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 — There are two sides to faith, just as there are two sides to a coin. One side of the “coin of faith” looks externally, that is, it looks outside of our selves to others for examples and models of living faith. They are witnesses, and it is in accepting their experiences, […]
God is like this… showing up where you don’t want Him, where you least expect to find Him. [image via]
From Br. Joseph — This is the fourth reflection on seven signposts for the season of Lent (and for all seasons). Signposts give us direction. They point to some place. They involve action, movement. Many signposts call us to remember something important, some thing that is already there but is often covered up by 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 […]
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 […]
O God, as once the good angels humbled themselves to adore You appearing before them as a man, may man humbly adore You appearing before us as bread. — from a prayer card [via]
From Br. Joseph — The young boy asked, “Why Christmas?” His father replied, “You know, it’s December 25th, the season when everyone puts up Christmas trees and decorates everything in red and green. We hang Christmas lights on the house and…” “Yes, I know all that Dad. Not when is Christmas. Why Christmas?” The father […]
God does not reside in the tomb of my thoughts or words.
From today’s reading: Before the Lord the whole universe is as a grain from a balance or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth. But you have mercy on all, because you can do all things; and you overlook people’s sins […]
God refuses to be known except by love. — St. John of the Cross
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back, Guiltie of dust and sinne. But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning If I lack’d anything. A guest, I answer’d, worthy to be here: Love said, You […]
From Br. Joseph (Sept. 18, 2007) — Sunday’s Gospel reading was about the Lost Son in Luke 15 (aka Prodigal Son). I want to share a marvelous poem written about a century ago by Charles Péguy that references this parable. The poem is actually a portion of a larger poem called “A Vision of Prayer” […]
The term Body of Christ means three things: 1) the actual physical body of Jesus; 2) the Church (with a capital “C”) because we as individual persons are church, parts of the Body, branches on the Vine; and 3) the Eucharist, the Blessed Sacrament. (Note: Some believers have issues with the third one. There is a plausible explanation […]
Only in love can I find You, my God. In love, the gates of my soul spring open, allowing me to breath a new air of freedom and forget my own petty self. In love, my whole being streams forth out of the rigid confines of narrowness and anxious self-assertion, which make me a prisoner […]
God always answers prayers. He answers them in His way, not ours.
The felt the big emptiness this morning. It actually started yesterday afternoon, but I did not notice or label it as such until this morning. It is not depression. I know depression. It’s close, but not the same. There is no despair, no deep sadness or lowness that comes with depression. It is just an […]
I’m bad about shopping for books. I cannot stop in a bookstore without rummaging through the religion/faith section. If a book looks good, I’ll purchase it in hopes of reading it some day. Sometimes, I’ll start the new book the same evening, pushing other books back in the queue, and finish the book. Sometimes, I’ll […]
The Lord God then called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) This is, in my opinion, the saddest line in the whole of Scripture. It hints of God’s heart ache for us. It is a response to a choice Adam and Eve made that formed a great chasm between God and […]
From today’s reading, Jesus says to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) This is one of my favorite passages. It describes […]
Heard this line in the movie, As Good As It Gets: Waiting gives the devil time. Waiting also gives God time.
Is God in Hell? The modern explanation likes to say that Hell is the absence of God. But can such a place exist? The very existence of reality is grounded in God. Being or existence itself is in and of God. God is existence. All is within God. In otherwords, our existence is not independent […]
In The Lord, Romano Guardini reflects on God’s forgiveness: Men actually did not know that God must be as he is in order to be able to forgive, for what they formerly meant by forgiveness was no true forgiveness, but a covering up, a looking away, a gracious ignoring, cessation of anger and punishment. Genuine […]
At the retreat this weekend, one of my students had a small epiphany during a very special prayer moment around the Blessed Sacrament. The following words come to her; it seemed as if God was speaking directly to her within her heart. A deep sense of peace followed. She wrote down the words on her […]
Found this little poem in a book laying around in the sacristy of the chapel at camp. For every pain we must bear, for every burden, for every care, there’s a reason. for every grief that bows the head for every teardrop that is shed, there’s a reason. For every hurt, for every plight, for […]