I recommended a movie to a friend. It is not a particularly great movie, but it has a good story. A light comedy with an unusual love story within a very somber setting. Some parts are kind of different but expected considering the premise of the movie. What really makes the movie, in my opinion, […]
I remember this night like it was last night. In the midst of all the crying and pain and pleading with God, I heard the words, “Not yet.” Two simple words. Peace enveloped me. Healing from the depression progressed over the next 6 months. Five years later, as I was reading the first part on […]
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, […]
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, […]
A portion of a song: Nobody tells you when you get born here How much you’ll come to love it And how you’ll never belong here So I call you my country And I’ll be lonely for my home And I wish that I could take you there with me — Rich Mullins, “Land of […]
From Br. Joseph — Most people are familiar with the poem “Footprints in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson. Here’s a different set of footprints (author unknown)… — — — — — — — Now imagine you and the Lord walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord’s footprints go along steadily, […]
From Br. Joseph — We are called to help each other to heaven. The last paragraph to C.S. Lewis’ sermon, “The Weight of Glory”, is extraordinary writing. Lewis, contrary to the times, is not afraid to talk about heaven. He reminds us, whether we acknowledge it aloud to ourselves or not, that heaven is our […]
I am standing on the cusp of a low hill. I can see my goal across the way on top a very distant hill. The path below through the valley is obscured. I can see no clear way to proceed. How to get there from here? I know I must press forward to the next […]
Please pray for all the babies born today; that they will be drawn into a deep relationship with God and bring others to Him. Pray for all those that God calls home today; that He will grant them His grace of a good death, that is, one more chance to choose Him before they die. […]
Seeking balance is not an object to possess or to hold. It is not a destination to arrive at. It is a process, a part in the engine that drives us down the path as we journey back to heaven. There is friction in any engine, and seeking balance causes much of it. God uses that […]
In Merton’s Palace of Nowhere, James Finley poses a most illuminating metaphor for explaining our search for a path along a spiritual journey. Although he is specifically describing the search for the true self, it aptly applies for the spiritual journey in general. Imagine yourself standing in front of a large, freshly snow-covered field where […]
Like Neo in the Matrix movies, Buzz Lightyear from “Toy Story” found enlightenment too.
I think of this verse from Micah 6:8 in some of my darker or confused moments: You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God. The “walk humbly” part […]
MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing […]
Karl at St. Stephen’s Musings asked me five interview type questions. You are all invited to participate. (See directions at the end of the post.) 1) You have written some short fiction in the past. Do you have other stories in the works? Yes, I have been working on a story based on an incident […]
Our campus minister is leaving. Melodie will be sorely missed. Part of it is a budget crunch like all schools in this economy, but also it is an opportunity for her to minister to younger students at a nearby parish school. Her absence leaves a hole in many of our school programs, but especially in […]
Well, here I am, finally joining the blog habit too. I really don’t care for the term blog. I know it’s short for weblog, but the sound of it is too harsh for my ears. Blog sounds like blob, which brings up the connotation of a formless, goopy mess. I image many of my future […]