Forest and field, sun and wind and sky, earth and water, all speak the same silent language, reminding the monk that he is here to develop like the things that grow all around him.
-Thomas Merton
In celebration of my other new book coming out any day now – Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: The Christian Practice [...]
Posted in Abbey Online Classes, Lent Easter, Praying with the Elements | No Comments »
I am in the midst of the Novena of Grace, a powerful Lenten retreat in everyday life which I coordinate for the Ignatian Spirituality Center. Along with teaching my Lenten E-Course on Benedictine Spiritual Practices and Eyes of the Heart: Photography as Contemplative Practice courses, my days are full of rich reflection. I offer here [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 5 Comments »
Last year I wrote this Lenten reflection on meeting the Saints in Walgreens and I offer it here again in a slightly revised version:
____________________________________________
These have been very full days. This Thursday the Novena of Grace begins, which is a nine-day preached retreat in everyday life hosted by the Ignatian Spirituality Center where I work half-time as [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 4 Comments »
Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up the mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
-Luke 9:28-29
Today’s gospel reading is of the Transfiguration of Jesus which is a story of seeing and how beauty becomes a window onto the divine. The burning light that once [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 1 Comment »
Awakening the Creative Spirit: Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction – the book – is here!
My box of books has arrived – I got a sneak peek at my new book at a book festival a week and a half ago and finally have my own copies to hold in my hand and savor. Morehouse [...]
Posted in Expressive Arts, Lent Easter | 6 Comments »
My inner monk adores this Lenten season, this invitation to walk straight out into the desert and be present to all of the ways my inner demons (those forces that keep me from being free) wrestle inside of me. One of my favorite Biblical passages is the story of Jacob wrestling with the angel and [...]
Posted in Lent Easter, Lenten Online Retreat | 1 Comment »
** Stop by this week’s Poetry Party on Entering the Desert’s Fire **
The reflection below is a slightly edited reprint of something I wrote a few years ago for Ash Wednesday which still calls me to respond to its invitation:
_____________________________________________________
Today we leave ordinary time to enter into the journey of Lent through the desert. The [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 3 Comments »
Over at Patheos is a reprint of an interview I did a couple of years ago with the wonderful and amazing Jan Richardson. It is definitely worth a re-reading (or first reading for my newer friends) for Jan’s insights into art as a sacred practice.
Jan’s work has been inspiring me for many years, she is [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 3 Comments »
Listen to the long stillness:
New life is stirring
New dreams are on the wing
New hopes are being readied:
Humankind is fashioning a new heart
Humankind is forging a new mind
God is at work.
This is the season of Promise.
-Howard Thurman
A week from Wednesday the Lenten journey begins. On Ash Wednesday we always hear the words of the prophet [...]
Posted in Lent Easter, Lenten Online Retreat | 3 Comments »
I plan to explore this idea of Practicing Resurrection more in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I was delighted to listen to the latest edition of one of my favorite radio programs — Speaking of Faith — on Restoring the Senses. Vigen Guroian speaks from Eastern Orthodox tradition about Easter as “a call to [...]
Posted in Lent Easter | 1 Comment »
