O Divine Beloved, you are the source of life and the fountain of all goodness. In the mystery of your silence we recognize who we are, for we are created in your image….
Category: Spirituality
Contemplation and Grieving
A reader named Monika wrote the following comment and left it on one of my blog posts: I recently lost my husband of 49 years to a sudden brain tumor. I…
Contemplation and Conflict
I simply love this story of two desert fathers, which Thomas Merton recounts in his book The Wisdom of the Desert: There were two elders living together in a cell,…
Joyful Contemplation (No Fooling!)
If you are engaged in a serious and sustained practice of silent prayer and contemplative spirituality, then you need to be a very somber, sober, and serious person, for the…
You can do it, my friend: you can thrive with a daily practice of silent prayer
In my travels I hear a lot from people who get discouraged regarding silent prayer. Some folks tell me their minds race too much when they try to pray in silence….
Psalm 131: Humility, Silence and Hope
Sometimes I get asked “Where is contemplation in the Bible?” One obvious answer to this question is Psalm 131. It’s a short Psalm, only three verses. Here it is in…
Why We Need Contemplation
I am troubled by the idea that it’s harder to be a child today than it was when I was young. Is that just my personal angst, the anxiety of someone…
Let's go swimming.
God is an ocean of silence, mercy and love. Let’s go swimming. pic.twitter.com/GMbPdqWK57 — Carl McColman (@CarlMcColman) March 6, 2015
Making (and Keeping) a Personal Rule of Life
Every January, lots of folks make New Year’s Resolutions. This year I will lose weight, exercise more, improve my diet, pay off my credit cards. Sadly, though, it seems that by…
Seven Hopes for the Christian (and Church) of the Future
In his 1981 book Concern for the Church, Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner made his famous prediction, “the Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist…
Mary and Martha are Sisters
A sermon preached at First Baptist Church, Springfield, Ohio, on October 26, 2014 Scripture: Luke 10:38-42 When I was a little boy, my brother took me to the theater to see…
Our Choices Determine Who We Are
A reflection given at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Artane, Dublin, Ireland, on September 28, 2014 Scripture: Ezekiel 18:25-28, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 21:28-32 It is said that actions speak louder than words. It has…