One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is the hymn found in Philippians 2:5-11: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death... Read more
One of the perks of being a Patheos blogger is the opportunity to review books for the Patheos Book Club. It’s a good program: the publisher provides Patheos with a carton of books, which are then distributed among the bloggers; our job is the read the books and write an honest response. Several of the book reviews I’ve posted here over the last few years have been part of this program. Obviously the idea is to review books that are... Read more
A reader of this blog named Chris writes: I have been studying the German medieval mystics and I am strangely drawn to them. My ancestry is strongly German and my historical spiritual roots are there. Does God encode us with a certain kind of spiritual mystical DNA? I can’t help but wonder if Christian mysticism runs in my family and ancenstry? Chris, thank you for your question. For me it immediately brings to mind the Star Wars myth, where Luke Skywalker learns... Read more
Everyone knows that monks devote their lives to silence, but also to daily prayer and chanting. Monastic prayer occurs at fixed-hours throughout the day. The rota of Psalms, canticles, scripture readings, antiphons and other prayers that incorporate this daily liturgy is known as the Divine Office (or the Daily Office, or the Liturgy of the Hours). Praying the Divine Office is central to monastic life, but even those of us who aren’t monks may find that this type of prayer is an... Read more
A reader of my blog named Paul emailed me the following question: I realize this is a difficult question to answer because of its lack of specificity, however any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. The Pentecostal experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit, is it the same thing as experiencing the ecstasy of God? Thanks for your question, even though it does indeed lack specificity! It’s a huge question, and I doubt that I can do it justice. So here... Read more
I’ve been reading Bill Bryson’s charming and delightful book on the English language, The Mother Tongue, and ran across this delicious tidbit: English speakers dread silence. We are all familiar with the uncomfortable feeling that overcomes us when a conversation palls. Studies have shown that when a pause reaches four seconds, one or more of the conversationalists will invariably blurt something — a fatuous comment on the weather, a startled cry of “Gosh, is that the time?” — rather than... Read more
Last week I wrote about the difference between how Catholics understand meditation and contemplation, based on material found in the Catholic Catechism. A reader left the following comment on that post: We rest in God. But we do not empty our minds. We are always in communication with God. Prayer is focusing on God and we praise him for who He is, we intercede for others, and we put our requests to Him. We align our wills with His in... Read more
Advent is almost over. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and the season of Christmas begin the day after that. Even though the Christmas season is technically shorter than Advent, it always seems to me that Advent is way too short. Maybe that’s because this is a time of much secular hustle and bustle, as we strive to finish our holiday shopping, participate in various end-of-year parties, and so forth. Christmas may be “the most wonderful time of the year,” but Advent seems... Read more
A reader of my blog wrote to me and asked this question: What do you see is the difference between Catholic meditation and contemplative prayer? It’s a great question, made complicated by the fact that words like meditation and contemplation can be used in a variety of ways, especially in society at large. For example, many people may associate “meditation” with eastern or secular practices such as zen or mindfulness meditation, exercises that are primarily a form of self-knowledge or self-healing. Self-care has its place, but... Read more
Spirituality is all about love, and love only exists in relationship. Therefore, spirituality is healthiest when it is expressed in a communal way. For better or worse, this means — at least for followers of Jesus Christ and the Christian contemplative/mystical path — finding some sort of church or other faith community. That’s not always easy. Frankly, many churches are indifferent, or even hostile, to Christian contemplation and mysticism. Many Protestant and Evangelical Christians reject mysticism and contemplation as “too Catholic.” And Christians across... Read more
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