Contemplation: is it the key to happiness — or a path to holiness? Is contemplation dangerous? Some people think so. This past weekend I read a book that has given…
Category: Spirituality
Seven Reasons to Pray the Divine Office
Everyone knows that monks devote their lives to silence, but also to daily prayer and chanting. Monastic prayer occurs at fixed-hours throughout the day. The rota of Psalms, canticles, scripture readings,…
What Are We Afraid Of?
I’ve been reading Bill Bryson’s charming and delightful book on the English language, The Mother Tongue, and ran across this delicious tidbit: English speakers dread silence. We are all familiar…
The Three Advents
Advent is almost over. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and the season of Christmas begin the day after that. Even though the Christmas season is technically shorter than Advent, it always seems…
How to Find a Contemplative-Friendly Church
Spirituality is all about love, and love only exists in relationship. Therefore, spirituality is healthiest when it is expressed in a communal way. For better or worse, this means — at…
Does Union with God mean Losing Your Self?
“If the goal of the contemplative is union with God, does the individual begin to disappear and lose his or her unique self (personality, emotions) in pursuing this goal?” The…
Deeper into the Heart of Christ
Over the past year I have become interested in the topic of “Christian leadership.” People who are in a leadership position in the Christian community — whether clergy, consecrated religious,…
Thirteen Characteristics of Healthy Spirituality
Following the passing of Anglican contemplative theologian Kenneth Leech, I’ve been revisiting several of his books. In the back of his book True God: An Exploration in Spiritual Theology is…
The Fear of the Lord and the Love of God
As a young man growing up in the American south, I heard the phrase “God fearing” a lot. As in, “He’s a God fearing man.” I think it comes from…
Seven Ways the Mystics Inspire Us Today
One of my favorite quotations comes from Karl Rahner: “The Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist.” It’s a prophetic statement, from a man who died…
Principles for Contemplative Spirituality (Part Two)
Last week I shared six principles that guide me in my understanding of what Christian contemplative spirituality is. This week I’m sharing six more. As I said last week, it’s…
Principles for Contemplative Spirituality (Part One)
A couple of years ago Rob Bell wrote a book with the title What We Talk About When We Talk About God. I haven’t read the book, but I love…