I wrote the following article in 2002, when I was exploring Celtic paganism. I found it recently while looking for something in my archives and I thought it was worth…
A Lesson on Creativity and Risk-Taking from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Publisher
Today I had a conversation with a friend who is working on a manuscript for a book to be published in the next year or so. We were chatting about…
The Sheer Sound of a Still Small Voice
“God speaks to us in a whisper,” or so said an Episcopal priest I once knew. It was one of his trademark sayings, and the idea was obvious enough: if…
Your Home is Your Abbey; Your Heart is Your Cloister
I met a woman once, many years ago, who taught writing in a prison. She had the inmates read The Rule of Saint Benedict. She encouraged them to use the spirituality…
Advice for Surviving a Pandemic from Julian of Norwich
Anyone who spends time on this blog knows that I love Julian of Norwich; just as John Ruysbroeck was Evelyn Underhill’s favorite mystic, Julian is far and away my favorite….
Called to the Prayer of Listening to Christ
God saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus…
Contemplation and Vocal Prayer: For a Balanced Spiritual “Diet,” Cultivate Both
A reader of the blog wrote to me with this question: We had an opportunity last night to attend a presentation on prayer & spiritual warfare. I’m now contemplating the…
Celtic Spirituality, Celtic Prayer, and the Promises of the Heart: Three Contemplative Online Courses
It’s March, and that means St. Patrick’s Day is just a few days away! This year, instead of (or, in addition to) enjoying a pint of green beer, why don’t…
With Great Reverence and Above Reason: Two Keys to the Mystical Adoration of God
If you talk to an old-school Trappist monk, he’ll tell you that “adoration” is something properly given to God alone. I learned this the hard way, when in the acknowledgements…
“The Settling of the Mind Into Silence” — How a Definition of Yoga also Defines All Forms of Contemplation
The first four lines of the ancient text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, offer a basic definition of yoga — that might surprise many westerners who are used to thinking of…
Have We Given Up on “Happily Ever After”?
First, an admission: I have a guilty pleasure in costume dramas, especially the kind that show up on PBS. From Downton Abbey to Lark Rise to Candleford to Victoria to the endless adaptations…
What’s the Best Church for Contemplative Christians?
A reader writes: Carl, do you think the Catholic Church has more scope to welcome contemplative Christians? I attend an Anglican church and I’m very high Anglican in my thinking….