In the Presence of Absence: A Spiritual Ecology of the Transcendent

September 10, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

Holding a Candle to the Darkness We have all heard the story. Christianity, with its embrace of Greek metaphysics and its longing for the Kingdom of God, drove a wedge between humanity and the earth, between Creator and creation. A wedge that became a full-fledged dualism under Enlightenment and Protestant iterations that emphasized rationality and nature’s objectivity. What had once been an enchanted cosmos, was now a vast and mostly empty universe. Yet, despite this ambiguous lineage, Christianity is having... Read more

The Wounds of Christ

August 19, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

It is easy to feel distant from the person Jesus, a poor Jewish man who lived 2,000 years ago. Meditating on the wounds of the crucified Jesus in my church, it occurred to me that each of his wounds speaks to the suffering we all go through in this life. Jesus may be gone, but Christ is with us always. The crown of thorns on his head bleeds for those who suffer from anguish, anxiety, mental illness, and languishing. The... Read more

Abusing Christ

August 15, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

Recently, The Onion, a delicious news parody website, published a brutal headline. It read: “Biblical Scholars Find Evidence Church Covered Up For 3 Wise Men Who Molested Baby Jesus.” At first glance this is outrageously offensive. Yet, reading the comments section, some folks had a point. Is this headline more enraging than the story that recently broke regarding several diocese in Pennsylvania where more than 300 priests who abused thousands of children and adults were protected by Bishops and Archbishops?... Read more

On Hope

August 12, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

Is there sufficient reason to hope? As if hope were an equation, whose range of outcomes might justify our investment. Or, is hope a small patch of exhausted soil we cultivate anyway in the face of apparent hopelessness? Read more

Body-Mind Unity

August 4, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

Just as the ocean and the shore are inseparable, we are a unity of body-mind. “I don’t have thoughts that I don’t have feelings about; and I don’t have feelings that I don’t have thoughts about.” –Bishop Robert Barron Read more

Are Religion and Spirituality Incompatible?

July 31, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

Introduction I increasingly come into contact with folks who have a difficult time understanding why anyone in their right mind would self-identify as religious—while I walked the Camino de Santiago this summer, when I meet people in activist circles, or even on dates—I hear a very similar line of argument: Religion and religious people are rigid, outdated, dogmatic, violent, and judgmental; whereas spiritual people are open, accepting, non-dogmatic, fluid, expansive and personally fulfilled. While listening to a Podcast from Catholic... Read more

Dispatches from the Camino de Santiago: The End is the Beginning

July 18, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

Arriving in Santiago Falling to my knees, I found myself at an unexpected altar. I may have pushed a little too hard to arrive in Santiago before the crowds became unbearable; and then eaten some questionable local seafood for lunch. All of which induced a temporary but debilitating stomach upset. I could hardly stand let alone walk around the city. My arrival in Santiago was supposed to be a joyous and cathartic release after so many miles of prayerful walking.... Read more

Dispatches from the Camino De Santiago: Settling into the Journey

June 18, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

But bit by bit, step by step, my heart has softened as my feet have toughened. Read more

Dispatches from the Camino de Santiago: Setting Off

May 23, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

A few weeks after I had defended my PhD and graduated from the University of British Columbia, I bought a ticket to Barcelona. I had heard of many people having amazing experiences on the nearly 500 miles long Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route that gained popularity in the middle ages as a safer alternative to the Holy Land. In the last several decades, annual walkers of the “French Way” have risen to approximately 300,000. I love walking, but I have... Read more

The Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands

April 30, 2018 By Jason M. Brown

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12). Read more