The Center for Contemplative Practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Month: November 2023
YOUR HERITAGE: Outside the Church, there is no salvation.
Here are some early thoughts on this controversial statement. Salvation Outside the Church IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH “Be not deceived, my brethren: If anyone follows a maker of schism [i.e., is a schismatic], he does not inherit the kingdom of God; if anyone walks in… Continue Reading “YOUR HERITAGE: Outside the Church, there is no salvation.”
WHAT SEYMOUR BERNSTEIN TAUGHT ME ABOUT MY LAY CISTERCIAN WAY
I don’t want to leave you with the impression that I actually know or have met the legendary Seymour Bernstein. I would never consider myself lucky enough to have a normal conversation with him. Mr. Bernstein is a gifted master teacher of classical music.… Continue Reading “WHAT SEYMOUR BERNSTEIN TAUGHT ME ABOUT MY LAY CISTERCIAN WAY”
THE POWER OF ONE WORD III: Gratitude
Thanksgiving or Gratitude Day is coming up when we sit down together with loved ones and share a meal as a sign that we appreciate what God, society, our heritage, our religion, and our family have done for us. It is a moveable secular… Continue Reading “THE POWER OF ONE WORD III: Gratitude”
THE POWER OF ONE WORD II: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, St. Michael
In this most recent Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5), my thoughts wandered to the power of a single word. Five such words came to mind amid the myriad of possibilities. I will offer you my reflections on this, and you draw your own conclusions. THE… Continue Reading “THE POWER OF ONE WORD II: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, St. Michael”
PROVERBS FROM A LAY CISTERCIAN TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Here are some ideas that flashed through my mind this morning at 2:10 a.m. Don’t ask! In one way or another, I have either coined these sayings myself or, more likely, picked them up from other sources during my lifetime. I offer them without… Continue Reading “PROVERBS FROM A LAY CISTERCIAN TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”
THE SIXTY SECOND CATHOLIC: Love and movement from mind to heart.
As I sit here and reflect on Philippians 2:5 for my Lectio Divina meditation, my mind turns to Jesus and the love he must have had for all humans to become corruptible humans. Love is at the center of what Jesus is about. Humans… Continue Reading “THE SIXTY SECOND CATHOLIC: Love and movement from mind to heart.”
…AND THEN WHAT?
While ruminating through the vast array of my life experiences, one came to mind. I share it with you because not only do I like it but also because you might like it. You be the judge. I have had to blow off a… Continue Reading “…AND THEN WHAT?”
WHAT DOES REALITY LOOK LIKE? A micro and macrocosmic perspective that is critical to spiritual thinking.
I approach this topic of “What does reality look like?” with some hesitation because I am venturing out of my wheelhouse and comfort zone. I have, for the past three or four years, ventured into realms of thinking that are not normal to my… Continue Reading “WHAT DOES REALITY LOOK LIKE? A micro and macrocosmic perspective that is critical to spiritual thinking.”
WHAT CAN ONE PERSON DO AGAINST THE PERSISTENT PERVERSION OF MORALS?
All seems lost, when I look at the total ridiculousness of both Democrat and Republican parties at all levels of government. Having a political party and its platform (which no one ever uses) as a basis for my morality is like walking on Jello… Continue Reading “WHAT CAN ONE PERSON DO AGAINST THE PERSISTENT PERVERSION OF MORALS?”
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