Here’s a meditation I developed a few months ago for a retreat I led for an Episcopal Church. It’s based on Julian of Norwich’s vision of the hazelnut. Before you listen to the meditation, take a moment to find a small object (like a hazelnut, a shell, or a rock) that you can hold in your hand while you meditate. It doesn’t have to be a natural object — a ring or a key...
“Is mysticism in the Bible?” It’s a question I get asked from time to time. And while the word mysticism itself is not found in scripture, the elements of mysticism are very much part of the Biblical story. In the first of what I imagine will be multiple videos on this topic, I begin to explore mysticism in the Bible by focusing on three verses that speak of silence — in a...
Here’s a list of books published in the last eighteen months on a variety of contemplative themes. Most of these books are anchored in the Christian tradition, although several have strong inter-spiritual themes as well. Their theologies and approach to spirituality vary, as one might expect from any collection of twenty interesting and thoughtful books. But what they all have in common is...
My dear friends, it’s time to announce a new book that’s coming out this fall. It’s called Unteachable Lessons: Why Spirituality Can’t Be Taught… And Why That’s Okay. It will be published in September. To pre-order it now, click here. I’m very excited about this book for several reasons. Unlike my…... Read more at Patheos
If you love the spirituality of the English people, a new treat awaits you, courtesy of Paraclete Press (and SLG Press in the UK). A collection of essays by Sr. Benedicta Ward, SLG, has just been published, called Give Love and Receive the Kingdom: Essential People and Themes of English…... Read more at Patheos
A Book for All Time: Why Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism Still Matters For pretty much my entire adult life, if anyone would ask me who my favorite authors are, without hesitation I would say Evelyn Underhill and Thomas Merton. To me, the work of Evelyn Underhill represents the call for the revival of mysticism in our time, while Merton anchored the call to mysticism in the urgent political and...