The Center for contemplative practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Category: catholic
WHAT IS TRUTH?
As one who can only aspire to be a Lay Cistercian, my purpose is to seek God by moving from self to God. That word, moving, is actually key to my attempts. Here are some of my reflections on moving from self to God.… Continue Reading “WHAT IS TRUTH?”
WHAT IS CONTEMPLATION ACCORDING TO ST. BERNARD
Contemplation is not a word exclusive to Benedictine, Carthusian, and Cistercian monks. Other religions practice it. My emphasis will be limited to what I know about Cistercian, and even more selectively, Lay Cistercian contemplation. I always like to offer you the same resources I… Continue Reading “WHAT IS CONTEMPLATION ACCORDING TO ST. BERNARD”
THE TRUTH: The weight of my daily cross
Here is a blog I wrote a few weeks ago detailing what are the criticisms of the Catholic Church. I turned it around and wrote what I thought the strengths are. Having some additional thoughts on the matter in a recent Lectio Divina, I… Continue Reading “THE TRUTH: The weight of my daily cross”
CONTEMPLATIVE READING: Growing deeper through the Word.
Reading a phone book (do those still exist?) provides me with information about how to communicate with another person if they are in the phone book. Reading Sacred Scriptures is unlike reading any other book. Because it is God’s Word, authorized through the Church… Continue Reading “CONTEMPLATIVE READING: Growing deeper through the Word.”
THE PHENOMENON OF MAN: Background for The Christ Principle as Intelligent Progression.
If you have not done so, I recommend reading (and reflecting) on the late Teilhard de Chardin’s book, The Phenomenon of Man. I do so because it is at the heart of my Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) meditations about The Christ Principle. My thoughts… Continue Reading “THE PHENOMENON OF MAN: Background for The Christ Principle as Intelligent Progression.”
CHAPTER 4: DISTRACTIONS AND BAD THOUGHTS DURING CONTEMPLATION
Posted on May 20, 2019, by https://thecenterforcontemplativepractice.org This might seem like an odd topic for Lectio Divina, but I assure you, it is authentic, embarrassingly honest. It is natural because none of us practice prayer and hopefully contemplation without distractions and trying to avoid evil thoughts.… Continue Reading “CHAPTER 4: DISTRACTIONS AND BAD THOUGHTS DURING CONTEMPLATION”
Leonardo DaVinci Drawing of Life
To be fully human ourselves, we must make sure everyone has a chance to be Pro-Choice. We are the sum of our choices.
CONVERSIO MORAE: Ten habits of highly successful people who move deeper into Christ Jesus.
One of the great lessons I have taken away from being exposed to Cistercian spirituality is the sheer simplicity of allowing God to shine on your behavior. This life-giving energy replenishes Faith with grace and conversio morae, growing more like Christ and less like… Continue Reading “CONVERSIO MORAE: Ten habits of highly successful people who move deeper into Christ Jesus.”
THE HUMAN RAMIFICATIONS OF VISIBILITY AND INVISIBILITY
“Why does human life find itself on a planet just far away from the Sun not to burn up, with just the correct mixtures of gases to exist, with just the correct protection from radiation not to be torched?” Added to that seeming statistical… Continue Reading “THE HUMAN RAMIFICATIONS OF VISIBILITY AND INVISIBILITY”
THREE BATTLES YOU MUST FIGHT TO WIN
In my latest Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5), I was struck by the notion of how difficult it is to live in the world and yet also be a citizen and adopted son in the Kingdom of Heaven. This dual citizenship causes anxiety sometimes and… Continue Reading “THREE BATTLES YOU MUST FIGHT TO WIN”
FERTILIZER FOR FAITH: The God of Second Chances
You know the parable of the good seed falling on good ground. There are three fertilizers that Christ told us to use to keep the soil of our Faith from drying up and becoming sterile. It is no accident that God is depicted as… Continue Reading “FERTILIZER FOR FAITH: The God of Second Chances”
MAKE A PRIVATE RETREAT WITH THE SOUL OF THE APOSTOLATE: Ten Aides to Mental Prayer
I can remember reading The Soul of the Apostolate in College. This is the spiritual classic by DOM JEAN-BAPTIST CHAUTARD, O.C.S.O. (Abbot of Notre Dame de Sept Fons). This morning, the Holy Spirit tickled my neurons to bring up my previous encounters with this… Continue Reading “MAKE A PRIVATE RETREAT WITH THE SOUL OF THE APOSTOLATE: Ten Aides to Mental Prayer”
MAKE A CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT IN THE SILENCE OF YOUR HEART
I made this contemplative retreat recently and found it to be life-changing and the most inspiring thoughts that I am still processing to assimilate into my personal spiritual worldview. I offer to share this with you, but be forewarned, it is not for the… Continue Reading “MAKE A CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT IN THE SILENCE OF YOUR HEART”
MARY STUART INSPIRED ME TO FIND A QUIET TRUTH
I had gall bladder removal surgery yesterday and am slowly getting back to normal (which is no small feat for me because I haven’t been normal for over twenty years). As I grow in awareness that I don’t know the full implications of the… Continue Reading “MARY STUART INSPIRED ME TO FIND A QUIET TRUTH”
THE LAST BLOG I EVER WRITE
The title suggests that the blog you now read is the last one I will ever write. I don’t mean that. My Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) meditation is “If you could write one short paragraph, summing up everything you have learned about the purpose… Continue Reading “THE LAST BLOG I EVER WRITE”
THE DIVINE EQUATION: Assumptions make us who we are as humans
To wander through the high grass of the English language is to walk through paths that are sometimes strewn with weeds among the wildflowers. The communication problem becomes one of learning to delve into the assumptions underlying the words we use. For example, to… Continue Reading “THE DIVINE EQUATION: Assumptions make us who we are as humans”
LITURGY OF THE HOURS: Office of the Dead
Would you join me in praying the Office of the Dead for my friend, Father Carl Roos, who died on April 3rd in Indianapolis, Indiana? We can also include any other souls of the Faithful Departed. May they rest in the peace of Christ.… Continue Reading “LITURGY OF THE HOURS: Office of the Dead”
A LAY CISTERCIAN’S SAYINGS
Here are some sayings that have popped up in my Lectio Divina Marriage is not the purpose of life, but the purpose of marriage is life. Love means following your heart to sit down next to Jesus on a park bench and wait. Just… Continue Reading “A LAY CISTERCIAN’S SAYINGS”
WHERE DOES GOOD OR EVIL ORIGINATE?
This topic would not be the conversation starter around any dinner in my experience of eating, but it is critical to what it means to be a human. REFLECTIONS ON WHY WE HAVE THE CHOICE OF GOOD OR EVIL Does good or evil originate… Continue Reading “WHERE DOES GOOD OR EVIL ORIGINATE?”
CHAPTER 4: I USED TO LOOK DOWN ON THE BAPTIST CHURCH
I USED TO LOOK DOWN AT THE BAPTISTS We all are guilty. When we hear something, we process it according to our first impressions. As the saying goes, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. Perhaps this is because the… Continue Reading “CHAPTER 4: I USED TO LOOK DOWN ON THE BAPTIST CHURCH”
ARE YOU FULL OF HATRED?
I know that I am. Being full of hatred, depending on your assumptions, means different things to different readers (or writers). Here are some reflections on hatred and some contexts in which they might be good or evil. Once, when I was thinking about… Continue Reading “ARE YOU FULL OF HATRED?”
CONVERSIO MORAE: The habit of moving from my false self to my true self. With God’s energy, there is always deeper.
During the Lenten season, particular emphasis is on how to move from my false self to my true self. The book, The Cistercian Way, written by the late Dom Andre Louf, O.S.C.O., is one that I continue to read, again and again, to recreate… Continue Reading “CONVERSIO MORAE: The habit of moving from my false self to my true self. With God’s energy, there is always deeper.”
ARE YOU HALF A CATHOLIC?
My Lectio Divina meditation (Philippians 2:5) took me to ask about my being faithful to what Christ taught about loving others as Christ loved us. Read the whole text about love with its fantastic approach to Christ being real inside you. I offer it… Continue Reading “ARE YOU HALF A CATHOLIC?”
A PUZZLE MORE COMPLEX THAN SUDOKU: CAN YOU SOLVE THE DIVINE EQUATION?
Actually, there is no solution to the Divine Equation as much as it is a key to living your humanity in such a way that you can see reality and thus fulfill the next step in the evolution of the species. In seeing reality… Continue Reading “A PUZZLE MORE COMPLEX THAN SUDOKU: CAN YOU SOLVE THE DIVINE EQUATION?”
LENT: A time to die
Taking up your cross each day to follow Christ is a preposterous idea to those who only live in two universes, the physical one which is our base, and the mental one which gives us the tools of reason and free choice to discover… Continue Reading “LENT: A time to die”
WHAT IS THE MOST POWERFUL ENERGY IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE?
This might seem like an innocuous topic for contemplative practice but stick with me. The world is obsessed with power, be it physical power, personal power, military prowess, such as we witness in the takeover of Ukraine, or political power (the one I detest… Continue Reading “WHAT IS THE MOST POWERFUL ENERGY IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE?”
IT’S ALL A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE: What is hidden is most real.
When entering the realm of the heart from the realm of the mind, Phil 2:5 taught me to have perspective. I thought of humility and how much Christ had to become one of us, how strange it must have been to be God one… Continue Reading “IT’S ALL A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE: What is hidden is most real.”
THE CHRIST PRINCIPLE: We are what we choose.
Once, a young man wanted to know the one question, that, if you asked it, all others depended upon it. He set out to find that one question, one that kept him up at night, not with worry but with curiosity. He went to… Continue Reading “THE CHRIST PRINCIPLE: We are what we choose.”
SIC TRANSEAT GLORIA MUNDI
Thus passes the glory of the world. What a profound saying as the whole world seems destined for hatred and power-grabbing. My thoughts in a Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) had to do with what doesn’t pass away, what is secure, what lasts forever, plus… Continue Reading “SIC TRANSEAT GLORIA MUNDI”
THE RAPE OF REASON AND FREE CHOICE
Recent events in our time have one country with considerable power and military take over another country, one who is sovereign and not provoking anyone in the name of nationalism. It is not just nor is it acceptable, yet many nation-states stand on the… Continue Reading “THE RAPE OF REASON AND FREE CHOICE”
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