(Below is Part 2 of my Mesa Verde reflections; Part 1 is here) My recent trip to Mesa Verde National Park was actually my second visit. I had toured there about 30 years ago, but with the passage of time I had forgotten almost everything about the experience except for this: being in a kiva (a ceremonial underground room) looking up at the light coming through a small opening in the roof. Something about the luminous quality of that light made a deep impression on me.... Read more
In my travels around the world I’ve learned that most spiritual sites have layers upon layers of history, meaning and mystery. Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado may be the best example I’ve encountered of just how complicated the intertwining of those layers can be. When I was planning my visit, I contacted the park staff to say that I was a writer interested in learning about the spiritual traditions of Mesa Verde. I got a diplomatically worded reply, telling me in the nicest possible way... Read more
Did I get your attention with that headline? The catchy phrase comes from a digital initiative to be held this weekend, when churches around the country will stage a Social Media Sunday, including my own parish of Trinity Episcopal in Iowa. Parishioners are encouraged to bring electronic devices to church and to live tweet and post during the services. With apologies to Teresa of Avila, the organizers explain the initiative this way: Christ has no online presence but yours,No blog, no Facebook page but yours,Yours... Read more
It’s not the cheeriest of thoughts, but isn’t it interesting how many spiritual sites are connected with death? From the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and Normandy Cemetery in France to the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania, places associated with tragedy are often considered sacred. On a recent trip to northern Iowa, I added another such site to my list, one that at first might seem an unlikely pilgrimage destination: the farmer’s field where Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed in... Read more
Let me begin with a few quotes. Can you guess who said them? “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” “All the greatest things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.” “All babies look like me. But then, I look like all babies.” Still not sure who said these? This one will give it away: “We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight... Read more
You might think that this picture was taken in Ireland or Scotland, places well-known for their prehistoric stone circles. But would you believe these stones are found in Iowa? Their story involves a remote island in Indonesia, a whimsical businessman with a deep commitment to spirituality, and (I’m not making this up) hobbits. Even by Holy Rover standards, this is an unusual sacred place, one that I’m delighted to have found. There’s a certain sense of irony in my discovery of this place. I’ve... Read more
Today’s post is a sermon I gave yesterday at my home church, Trinity Episcopal in Iowa City. Gospel Reading: John 20:19-31 When it was evening on the day of Resurrection, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the... Read more
Today I want to tell you about Ryumonji, a Zen monastery near Decorah, Iowa. That probably sounds like a perfectly reasonable sentence to you, but to me it’s in the same category as “Today I want to tell you about an ice cream shop I discovered on Mars.” The reason for this is that I grew up on Decorah, a small town in northeast Iowa. While it was a lovely place to grow up, this was during an era when its... Read more
Scott Samuelson teaches philosophy at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa. I’ve long known him as a friend, but with the publication of his new book I’m delighted to discover that he is also a wonderful writer. I’m working my way through his The Deepest Human Life: An Introduction to Philosophy for Everyone, and will eventually blog about it. But in the meantime I want to give you an excerpt from a speech Scott gave recently at Grinnell College. In it... Read more
For many centuries, the practice of lectio divina–close, meditative reading of holy texts–has been one of the most important forms of Christian meditation. Many other faiths, of course, also recognize the value of a slow immersion in sacred words. Contrast that with our reading habits today. Instead of novels, we read blogs (guilty as charged). Instead of reading a chapter in a book, we read a few paragraphs on a website. When our interest flags, we click on to another... Read more
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