CowPi Journal

Asking people to pray is like telling the wind to blow the ear to listen the eye to see We cannot not pray anymore than not be once given the gift of existence We can only shut it out or deny it Prayer is simply the conscious dimension of being when it opens out to […]

From Br. Joseph — We have all seen pictures of the crucifixion. There is one particular picture, a bit different from most, which I want to describe. The viewpoint of the picture is from above the Cross, a little higher than His right hand and a little behind, looking downward over Jesus on the Cross, […]

From Br. Joseph — This is the last reflection of a series on seven signposts. The first reflection began Lent, and now this one bridges us into the Easter season and beyond. Signposts give us direction. They point to some place. They involve action, movement. Many signposts call us to remember something important, some thing […]

Signposts point to where we want to go. Follow, or don’t follow. There are seven signposts listed below because seven is the number of completeness. No claim of originality is made for the signs, excerpt maybe for their grouping. Keep hope alive. Dare to trust. Surrender to grace. • • • Reflect love. • • […]

From Br. Joseph — At some point in every faith journey, one finds him or her self taking an inventory of their core, central beliefs. Some of these beliefs are held very tightly, some loosely. The more central a belief, the more one aligns his or her identity. Paula D’Arcy describes her seven central beliefs […]

Thomas Keating, in Manifesting God, says: “Worthiness is not the issue.” Get over it. Stop projecting your own self-esteem issues onto God. God is God, not the god you make Him out to be. The Gospel is not about earning the love of God because we already have it. It is a matter of receiving […]

From Br. Joseph — Meister Eckhart, a 14th century German mystic, once wrote, “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” From Ronald Rolheiser’s book, The Shattered Lantern: The original sin of Adam and Eve, the prototype of all sin, is presented as a failure […]

I was talking with an older friend whose wife is the middle of battling the second stage of a debilitating disease. They chose to adopt two children years ago instead of passing this 50-50 chance, hereditary disease on to the next generation. Early in their marriage, he witnessed his mother-in-law progress through the disease that […]

At the end of the movie, American Beauty, the main character Lester Burnham reflects on his life: …there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst. And then I remember to relax, […]

Sound — music — prayer no words — emotions, feelings, but more… essence, existence, but more… A lifting up of the heart from within the heart, not the head, not the intellect, a place reachable without words, beyond words. The space and silence between the notes, between the sounds, between the harmonies. Silence supports it […]

All is truly gift. So if there’s anything I’ve learned From this journey I am on Simple truths will keep you going Simple love will keep you strong Cause there are questions without answers Flames that never die Heartaches we go through are often blessings in disguise So thank you Lord, oh thank you Lord […]

I have been trying to write this journal entry for over a week now. I have started and stopped several times, and eventually erased all of them because I never liked where they were heading. The topic is about prayer, and none of the words I can find seem to describe what I am going […]

As a recent convert, I find great comfort in today’s reading of Matthew 20:1-16, The Workers in the Vineyard: Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them […]

Thank you for being there…