The Center for Contemplative Practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Month: December 2018
MAKING A CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT
In February, Lay Cistercians of Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery, Conyers, Georgia, will be making their annual retreat. Retreats are special opportunities to advance the amount of time we spend in the presence of Christ. What follows is an excerpt from my… Continue Reading “MAKING A CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT”
RESPECT OUR JEWISH HERITAGE
What follows is an exerpt from my newest book entitled PRESCRIPTIONS FOR LOVING GOD: A Lay Cistercian reflects on five sets of laws that enable us to seek God in everyday living. In going through my daily Lectio Divina, I thought about… Continue Reading “RESPECT OUR JEWISH HERITAGE”
PEACE BEYOND ALL TELLING
It must be Christmas time because the media and commercial stores are plastered with Peace signs. I was reflecting on my Lectio quote (Phil 2:5) and the thought about the meaning of Peace came to mind. The Incarnation, I reasoned, is not just the… Continue Reading “PEACE BEYOND ALL TELLING”
THREE QUESTIONS THAT MAY ESCAPE YOU IN THE SEASON
This is the season to be jolly. It goes without saying (which is why I am saying it) that the search each one of us has to find meaning is much more mysterious than just a surface look at our physical universe (what we… Continue Reading “THREE QUESTIONS THAT MAY ESCAPE YOU IN THE SEASON”
FOUR QUALITIES FOR CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY
In my very limited time being a Lay Cistercian, I have learned so much about the interior life, the realm of silence and solitude, the place where I had been afraid to look before now. I am actually astounded because I don’t even live… Continue Reading “FOUR QUALITIES FOR CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY”
HOW WELL DO YOU KEEP THE LAW?
In going through my daily Lectio Divina, I thought about Philippians 2:5 and Matthew 22:37 when Christ told us that he did not come to change the Law but to fulfill it. I wondered, as I still do, what that might mean. I found… Continue Reading “HOW WELL DO YOU KEEP THE LAW?”
INTERNET RESOURCES YOU MAY USE TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW
It might seem like an unlikely place to find inspiration about contemplative practice, but Youtube did that for me, as well as other websites and modern day marvels of communication. In particular, you may find the Youtube episodes of G. K. Chesterton (Google it)… Continue Reading “INTERNET RESOURCES YOU MAY USE TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW”
The Center for Contemplative Practice 