THE CENTER FOR CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Category: Jesus
LENTEN CONVERSION: the most difficult choice you will ever make
The title of this blog is not my own, but the topic of Bishop Robert Barron’s YouTube Sunday sermon this week. I recommend that you subscribe to his YouTube channel. I find that my Lectio Divina meditations are informed by my latest experiences, grounded,… Continue Reading “LENTEN CONVERSION: the most difficult choice you will ever make”
LENTEN CONVERSION: jUST oNE CHANGE
Lent is a time of reassessment and change. We move from our false self, imprinted with the effects of Original Sin to being free from the hostage to death. During your time of profound reflection in Lent, here are some thoughts I had from… Continue Reading “LENTEN CONVERSION: jUST oNE CHANGE”
LENTEN CONVERSION: conversio morae
Lent is a period of reflection, a purification of all those false attitudes and ways of thinking that will keep me from realizing the importance of the Resurrection of Christ and its implications for me as I search for God each day. Lent is… Continue Reading “LENTEN CONVERSION: conversio morae”
LENTEN CONVERSION: don’t squabble over who should give
During Lent, I try to use Lectio Divina as a way to become a more penitential person, being more humble and obedient to the will of God each day. One of my Lectio meditations (not at the level of contemplation) is on the subject… Continue Reading “LENTEN CONVERSION: don’t squabble over who should give”
THE ART OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE
One of the concepts that help me to grow in the capacity of Christ in my heart is that of the Church. I use to think of the Church as being a body of rules and prescriptions that I had to believe in order… Continue Reading “THE ART OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE”
the genesis effect
The first chapters of the Book of Genesis provide the opening written statement of what it means to be human. The oral traditions handed down through centuries surely took on characteristics of their own as different cultures and diverse authors reflected on their human… Continue Reading “the genesis effect”
LAY CISTERCIAN CONTINUITY
During one of our Gathering Days of Lay Cistercians at Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Monastery (www.trappist.net), one of our members asked the question about the difficulty of keeping to a schedule to do Cistercian practices. The question also plagues me and how… Continue Reading “LAY CISTERCIAN CONTINUITY”
WHY YOUR CENTER IS CENTRAL TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE
Everyone has a center of their life. It is that one principle, that one value upon which all others find their support. Granted that your center as a twenty-year-old may not be the one you have when you are sixty, but you will have… Continue Reading “WHY YOUR CENTER IS CENTRAL TO CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE”
FACING FIVE EITHER/OR DILEMMAS
Yogi Berra’s supposed saying, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it,” is witty but perhaps a wise description of choices we all must make if we try to be contemplative in our practice. We live in the temporal time of… Continue Reading “FACING FIVE EITHER/OR DILEMMAS”
IF I WERE THE DEVIL
What would you do to the current political debacle if you were the Devil? I would convince the United States that political parties are a new religion, that hatred of personality replaces public policy, that revenge and calumny substitutes for civility and cooperation, that… Continue Reading “IF I WERE THE DEVIL”
A LAY CISTERCIAN SEEKS GOD ONE DAY AT A TIME
Hello once more. As I seek God every day as I am and where I am, I came across these resources that you might find of interest. I keep asking myself the increasingly complex question of “How does all of this fit together?” My… Continue Reading “A LAY CISTERCIAN SEEKS GOD ONE DAY AT A TIME”
Four BRICK WALLS THAT CHALLENGE MY SEEKING GOD
In my most recent Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5), I thought about the barriers that keep me from having in me the mind of Christ Jesus. As I begin to be more self-aware of the spiritual universe around me, new revelations seem to pop up… Continue Reading “Four BRICK WALLS THAT CHALLENGE MY SEEKING GOD”
THE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF LENT
Lent is a season of preparation and reflection. We are asked, as Church Universal, to prepare our minds and hearts for the Christ Principle. Before each momentous event in the life of Christ, we must prepare and reflect on how we have become what… Continue Reading “THE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF LENT”
WHAT WAS JESUS’ I.Q.?
My latest Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) had several tangential directions from the Holy Spirit. I can’t keep up with the profusion of energy that overshadows me. Let me give you a tiny example. My meditations were about God emptying himself (kenosis) of being God… Continue Reading “WHAT WAS JESUS’ I.Q.?”
TEN NEW IDEAS I LEARNED ABOUT HEAVEN FROM THE EDGE OF TIME
Scripture is the bedrock of what we know about the mission of Christ. It is also written, says St. John in 20:30-31, to show us the way, the truth, and the life. Conclusion.”*30Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples… Continue Reading “TEN NEW IDEAS I LEARNED ABOUT HEAVEN FROM THE EDGE OF TIME”
MY LECTIO DIVINA SCARED ME
Normally, I do Lectio Divina at about 2:30 a.m. as part of my old man bathroom ritual. It helps get me back to sleep. There was nothing normal about the Lectio Divina today. I was frightened and what frightened me might not be what… Continue Reading “MY LECTIO DIVINA SCARED ME”
REFLECTIONS ON WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS YOUR RELIGION
The past week’s events have left me in shock over the lack of respect people have for our Presidential electoral process, our Nation’s Capitol, and the behaviors displayed by any and all political parties. Long ago, I lost my respect for the political processes… Continue Reading “REFLECTIONS ON WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS YOUR RELIGION”
THE HABIT OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE
In my practice of trying to have Christ Jesus’s mind each day (Philippians 1:5), I have noticed that I do best when I establish some sort of habit or schedule to help me focus. I don’t want to fall into the trap of establishing… Continue Reading “THE HABIT OF CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE”
WONDER IF…
The notion of wonder is exciting to me as I do my Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5). My mind has become my friend, almost another person inside me prompting me to visit places I could not do physically. I use my mind every morning at… Continue Reading “WONDER IF…”
WHAT DOES YOUR SPIRITUAL CLOSET LOOK LIKE?
You have heard and maybe even seen television shows about hoarding. It is a compulsion not to throw away anything because of a perceived or unconscious need you will need later on. If left unchecked, the house becomes cluttered sometimes to the point of… Continue Reading “WHAT DOES YOUR SPIRITUAL CLOSET LOOK LIKE?”
THE MATHEMATICS OF BEING
I can’t think of a more esoteric and theoretical topic than the one above, The Mathematics of Being. Not being a person with a great comprehension of either mathematics or being, I make the perfect person who can speculate on what I have come… Continue Reading “THE MATHEMATICS OF BEING”
MAKING ALL THINGS NEW
If Christmas is about the gift of God to us in Christ Jesus, then New Year is about the ability to see what is new, not with the eyes of the world (that only comes on New Year’s day), but with the eyes of… Continue Reading “MAKING ALL THINGS NEW”
THE FIVE GIFTS CHRIST GAVE ME ON MY BIRTHDAY.
This morning, about 2:46 a.m., I began my meditation on my one and only Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5). I thought about what might be awaiting me as an adopted son or daughter of the Father. Lest I become too seduced with pride (like Adam… Continue Reading “THE FIVE GIFTS CHRIST GAVE ME ON MY BIRTHDAY.”
I DIDN’T SEE THAT ONE COMING
Some situations in my life blindside me and lead me to ask “I didn’t see that one coming.” This Lectio Divina (Philippians 2:5) was like that. There are just lots of images bombarding my conscious mind, all different, some quite bizarre. It is like… Continue Reading “I DIDN’T SEE THAT ONE COMING”
LITURGY OF THE HOURS FOR BEGINNERS (like myself)
Liturgy of the Hours is a cornerstone Cistercian practice that I perform each day to place me in the presence of Christ. I don’t say prayers to become holy, rather I am holy because these prayers allow me to open my heart to Christ.… Continue Reading “LITURGY OF THE HOURS FOR BEGINNERS (like myself)”
THE ADVENT OF GOD
My family, friends, colleagues, and fellow pilgrims on the road to Forever. As my Advent penance, I am giving up giving gifts at Christmas. Our house is doing without any gifts except each other. (I say that because we spread our gifting out throughout the… Continue Reading “THE ADVENT OF GOD”
FEELING JESUS IN SCRIPTURE
As I begin to peel off the layers of my own sloth, greed, gluttony, lust, jealousy, vengeance, and hatred, to name a few vices, only to have them return at the beginning of the next day, I am reminded that everything in the world… Continue Reading “FEELING JESUS IN SCRIPTURE”
MORE IS BETTER, OR IS IT?
I met a man, quite similar in appearance and temperament to me, who keeps trying to pray as much as possible in the hopes of becoming more like Christ and less like himself. The more he prays, he thought, the holier he would become… Continue Reading “MORE IS BETTER, OR IS IT?”
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN YOU ARE SITTING ON THE EDGE OF YOUR BED AT 6:14 A.M. FOLLOWING YOUR MORNING OFFERING PRAYER.
This is a long title, don’t you agree? This morning at 6:14 a.m. (I got to sleep in late.), I found myself, as I always do in the a.m., sitting on the edge of my bed, reciting my daily morning offering, and thinking about… Continue Reading “BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN YOU ARE SITTING ON THE EDGE OF YOUR BED AT 6:14 A.M. FOLLOWING YOUR MORNING OFFERING PRAYER.”
