I believe that anyone who is serious about embracing the Christian contemplative path needs some form of sustainable daily prayer. For most of Christian history, this has meant using a breviary — a prayer book which contains prayer “services” or offices for praying throughout the day. Such collections of prayers are known as The…… Read more at Patheos
Christianity has a long history of contemplative practice. But many scholars and spiritual teachers within the faith recognize that in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Reformation, the church (at least in the west) largely lost its contemplative heart. Theologian Robert Davis Hughes III addressed this topic in his…… Read more at Patheos
N.B. I wrote the first draft of this post about a year ago, at a time when several militant atheist commentators were active on my blog’s comment section. Eventually I banned the ones who were trollish, some of them moved on, and many of those original comments got deleted. I…… Read more at Patheos
Today is the feast of the presentation. It’s also traditionally known as Candlemas; it was a time when candles would be blessed —a candle, after all, emits light, and Jesus is the light of the world. If Christmas were a forty-day season instead of just a 12-day season, today would…… Read more at Patheos
About ten miles or so from Thomas Merton Square in Louisville, KY — the street corner where Merton had his famous “Fourth and Walnut” epiphany in 1958 — is a Hindu house of worship, Swaminarayan Temple. Earlier this week, the temple was vandalized. The crime was described this way in the Louisville…… Read more at Patheos
A friend on Facebook named Stephanie posed this question to me: Hello Carl, I am wondering if you’ve ever written anything on the subject of tithing in the church, and what that looks like in regards to a contemplative practice? I am a member of an Anglican church and participate…… Read more at Patheos
One of this blog’s patrons named Aaron asked, in response to my post Nonduality in the Bible and Us: Not sure if you’ve posted one before, but is there a resource that collects verses for the mystical and non dual in the Bible? Did you have a post that…… Read more at Patheos
I know, I know — a blog post about new years’ resolutions several weeks after the year has begun?!?! What kind of craziness is that? Sure — the first week of January is our culturally-sanctioned time for making promises to make the new year “better” — whether that means losing…… Read more at Patheos
Since mysticism cannot be put into words, and contemplation likewise involves a wordless gaze of love, silence is the essential nutrient for anyone seeking to walk the path of mystical or contemplative prayer.
A reader named Andrew wrote to me and asked this question: What do you think the key books are in the Christian tradition on spiritual transformation? How about a top ten? Another reason for asking is that church leaders might find the story interesting as the main goal, or one…… Read more at Patheos
A reader named Thomas wrote to me: Dear Sir; Blessings. Where can a person go to be a hermit. I am called to a life of solitude. But I don’t know where to go. Do you have any ideas? Dear Thomas, Thanks for writing. Feeling called to a life of…… Read more at Patheos
So you’ve been to a centering prayer workshop or two, and now you participate in a weekly centering prayer group. You are committed to praying silently twice a day — at least most days. You go on retreat at a monastery or retreat center once or twice a year, and…… Read more at Patheos