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 another slightly revised reflection written last year. Reading my words again I am moved to find they still ring very true in my heart. __________________________________________ Let mystery have its place in you; do not be always turning up your whole soil with the plowshare of

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 Program Coordinator. Essentially there are two liturgies  each day, midday and early evening, and participants can choose one.  It is a truly transformative experience, gathering together for a pilgrimage of the heart in the midst of everyday life.  I have been working with the

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 appeared to Moses in the bush now radiates from Jesus himself. For Gregory Palamas (a 14th c. Orthodox monk), it was the disciples who changed at the transfiguration, not Christ. Christ was transfigured: … not by the addition of something he

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 Publishing did a fabulous job with the layout of the text – we had various little icons to indicate the different art exercises, some photos, as well as a variety of contributors. Amazon.com says the books ship in 1-2 months, but rest assured they

** 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 desert is that uncharted terrain beyond the edges of our seemingly secure and structured world, where things begin to crack. We begin this desert journey marked with ashes, the sign of our mortality. There is wisdom in these ashes. If you have

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 one of the first people I discovered as a kindred spirit in the contemporary connection between monk and artist paths (and her out-of-print Night Visions for the season of Advent is one of my favorite books ever).  I am delighted to consider her a