The Center for Contemplative Practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Month: July 2025
THE GRAND ARCHETYPE: An innocuous variable that no one considered for space travel.
Humans strain to break free of this landlocked, rocky ball of gas and chemicals by reaching out for the stars. I don’t recall who said this (but I did not), but during one of my Lectio Divina meditations, someone asked me why humans would… Continue Reading “THE GRAND ARCHETYPE: An innocuous variable that no one considered for space travel.”
HOW I MADE NEW WINESKINS USING QUANTUM ECCLISIOLOGY
A bed in the rehab section of a local nursing home (adult care) is an unlikely place to do my Lectio Divina. Still, there I was, pen in hand, belting out a deeper meaning for the four marks of the Church (one, holy, catholic,… Continue Reading “HOW I MADE NEW WINESKINS USING QUANTUM ECCLISIOLOGY”
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (10 of 10)
Each moment, I must consciously place myself in the presence of Jesus through Cistercian practices and charism. Most often, I fail, but I rise up only to try again and again. That process is mine. The energy I use to move to a deeper… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (10 of 10) “
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (9 of 10)
Sometimes, I confess, I hate this about other humans. Notice, I did not say that I hate people. The behavior of each one of us comes from the assumptions and priorities we assume as meaningful. I doubt that anyone does anything that they think… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (9 of 10) “
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (8 of 10)
Brother Michael Lauteri, O.C.S.O., our Junior Lay Cistercian Moderator at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery (Trappist), taught us many valuable lessons about the contemplative way of life. In particular, I recall him saying, ‘Pray as you can.’ PRAY AS YOU CAN, NOT… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (8 of 10) “
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (7 of 10)
Some time ago (I used to remember when), I struck up a conversation with a young lady while getting a Starbucks Grande. I asked her what her religion was, because she had on a Notre Dame jacket. She replied to me, “I don’t belong… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (7 of 10) “
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (6 of 10)
The Catholic Church is not for everyone. Here are some reasons you don’t want to become a Catholic. Find another system of belief. The Catholic Church asks you to abandon all for Christ. uiodg
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (5 of 10)
The language of God is silence; the language of contemplative practice (Trappist) is silence, solitude, work, prayer, and community. My energy for the silence I need to wait for God to respond comes from God. I must learn to speak God’s language (not any… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (5 of 10) “
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (4 of 10)
My Catholic Faith is a way of life that stresses my constant need to be vigilant in the face of the false promises of fulfillment. From the time of my Baptism (September 29, 1940) at the Old Cathedral in Vincennes, Indiana, God accepted me… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (4 of 10)”
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (3 of 10)
A “Catholic” way to look at reality is the template Jesus left those of us between the Ascension (Pentecost) up to, and including me and you as individuals. I am flabbergasted to think that all of this creation, all the complexity and consciousness, exists… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (3 of 10)”
GOD GIVES US BOUNDARIES TO OUR HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Confronting the noise of original sin.
The subject of the existence of God has always intrigued me. Scientific inquiry demands proof that it exists. My own thinking is that God exists, and it is up to me to use the tools Christ gave me to listen with “the ear of… Continue Reading “GOD GIVES US BOUNDARIES TO OUR HUMAN BEHAVIOR: Confronting the noise of original sin.”
A COMMENTARY ON A PITHY SAYING
For those following my disjointed ruminations about my results from practicing Lectio Divina each day, I offer the following advice. I never know what comes from being in the presence of Jesus and asking the Holy Spirit to overshadow me with whatever. I can… Continue Reading “A COMMENTARY ON A PITHY SAYING”
THE PENITENTIAL LAY CISTERCIAN
One of the challenges of getting older is replacing work or routine with another one, a contemplative one, in my case. I have taken upon myself the spiritual practices of what I have made for myself as it relates to reparation for my past… Continue Reading “THE PENITENTIAL LAY CISTERCIAN”
THE HORSE’S MOUTH
There is so much fake news, false news, no news, opinions instead of facts, downright deception when using the Internet, that I keep reminding myself that anything is subject to others making a false viewpoint and selling it as the truth. Here are some… Continue Reading “THE HORSE’S MOUTH”
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (2 of 10)
The map above is the unattributed view of the makeup of all reality by Teilhard de Chardin. His overview is paramount in any discussion of contemplative practices. By beginning with his meta overview of reality and how contemlative practice has allowed me to begin… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE (2 of 10)”
TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE
I admit it. I am a reformed Catholic of the Roman Rite who, over ten years ago, wanted to grow deeper in my spirituality, inherited and, I might add, taken for granted for most of my lifetime. It’s like being on an iceberg and… Continue Reading “TEN OBSERVATIONS ABOUT CATHOLICISM FOR THOSE NEW TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE”
ORIGINAL SIN: TWO WAYS TO OPEN HEAVEN’S GATE.
I have discovered two ways to peer through a glass darkly and attempt to reach a deeper level of my humanity, and thus, my spirituality. Scriptures tell us that, “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” (Luke 17:21) If this is true, then Hell… Continue Reading “ORIGINAL SIN: TWO WAYS TO OPEN HEAVEN’S GATE.”
A LAY CISTERCIAN’S LIFE OF REPENTANCE AND REPARATION
Before I attempt to lay out my latest project, read this: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/message-from-our-lady–akita-japan-5167 This concept of repentance for the sins of others, and mostly my own, is my new challenge until I die. Repentance for sin is about making up for those sins that have… Continue Reading “A LAY CISTERCIAN’S LIFE OF REPENTANCE AND REPARATION”
JUST THREE HAIL MARY’S
Back when I was stationed in Evansville, Indiana, as a high school teacher of religion, one of my students raised an important query, which, at the time, I dismissed as the mutterings of a disenchanted youth. Now, as I can throw a stone and… Continue Reading “JUST THREE HAIL MARY’S”
ONE-A-DAY CONTEMPLATIVE VITAMIN
Try this practice once a day for seven days. Sit alone in the upper room of your inner self and think about this saying: One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Just let… Continue Reading “ONE-A-DAY CONTEMPLATIVE VITAMIN”
NOTES ON HOW I MUST ABANDON MYSELF TO MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF MY HUMANITY
Father,I abandon myself into your hands;Do with me what you will.Whatever you may do, I thank you:I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me,and in all your creatures –I wish no more than this, O Lord.… Continue Reading “NOTES ON HOW I MUST ABANDON MYSELF TO MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL OF MY HUMANITY”
WHY HUMAN SEXUALITY NEEDS DIVINE BOUNDARIES
Sexuality is one of those topics that I grew up with but never understood in terms of how and why it is so crucial to who I am and how it helps me grow into the deepest part of what it means to be… Continue Reading “WHY HUMAN SEXUALITY NEEDS DIVINE BOUNDARIES”
The Center for Contemplative Practice 