism?
In just a few days I will head out to the Wild Goose Festival, where I will be speaking on “Contemplation as a Subversive Act” and participating in a dialogue on the question of “How can I truly love those whose values are hostile to my own?” (riffing on Matthew 5:44). I’m excited about this event, not least because many people I admire, from Richard Rohr to John Dear to Phyllis Tickle to Shane Claiborne to Brian McLaren, etc. etc. etc., will be there.
The Goose is getting a lot of press, from outlets ranging from the Huffington Post to USA Today. Observers keep describing this as a gathering of “progressive Christians.” In fact, Patheos has even set up a new Progressive Christian Portal with lead articles by folks like McLaren, Tickle, and Becky Garrison (as well as Mark Yaconelli holding forth on Why he’s taking his kids to the Wild Goose).
So as excited as I am about the Goose, I’m not nearly so worked up about this notion of “Progressive Christian.” It seems to me that since “emergent Christianity” has fallen out of favor lately, this is the new nom de jour for Christians who adopt a lovingly critical stance toward the church. The funny thing is, what I think this label means — that to be a Christian means to be committed to justice, to peacemaking, to countercultural forms of community and relationship, to rejecting imperial understandings of class and race and sex and gender, and to calling out the church when it has colluded with worldly empire — is, to me, the definition not of “progressive Christian” or “emergent Christian” or whatever, but simply what it means to be a “Christian.” Now, I suppose it’s human nature to use language to establish identity, and identity is all about how A is not like B: so a progressive Christian is, for example, not like a Christian for whom the faith is all about identifying who is and isn’t saved. But isn’t this a paradox: that we are trying to establish a Christian identity that is at variance with those Christians whose identity as Christians is all about identity? Ay yi yi.
Then there is a fellow named Chris Glaser, whose blog is all about “Progressive Christian Reflections.” A few days back who suggested that progressive Christians are the mystics of our time. Even though if I had to take a test I’d probably end up with “Progressive” tattooed across my forehead, this kind of language makes me nervous. As soon as we start talking about “progressive Christians,” we are setting up some sort of dualism between progressives and, well, regressives. If you don’t think the right way about human sexuality, or economic justice, or peacemaking, or environmental concerns, well, then, you don’t get to join the “progressive” club. So as soon as we start talking about progressives, we have insiders and outsiders. But that flies in the face of mysticism, which is all about transformative levels of consciousness where categories like “inside” and “outside” fall away.
Perhaps this is inevitable. Aren’t I creating my own identity-dualism, where the mystics live beyond duality, but the “non-mystics” are stuck in it? This, perhaps, is the wisdom of that Taoist yin-yang symbol, where the dark dot of yin always is found in the midst of the light expanse of yang (and vice versa). Non-duality subverts dualism, and yet dualism always seems to crop up, even in the midst of non-duality. If I understand Ken Wilber correctly, the highest (even that word has dualistic connotations) point of human consciousness is the place where the split between duality and non-duality falls away (or is transcended).
So to bring this back down to earth: I’m excited about heading off to the Wild Goose Festival, and I hope I’ll see lots of you there (I’m speaking at noon and again at 8 PM on Saturday). But don’t expect me to applaud how progressive we all are. I’m gonna keep looking for the dark dot in the middle of the light sea.
Quote for the Day
Each of us possesses a soul, but we do not prize our souls as creatures made in God’s image deserve and so we do not understand the great secrets that they contain.
— Saint Teresa of Avila,
The Interior Castle
What not to say to the Dalai Lama…
… at least he was a good sport.
Simplicity, Silence, Stillness, Solitude
Silence, Solitude, Stillness, Simplicity. Image via Wikipedia
As I seek to move deeper into the contemplative life, I try to keep in mind the gifts of simplicity, silence, and solitude. Simplicity, in choosing to liberate my life from the tyranny of too much “stuff,” of too many commitments of my time and energy, of too many causes to which I can devote — and dissipate — my energy. Silence, in letting go not only of external stimuli like the incessant buzz and chatter of the media, music, television, the internet, and so forth, but also the more insidious inner chatter of compulsive thoughts, “problems” to be solved, anxieties and regrets that lay claim to my mind but offer little in return. Closely related to silence is stillness, responding to the promise/mandate of Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” Letting go of excessive activity, like letting go of unnecessary noise, is a way of cultivating space in my life where the still small voice of God might be heard. Finally, I seek to cultivate solitude, recognizing that the most challenging relationship in my life is my relationship with myself, where I come face to face with my varied ways of distorting how I see the world or hiding my true self from myself: the lies of fear and depression, the limiting beliefs and illusions that prohibit me from fully and truly loving God, neighbor, and self as a way of responding to the lavish love continually bestowed upon me by God.
In addition to all of the above I might also add “balance.” Simplicity is not meant to be an excuse for avoiding the necessary stresses of life; nor is solitude a way of avoiding relationships and community. Silence and stillness are not meant to erase my voice and my work. Each of these qualities has value not so much in how they define or limit my life, but in how they contribute to it. They all function, on a daily basis, like the sabbath functions on a weekly basis or a retreat functions on a seasonal or annual basis. I take refuge in simplicity, silence, solitude, and stillness, not perpetually but from time to time, for these qualities function as safe havens where I can retreat for nurture and rejuvenation. Hopefully I can take some of the qualities of simplicity, silence, stillness and solitude back into the dynamic world of relationship, community, conversation and activity, though. Contemplation – in – action seems to be the worthwhile goal. But to reach that goal I need, and I believe we all need, times in which contemplation does take center stage in life.
