My friend and colleague Christine Valters Paintner has recently released a book called The Wisdom of the Body: A Contemplative Journey to Wholeness for Women. I think the question of how do we cultivate a more truly embodied spirituality — including an embodied contemplation — is very important for our time, so I think this book has the potential to be truly healing and affirming for many women. The publisher sent me an advance copy and even though I’m not a woman, I still read... Read more
On the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sundays of Lent, Catholic Churches with adults preparing to be baptized at the Easter Vigil will perform three successive rites called “the Scrutinies.” These rites, with roots dating back to the early Church, are part of a larger process called the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. If you’re not familiar with these rites, they might feel like an unnecessary add-on to the Sunday Mass. But oneeds you understand the history and the theology behind the... Read more
Silence is the heart of the spiritual life, and especially of the Christian contemplative life. Fostering inner silence is a key to entering into the prayer of generous self-giving to the often-hidden but always present reality of the God who is here. Elsewhere I have written about how sacred scripture commends silence to us. In the video above I mention the words of noted spiritual author Thomas Keating, who in his book Invitation to Love said “Silence is God’s first language;... Read more
Recently I had a wonderful conversation with Kevin Johnson, who contributes to the Inner Room blog here at Patheos. Kevin shares my deep conviction that contemplative practice forms an essential aspect of mature Christian discipleship. Among other things, we talked about how contemplative practice needs a supportive “ecosystem” so that meaningful attentiveness to God’s deep silence can truly occur. So what is a contemplative ecosystem? Well, like any other ecosystem: it’s a habitat, an environment. Any living organism needs a friendly, supportive,... Read more
So what is contemplation? In this video I talk about contemplation, beginning with the definition found in the glossary to the Catholic Catechism: A form of wordless prayer in which mind and heart focus on God’s greatness and goodness in affective, loving adoration; to look on Jesus and the mysteries of his life with faith and love. It may not be the best definition out there, but there’s a lot to work with here. Contemplation is… wordless — it’s not... Read more
This post may get me in trouble with a few folks. Well, so be it. I make no apologies for my conviction that mysticism — at least, Christian mysticism — is meant to be a communal experience. For Christians, the spiritual life consists not only in loving God, but also in loving our neighbors as ourselves (and we even are instructed to love our enemies). The pagan philosopher Plotinus described mysticism as “the flight of the alone to the Alone” — which makes... Read more
Let us pray… God, we ask for your blessing during this Holy Season of Lent. Give us the grace of your presence, your inspiration, and your call to a renewed life grounded in you. Lord, be with us, and hear our prayer. Help us to empty our lives of that which is not truly necessary. Give us the gift of hungering for you, of thirsting for your justice, of desiring your presence in our hearts and our lives. Bless our... Read more
A Book for All Time: Why Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism Still Matters For pretty much my entire adult life, if anyone would ask me who my favorite authors are, without hesitation I would say Evelyn Underhill and Thomas Merton. To me, the work of Evelyn Underhill represents the call for the revival of mysticism in our time, while Merton anchored the call to mysticism in the urgent political and social concerns that shape life in America over the last fifty years... Read more
What is Christian conversion? In other words, what does it mean to truly respond to the love and call of God? Is following Christ merely a commitment to learn about Jesus, what he said and what he taught? Or is there a deeper dimension: how does following Christ make a real difference in our lives? To answer these questions, I’d like to share some thoughts on conversion that come from William Johnston’s lovely book “Arise, My Love…”: Mysticism for a New Era. Johnston... Read more
In chapter 48 of his Rule for Monasteries, St. Benedict instructs monks to read a book during Lent. During the days of Lent, they should be free in the morning to read until the third hour… each one is to receive a book from the library, and is to read the whole of it straight through. These books are to be distributed at the beginning of Lent. What’s good for monks is good for the rest of us too. So in addition... Read more
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