How can the wisdom of the monastery help folks like you and me — who are not monks or nuns — to grow spiritually? To answer that question, we can…
Category: Contemplation
What to Say to the Nay-Sayers: Talking About Contemplation With Its Critics
If you are active in a church or other faith community, and you are drawn to (or practicing) silent prayer, if you talk about it with others you will likely,…
Desert Island Discs (and DVDs)
If you were stranded on a desert island, what music would you want to accompany you? The BBC has a long-running program called Desert Island Discs which began airing in 1942 and…
What Do Contemplatives Want?
First a disclaimer about my headline. I’m answering this question (What do contemplatives want?) based on the results from my 2015 readers’ poll. If you aren’t interested in the survey results, scroll…
"Just a touch of wildness"
One of my favorite contemplative authors from the early twentieth century — Evelyn Underhill — corresponded with another favorite author, C. S. Lewis. Underhill (1875-1941) was the leading English author…
My Forthcoming Book on Cistercian Spirituality
Dear friends, I’m excited to announce the title and subject of my forthcoming book. In July 2013 I began a conversation with an editor associated with Ave Maria Press about…
Images from the Monastery of the Holy Spirit
Here is a gallery of photographs taken at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA. The photographers are Fr. James Behrens, OCSO, and Haven Sweet. Enjoy!
Who Are the Great Christian Mystics?
When I was a sophomore in High School, my English teacher, Mrs. Romano, taught a section on William Blake. She gave us a handout with some information on the poet,…
On Being a Lay Cistercian
“Are you a monk?” I get asked that question a lot, especially when I’m at the monastery where I work and pray and lead retreats. Perhaps it’s because of my…
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…
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…
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…