The Center for Contemplative Practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Month: August 2026
CATHOLICS HAVE TWO CITIZENSHIPS: Earthly and Spiritual.
Note: This is not a short blog but a conversation with you about the meaning of Love. I always look for two meanings when thinking about the word ”Love” in my Lectio Divina. The first meaning is what the world thinks of Love. For… Continue Reading “CATHOLICS HAVE TWO CITIZENSHIPS: Earthly and Spiritual.”
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW IF YOU CHOOSE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS YOUR MINDSET.
The whole point of why I write is to allow you, the Anawim to be able to enter that place no one wants to enter, your upper room of your inner self, and to “Have in you the mind of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 2:5)… Continue Reading “WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW IF YOU CHOOSE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AS YOUR MINDSET.”
The Four Degrees of Love: St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s Timeless Guide to Spiritual Maturity.
This series of conversations with you, dear one, is rather long on purpose. I trust that you will read or listen to the materials at your own level of comfort and stop, then restart later on. I want to keep the continuity of the… Continue Reading “The Four Degrees of Love: St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s Timeless Guide to Spiritual Maturity.”
THE THEORETICAL CATHOLIC: CONVERSATION FOUR– Explore the six questions Conrad says every human must answer to move from the Mental Universe to the Kingdom of Heaven.
CONVERSATION FOUR: Explore the six questions Conrad says every human must answer to move from the Mental Universe to the Kingdom of Heaven. In Michael F. Conrad’s framework, these questions are the “bedrock” of contemplative practice, designed to help a person move from the purely human Mental Universe to the divine Kingdom of Heaven. … Continue Reading “THE THEORETICAL CATHOLIC: CONVERSATION FOUR– Explore the six questions Conrad says every human must answer to move from the Mental Universe to the Kingdom of Heaven.”
THE THEORETICAL CATHOLIC: DAY THREE– Examine how specific Cistercian virtues act as the “heavy machinery” to be in the presence of Christ.
This is the third in a series on exploring how to dig for heavenly gold on earth. I want you to think about how to take one influential writer or poet from your life and apply the Christ Principle to it. I offer my… Continue Reading “THE THEORETICAL CATHOLIC: DAY THREE– Examine how specific Cistercian virtues act as the “heavy machinery” to be in the presence of Christ.”
THE THEORETICAL CATHOLIC: Six specific paradigm shifts mapped using Barker’s Implications Wheel® to predict your spiritual growth—Part II.
The late Joel Barker was a noted futurist and one of the ten people who have been a prime source of ideas against which I have formulated my new Catholic Faith (new wineskins). What follows are the questions I asked the AI to comment… Continue Reading “THE THEORETICAL CATHOLIC: Six specific paradigm shifts mapped using Barker’s Implications Wheel® to predict your spiritual growth—Part II.”
THEORETICAL CATHOLICISM: Making New Wineskins out of ordinary ideas. Making All Things New with Jesus.Part I.
The late Joel Barker, noted futurist and one of the ten people who have been a prime source of ideas against which I have formulated my new Catholic Faith (new wineskins). What follows are the questions I asked the AI to comment on, using… Continue Reading “THEORETICAL CATHOLICISM: Making New Wineskins out of ordinary ideas. Making All Things New with Jesus.Part I.”
Introduction to Eusebius of Caesarea (For our gentle readings in the series Listen to Your Catholic Heritage).
What follows is the beginning of what I myself have found helpful to reignite the profound respect for the Catholic Church and the Scriptures and Traditions that have come down to us from the Apostles. Read the actual text and draw your own conclusions,… Continue Reading “Introduction to Eusebius of Caesarea (For our gentle readings in the series Listen to Your Catholic Heritage).”
TECHNIQUES I USE TO LISTEN TO JESUS.
This conversation with you is the third in my sharing of HOW I do Lay Cistercian spirituality, as I know it. All of these conversations (I used to call them blogs, but that sounds so nerdy) are my thinking with occasional help from Grok.… Continue Reading “TECHNIQUES I USE TO LISTEN TO JESUS.”
SEEING JESUS: THE PLACE WHERE NO ONE WANTS TO LOOK
This is the second in a series on Techniques I use to be present to Jesus when I am in the presence of Christ in the upper room of my inner self. These ideas are mine, supported by Grok. I. The Mystery of Faith… Continue Reading “SEEING JESUS: THE PLACE WHERE NO ONE WANTS TO LOOK”