When someone deeply listens to you it is like holding out a dented cup you’ve had since childhood and watching it fill up with cold, fresh water. When it balances on top of the brim, you are understood. When it overflows and touches your skin, you are loved. When someone deeply listens to you, the […]
Near the end of the film Into Great Silence (technically it is a film, but it is something more), there is an interview with an old, blind monk. The years of solitude do not wear heavy on him. He is truly happy, and peace envelopes him, coming to you even through the camera lens. His […]
Christ on the cross bows his head, Waiting for you, That he may kiss you, His arms are outstretched, That he may embrace you, His hands are open, That he may enrich you, His body spread out, That he may give himself totally, His feet are nailed, That he may stay there, His side is […]
I am currently reading the book Reaching Out by Henri J. M. Nouwen. In this book, Nouwen describes three type of movements or spectrums. Nouwen views our spiritual “ascent” as evolving in three movements. The first movement, loneliness to solitude, focuses on the spiritual life as it relates to the experience of our own selves. […]
Thank you for being there…
Besides teaching, one of my other responsibilities of working in a small, Catholic high school is to drive a school bus in the morning. It is not the same as driving a bus for a public school where you follow an actual route and make a dozen or more stops. My route is simple. I […]
At Wednesday night’s RCIA class, Father used a set of concentric rings to describe how an individual develops friendship (see diagram below). People in the outer ring are considered acquaintances, and there are many of them. You just chit-chat with acquaintances. You talk about everyday kind of things, like the weather or how green the […]