A right turn towards the lake instead of the usual left that leads to home. Down a short gravel road, park, a five-minute walk through bare trees and dried leaves to the water’s edge. Azure sky, blue water, red dirt. The piercing golden sun hovers over the horizon. Waves […]
Just as physical hunger is an indication of a living, healthy organism, so spiritual hunger is a sign of a robust spirit, one that is active and continually developing. The soul which feels no hunger for God, no need to seek Him and to find Him, and which does not vibrate or suffer with anxiety […]
You may remember the story about the rich young man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to obtain eternal life. This is a parable about the poor old man. There was poor old man who approached a young man. The young man was an athlete, strong and skilled in sport. The old man […]
But when I love you, what do I love? It is not physical beauty nor temporal glory nor the brightness of light dear to earthly eyes, nor the sweet melodies of all kinds of songs, nor the gentle odour of flowers and ointments and perfumes, nor manna or honey, nor limbs welcoming the embraces of […]
God warns us against idols not because He is jealous of our misguided affections, but because of their dangerous powers of transformation. Our pursuit of them does more than merely turn us away from Him; it changes us—subtly, but inextricably, altering the way we perceive the world, and destroying our ability to correctly recognize the […]
I wonder if Mary Magdalen heard the birds singing on her way to the tomb early Easter Sunday morning? Did she hear them singing afterwards on her way back?
Nowhere other than looking at himself in the mirror of the Cross can man better understand how much he is worth. — St. Anthony of Padua
Someone spoke to me last night, told me the truth. Just a few words, but I recognized it. I knew I should make myself get up, write it down, but it was late, and I was exhausted from working all day in the garden, moving rocks. Now, I remember only the flavor— not like food, […]
I was cutting through the outpatient entrance at the hospital today a I made my way through the maze of hallways from a doctor’s appointment in the adjacent medical building. Subtlety, time began to slow. The ticks of the second hand on my watch began moving slower and slower. I eased into noticing much of […]
Why should we consider this power to be transcendent (that is—transcending the universe as a whole)? Because if the universe was nothing prior to its beginning, then the reality which causes it to exist must be completely beyond it (independent of it). This transcendent reality which causes the universe as a whole to exist is […]
Dragonfly hovers Grace and time appear to pause To taste the moment
Various lines from Don Henley’s song, “The Heart of the Matter”: What are these voices outside love’s open door Make us throw off our contentment And beg for something more? — — — These times are so uncertain There’s a yearning undefined And people filled with rage We all need a little tenderness How […]
In further reflection on the song “Laughing With” (see lyrics and this post), the word transcendence has popped into my head. Paradox points to transcendence, to something more. To transcend means to rise above, to see more. It does not deny what is, it just gives a wider vision of what is, depth, a larger […]
I need to unpack the meaning of the words of one sentence from this post: [G]race is the Holy Spirit Himself acting in our lives. Grace is not an object, not something that is collected or possessed, not an add-on, not I-It. It is not analogous to a magic spell from God that suddenly helps you […]
When your eyes are tired the world is tired also. When your vision has gone no part of the world can find you. Time to go into the dark where the night has eyes to recognize its own. There you can be sure you are not beyond love. The dark will be your womb tonight. […]
God is everywhere. That’s easy to say, but do we really believe it? Are we willing to admit that God is present even in what looks nothing like holiness or love, i.e. in our sin—before, during, and after? Here’s a powerful poem from Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, September, 2008. After the storm, […]
Oh do you have time to linger for just a little while out of your busy and very important day for the goldfinches that have gathered in a field of thistles for a musical battle, to see who can sing the highest note, or the lowest, or the most expressive of mirth, or the most […]
From Fr. Boyer’s homily on Sunday on the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-10): If Peter, James, and John no longer saw a man from Nazareth but the glory of his exaltation, then we no longer see bread on this altar; but what it becomes for us. If Peter, James and John no longer saw the man […]
Found this quote on the internet. It was in reference to technology but holds much spiritual insight. Virtual: Something that you think you have, but you don’t. Transparent: Something that you don’t know you have, but you do. — Tony Karp (via) Ego, pride, control—all virtual. God—transparent. Reminds me of a line from a science […]
You will walk toward the mirror, closer and closer, then flow into the glass. You will disappear some day like that, being more real, more true, at the last. You learn what you are, but slowly, a baby, a boy, a man, a self often shattered, and pieces put together again till the end: you […]
Yesterday evening, I was reading this certain book by a particular author who was opening windows and doors for me to paths of insights into metaphysics, mysticism, the mystery of God, etc., when all of a sudden, in one paragraph, red flags and klaxon sirens went off in warning. My stomach knotted up, my pulse […]
From Br. Joseph — This is the sixth reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Pray always. Prays always; if necessary, use words. Our words in prayer are very important, be them words of gratitude or of amazement, words for forgiveness, or words of need for others or for […]
God is like this… showing up where you don’t want Him, where you least expect to find Him. [image via]
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 — Here is a simple prayer to start each day during Lent. As with all prayer, liturgy, worship, and spiritual reading, it is to draw us deeper into relationship with God, our Father. Father, I call upon You to be with me. I invite You into my heart, into my […]