I posted this on Facebook not long ago… A couple of people posted comments to the effect of “Please say more about how prayer changes things.” That’s a great question…
Tag: God
Divine Union is Embodied: Notes on the Incarnational Nature of Christian Mysticism
I’ve been working my way through Mystical Theology and Contemporary Spiritual Practice: Renewing the Contemplative Tradition, a book in Routledge’s “Contemporary Theological Explorations in Mysticism” series. There’s a delightful essay in it…
Two Essential Questions for the Mystical Journey
I was speaking with a few friends of mine who are spiritual directors recently, and we were talking about the work they do accompanying people who seek to draw closer…
Union, Intimacy, and Love: the Dynamics of Christian Mysticism
The best way to understand Christian mysticism (if “understanding” is even a possibility, given the mysterious nature of mysticism) is to approach it as a process: a developmental journey of how one relates to God.
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…
What Do We Mean When We Talk About God
A reader writes, Carl, after reading the article today, What is Spiritual Formation?, I wondered if you’ll tell me what you meant by the word ‘God’? I get stuck on…
Miann: The Ardent Desire for God
I’m preparing for a retreat I’ll be leading in Scotland next month, and so I’m reading a book called Island Spirituality: Spiritual Values of Lewis and Harris by Alastair McIntosh. In…
Five Ways to Think About Mysticism
Mysticism is a notoriously squirrelly word to try to define. In The Big Book of Christian Mysticism I devote an entire chapter to defining mysticism, and even then I admit that defining…
Contemplating the Trinity
The heart of Christian spirituality is the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. This is the ancient wisdom teaching that God is one God, in three persons: Father/Creator, Son/Redeemer, and Spirit/Sanctifier….
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….
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
Everything Has Being By the Love of God
In this same time our Lord showed me a spiritual sight of His homely loving. I saw that He is to us everything that is good and comfortable for us:…