A sermon preached at First Christian Church of Decatur, Decatur GA, on September 4, 2011 Scripture: Matthew 18:20 “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” What an amazing statement for our Lord to make. He did not say, “Wherever a properly licensed minister of the Gospel shall be, I am there, ” or “Wherever an accredited Bible scholar shall teach, I am there” or anything like that. He promised his presence to Christians — to all Christians!... Read more
Then you should readily and trustfully commit yourself and all that concerns you to the unfailing and most sure Providence of God, in silence and peace. He Himself will fight for you, and will grant you a liberty and consolation better, nobler, and sweeter than would be possible if you gave yourself up day and night to your fancies, to vain and wandering thoughts, which hold captive the mind, as they toss it hither and thither, wearying soul and body,... Read more
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. (Luke 19:4) When I was a boy I loved to climb trees. We had two pine trees in our back yard, and one of them I could only climb up maybe five feet or so, but in the other, larger one I could get at least ten or twelve feet off the ground, which was pretty high for a ten... Read more
Note from Carl: Sunday the lay associates had a potluck lunch at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit, to celebrate the birthday of our monastic advisor, Father Anthony, as well as the eldest monk of the community, Father Luke, who turned 99 today! Fran brought one of her more recent discoveries: Kale Salad. It was quite the hit. One of the lay associates actually took the salad around to everyone, raving about how good it was and encouraging everyone to... Read more
This thought came to me yesterday. We Christians understand spirituality and mysticism in communal ways: we are knit into the Body of Christ, our mandate is to love one another, we are to “be Christ” for each other, and so forth. For this reason, intercessory prayer — praying on behalf of others — is an important part of Christian spirituality. Indeed, in Catholicism it is customary to make offerings to the church to have masses said for the intentions of... Read more
I’m a beginner with the bass guitar. I bought an inexpensive Ibanez bass the January before last and took about four months of lessons, but then stopped as I got more involved in writing my book on Christian mysticism. Now, over a year later, the book is on my editor’s desk and I’ve resumed working with the bass. Thanks to a rather lucrative freelancing job I had earlier this year, I’ve upgraded my gear and am now learning with a... Read more
In her introduction to Orbis Books’ Essential Writings of Evelyn Underhill, Emilie Griffin notes that Underhill delineates five marks or characteristics of authentic Christian mysticism. These are well worth considering: Christian mysticism is active and practical. Even a Carthusian hermit takes responsibility for living his contemplative life with honor, dignity, and personal integrity. Meanwhile, for the vast majority of Christian contemplatives, the life of silence is embedded in a network of community relationships and responsibilities of some form. True mysticism... Read more
Today is the feast of St. Benedict. This morning at mass, Father Tom Francis (who works with me at the Abbey Store) preached on the Rule and on his life experience as a Trappist monk for over 50 years now. During the sermon, he mentioned a conversation that he and I and another Lay Cistercian had a while back about a phrase in the prologue to the Holy Rule of St. Benedict: et apertis oculis nostris ad deificum lumen, which is... Read more
I am saddened to have learned of the passing of John O’Donohue, author of Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, yesterday (January 4, 2008). He died peacefully in his sleep while on holiday in France. Read the announcement on his website. In 1999 I had the privilege to interview him for a book industry trade publication; you can read the interview below this announcement. He was not only one of the most articulate voices of living Celtic Christianity and Celtic... Read more
I’ve been pondering the question, “What are the disctinctive qualities of Celtic Christianity?” In thinking about this, five particular points emerged. Celtic Christianity, as expressed in the poetry, prayers, folklore and hagiography of the earliest Christians of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, appears to have these five distinctive qualities: Hospitality, and particularly hospitality to all wisdom. This is epitomized by the early Celtic Christian tolerance/acceptance of the Celtic pagan past, at a time when most of Christendom was aggressively attacking all... Read more
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