The Hidden Tradition of Christian Mysticism

Last updated on: November 30, 2018 at 7:41 pm By Carl McColman

Karl Rahner, one of the most renowned Christian theologians of the twentieth century, once famously remarked that “the Christian of the future will be a mystic or will not exist at all.” For people whose experience of Christianity is, often, little more than a religion invested in obedience and in patriarchal morality, this seems to be a bold statement. After all, mysticism implies not legalistic religion, but living spirituality — heart-felt intimacy with God, centered on a miraculous and joyful appreciation of the... Read more

Lectio Divina Every Day

Last updated on: November 30, 2018 at 7:37 pm By Carl McColman

“Love for Jesus is fed by constant meditation on the Gospels.” — Michael Casey, OCSO A prominent pastor who hosts an Internet podcast once interviewed me for his show, and at the close of our conversation asked me, “What is the one book you would recommend to readers as the most essential title to read, for the purpose of understanding Christian mysticism?” Without batting an eye I said, “The Bible, of course.” I don’t think that was the answer he was... Read more

Beatrice of Nazareth: Seven Manners of Divine Love

Last updated on: November 26, 2018 at 12:47 pm By Carl McColman

Today is the feast day of one of the lesser known of Cistercian blesseds (and medieval mystics), Beatrice of Nazareth, who lived ca. 1200-1268 CE. Born in or around 1200 CE, Beatrice of Nazareth was the youngest child of a devout Flemish family; her father may have been a mason involved in the construction of three different monasteries. A devout child, after her mother’s death when she was 7 Beatrice lived for a year with Beguines (lay women who lived... Read more

Interfaith-Friendly Christianity?

Last updated on: November 30, 2018 at 7:32 pm By Carl McColman

Jesus, following the law of his people, instructed his followers to “love your neighbor as yourself.” But then he upped the ante by telling the story of the good Samaritan — in his society, the Samaritans were the social outcasts. Yet here was a parable in which the social outcast was a better neighbor to a man in need than the community and religious leaders who didn’t want to get involved. The message is simple: Our neighbors are not just the... Read more

Prologue 9

Last updated on: November 30, 2018 at 7:29 pm By Carl McColman

“Prologue 9”? What does that mean, pray tell? It’s an allusion to the Rule of Saint Benedict, and — by a sort of happy coincidence — also to the Gospel of Saint John. Both the Rule and John are documents renowned for their prologue — and in both documents, verse 9 of the prologue is packed with meaning. The Prologue to Saint Benedict’s Rule is itself a renowned spiritual document, a stirring cry to holiness and fervor for anyone who... Read more

Monastic Life from the Inside

Last updated on: November 30, 2018 at 7:24 pm By Carl McColman

Recently I have read two wonderful books that offer a glimpse into the life of a Trappist monk and Trappistine nun. Both books are autobiographical, yet imbued with a deep and rich spirituality. Both of the authors entered the cloister before Vatican II, went on to become an abbot or abbess of their respective communities, and are still alive today. Taken together, these books celebrate the down-to-earth simplicity and beauty of monastic life as lived in our time — and... Read more

“That God’s Love Might Live in Us” — A Few Lovely Words from Thomas Merton

Last updated on: November 30, 2018 at 7:21 pm By Carl McColman

I’ve been re-reading Thomas Merton’s The Waters of Siloe for a class I’m teaching at the monastery. It’s basically Merton’s history of the Cistercian order, but it’s also full of his insights into Cistercian spirituality (and monastic spirituality in general). I especially love the book because it devotes several pages to the founding of the monastery in Georgia, including a wonderful photograph of the monks sitting in front of the old barn where they lived when they first came to the... Read more

Living with Hospice

Last updated on: August 31, 2021 at 9:00 am By Carl McColman

Today is my stepdaughter Rhiannon’s 29th birthday. It’s always a sweet day, but today is a bit sweeter than most, because just a few months ago we thought she wouldn’t live to see it. As I’ve explained in a previous post, Rhiannon lives with kidney and liver disease. Born with polycystic kidney disease that was so serious she almost didn’t make it out of neonatal intensive care, she developed problems with her liver as a result of her kidney problems.... Read more

A Prayer for the Morning

Last updated on: November 26, 2018 at 12:41 pm By Carl McColman

Beautiful God, Blessed Trinity, I thank you for the gift of this new day. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. I ask for the gift of grace today. All that I long for can only come from you. I ask for the gift of peace today. Lead me to the silence deep beneath my inner turbulence. I ask for the gift of light today. May your resplendence shine on me, without and within,... Read more

Finding Faith in Midlife

Last updated on: November 30, 2018 at 7:06 pm By Carl McColman

Talk about a trip down memory lane. Richard Cole’s Catholic By Choice: Why I Embraced the Faith, Joined the Church, and Embarked On the Adventure of a Lifetime (Loyola Press) recounts the story of how the author, at midlife, suddenly embraced the Catholic faith, even though he had spent most of his adult life looking down on religiously devout people as somehow mentally or emotionally deficient. Raised a mainline Protestant, like so many members of his (my) generation, Cole never... Read more