The Center for Contemplative Practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Month: August 2026
ROMANCING THE FIVE SOLAS WE USE TO COMMUNICATE WITH GOD.
I must admit to stumbling across this concept of “What is the best way to communicate with Christ?” This led me to think about the five languages I use to view reality and which of them actually help me with my purpose in life.… Continue Reading “ROMANCING THE FIVE SOLAS WE USE TO COMMUNICATE WITH GOD.”
THE INSANITY OF CONFORMITY
The Achilles’ heel for many of those too young to have mastered the skills of advanced Contemplative spirituality is conformity. This takes the form of what many call “boredom with the ordinary” in the face of something more stimulating. Boredom is the underpinning reason… Continue Reading “THE INSANITY OF CONFORMITY”
ST. CHARLES DE FOUCAULD: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS.
It is impossible to move through the corridors of life without one or two mentors whom you cherish for giving finality to the spirituality you have created over the years. St. Charles de Foucauld is one of many inspirations whom I tried to emulate… Continue Reading “ST. CHARLES DE FOUCAULD: A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS.”
CATHOLIC INTERNET SITES FOR MOMS AND DADS.
RESOURCES THAT HAVE HELPED ME ON MY LAY CISTERCIAN JOURNEY (SO FAR) Here are some wonderful, contemplative websites that may help you find some rest for your soul. I admit my bias. http://www.trappist.net http://www.newadvent.com https://thecenterforcontemplativepractice.org http://www.cistercianfamily.org/ https://siena.org http://www.carlmccolman.net http://scotthahn.com http://www.cistercianpublications.org http://dynamiccatholic.com http://www.centeringprayer.com/cntrgpryr.htm http://www.monk.org https://cistercianpublications.org/Category/CPCT/CistercianTradition… Continue Reading “CATHOLIC INTERNET SITES FOR MOMS AND DADS.”
FIVE KEY SKILLS THAT CATHOLIC MOMS AND DADS MUST SHOW THEIR CHILDREN TO PASS ON THEIR ENTRUSTED HERITAGE FROM JESUS. SECOND PART.
The problem for many of us Catholics who just take their faith for granted without the slightest thought that it is a daily struggle to convert each day with the energy of Christ into what answers the call of the human heart for completion… Continue Reading “FIVE KEY SKILLS THAT CATHOLIC MOMS AND DADS MUST SHOW THEIR CHILDREN TO PASS ON THEIR ENTRUSTED HERITAGE FROM JESUS. SECOND PART. ”
FIVE KEY SKILLS THAT CATHOLIC MOMS AND DADS MUST SHOW THEIR CHILDREN TO PASS ON THEIR ENTRUSTED HERITAGE FROM JESUS. FIRST PART.
When you or your children receive baptism, God chooses you to be an adopted son or daughter of the Father. Like physical parenting, spiritual parenting means you take on the responsibiity to be “the best of teachers” about what Jesus wanted passed on to… Continue Reading “FIVE KEY SKILLS THAT CATHOLIC MOMS AND DADS MUST SHOW THEIR CHILDREN TO PASS ON THEIR ENTRUSTED HERITAGE FROM JESUS. FIRST PART.”
Hesychia – The Stillness That Receives
These next self-directed retreats come from asking the Fathers of the Church about silence and solitude and what they would tell you about contemplation (www.newadvent.org). This is a silent retreat for you to be present to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Listen to this… Continue Reading “Hesychia – The Stillness That Receives”
CONSTRUCTING GOD’S SPIRITUAL TRACKS: A Syncratic Exploration of God’s umbilical cord from Divinity through Humanity to me, Part I.
Using a syncratic methodology is taking something you are very familiar with, in this case, the Catholic Church, and applying a totally different analogy but using the same concepts, is a good way to “see” how God purposefully and intellentionally creates a pipeline or… Continue Reading “CONSTRUCTING GOD’S SPIRITUAL TRACKS: A Syncratic Exploration of God’s umbilical cord from Divinity through Humanity to me, Part I.”
“THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS BATTERED AND BRUISED, JUST LIKE CHRIST, PART II.”
This is the second of two conversations on viewing the Catholic Church as the only way Christ instituted to give grace (energy), and how we receive that energy, untainted and directly from God through Jesus with the Holy Spirit. The following is a collaboration… Continue Reading ““THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS BATTERED AND BRUISED, JUST LIKE CHRIST, PART II.””
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”