The more I read Richard of St. Victor, the more I love him. Here are a few jewels from the fifteenth chapter of Book IV of The Mystical Ark: See…
Author: Carl McColman
Soul Friend and Storyteller. Lay Cistercian, Centering Prayer Presenter, Author, Blogger, Podcaster, Speaker, Teacher, Retreat Leader.
Praying with St. John of the Cross
A friend of mine suggested I read Wayne Simsic’s Seeking the Beloved: A Prayer Journey with St. John of the Cross, offering the book pretty high praise: “I never ‘got’…
Is Contemplation Boring?
“This article is boring.” I don’t know of any writer who wants to get this type of feedback from a reader. It certainly isn’t the kind of comment that makes…
World Mysticism, Interfaith Dialogue, and Interspirituality
In my first book, Spirituality, I wrote, In my experience, my faithfulness to Christ and my openness to the wisdom of other traditions are two aspects of my spiritual journey…
Journey to the Heart: Christian Contemplation Through the Centuries
This beautifully illustrated and informative title from Orbis Books in the USA (Canterbury Press in the UK) provides a very nice overview of the history of contemplative spirituality within Christianity….
Nonduality in the Bible … and us
A reader writes: I love reading your articles but am new to the terminology. What is “non-dualism” and is it compatible with Biblical truth? Also, why did non-dualism get marginalised? Great questions,…
The Nondual Writers of Footnote #45
A reader of this blog writes to me: Hi Carl. I was reading Richard Rohr’s The Naked Now and in one of the footnotes he lists a number of “non-dualistic” writers he…
An Accident and its Aftermath
In the summer of 1992, I was in a rather nasty car accident. It left me with a jaw broken in several places, a few missing teeth, lacerations along one…
"Where Two or Three Are Gathered"
A sermon preached at First Christian Church of Decatur, Decatur GA, on September 4, 2011 Scripture: Matthew 18:20 “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” What an…
Thoughts about Mysticism from 1953… and now
Here’s something interesting I stumbled across online the other day: an article from Time Magazine’s February 2, 1953 issue: Religion: Benedictine v. Trappist It’s basically an article about a Benedictine…
Silence: Doorway to Contemplation and Interfaith Friendship
I’ve just had a new article published on the website of Atlanta’s Interfaith Community Institute. It’s called “Silence: Doorway to Contemplation and Interfaith Friendship.” In Psalm 46, God is quoted…
Everything Has Being By the Love of God
In this same time our Lord showed me a spiritual sight of His homely loving. I saw that He is to us everything that is good and comfortable for us:…