In his sermon On Conversion, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux quotes Acts 26:24, only he paraphrases it like this: “Too much thinking has made you mad!” Whenever I see a verse like…
The Rule, the Discipline, and Spiritual Growth
I bet if I took a poll, almost everyone who reads my blog would agree with this statement: “I want to grow spiritually.” Readers of spiritual blogs want to grow…
Better to Light a Candle (of Silence) than to Curse the Darkness (of Language)
Does language always limit the way we talk about, think about, or even pray to, God? This question has been on my mind for the past few days. This past weekend…
What Do Contemplatives Want?
First a disclaimer about my headline. I’m answering this question (What do contemplatives want?) based on the results from my 2015 readers’ poll. If you aren’t interested in the survey results, scroll…
The Last Instructions of Christ to His Disciples
In the first chapter of The Acts of the Apostles, Jesus gives his disciples their last instructions before his ascension into heaven (Acts 1:6-12). The first chapter of Acts is…
Contemplation and the Ocean of Presence
Here’s a little video I filmed last month at the Gulf Coast. It’s only about 45 seconds long and consists of the sunset and the surf. I offer it to you…
Advance Praise for "Befriending Silence"
What do Brian McLaren, Fr. Daniel Horan OFM, Fr. Michael Casey OCSO, Br. Patrick Hart OCSO, and Phyllis Tickle have in common? They’ve all endorsed Befriending Silence. Brian McLaren praises Befriending…
Contemplative Leadership with Saints Benedict and Ignatius of Loyola
In recent months I have become very interested in the topic of leadership. Which might seem silly, since I do not manage people, or lead a congregation, or hold a…
Please Fill Out My Reader Survey!
Please fill out my reader’s survey — and help me to make this a better blog. I’m asking for this information (collected anonymously) to give me a better sense of this blog’s readers,…
Five Ways You Can Enjoy a Deeper Personal Prayer Life
We need to deepen our own personal prayer lives. — The Most Reverend Wilton D. Gregory, S.L.D., Archbishop of Atlanta Recently the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta published a Pastoral Plan, the result of…
A Prayer for Contemplatives
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….
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…