N.B. I wrote this post for my new Substack publication, Mystical Journey. But since the message is timely, I’m cross-posting it here. Despite its significant flaws, Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey…
Category: Spirituality
Examen of the Senses (Inclusive Version)
In 2020, I posted to this blog an “Examen of the Senses” which I co-wrote with my wife Fran. We wrote it for use in our Catholic adult faith formation…
Deconstructing Mysticism
In recent years, I’ve talked to a number of people who describe their spiritual journey as going through a period of “deconstruction.” These “deconstructors” are usually younger folks, in their…
Mystical Spirituality Can Change the Way You Think About Religion. And That’s Okay.
More than once on this blog I have quoted an amazing few words from the American mystic Howard Thurman, who had this to say in 1939: Acts of worship must…
If You Worship an Angry God, You’ll Be an Angry Person
A reader named Paul wrote to me with the following question: Why is there more often than not such an intolerance, condemnation and even hatred between the different faiths and…
Spiritual Practices, Traumatic Shame, and Holy Freedom
Recently I read Laura E. Anderson’s When Religion Hurts You: Healing from Religious Trauma and the Impact of High-Control Religion. Anderson, a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and herself a survivor of…
Encountering Silence: An Interview with Writer and Teacher Marilyn McEntyre
What is the relationship between language and silence? Between words and truth-telling? How can we foster a more truly contemplative relationship with the way we speak to one another? These…
It’s Not Too Late to Sign Up for the Modern Mystics School!
Hi friends, just wanted to make sure that if you haven’t had a chance to sign up for the Modern Mystics School sponsored by Spiritual Wanderlust, it’s not too late to do…
More Dancing, More Tears: A Poem for Elias Marechal on the Anniversary of His Passing
Today is the one year anniversary of the passing of my dear friend, mentor, and partner in crime, Brother Elias Marechal, OCSO. Last year I wrote about him at the…
Of Love and Silence
This morning I wrote a little poem. I’m no Mary Oliver or John Keats, of course. But perhaps this is something worth saying. Our words and our myths can connect…
Margaret Simon, Patron Saint of Interspiritual Seekers
The other night my wife and I watched Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Like the 1970 book by Judy Blume, this is a coming-of-age story about girls entering into the…
Nicodemus, Peace, and the Dark Night
N. B. This is a Gospel reflection I shared during a communion service at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Decatur, Georgia, on the evening of April 17, 2023. The Gospel…