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Center for Action and Contemplation

Participating in a Circle of Connection in May’s We Conspire Series

May 24th, 2024
What or who reminds you that we are all connected? In this month’s We Conspire series, we reflect on moments of sacred connection with each other and the natural world. Today, we have many ways of understanding how the world’s societies and ecologies interact with each other. Yet, as we move towards a world

Honoring the Divine Essence of All of Creation

May 24th, 2024
How do we remind ourselves that we are interconnected to everyone and everything? This month, we reflect on the wisdom of Saint Bonaventure, a Franciscan statesman and mystic who dedicated his life to strengthening our human role in God’s Great Story. Around 1220 in Bagnoregio, Italy, a small boy lay suffering

This Unveiling by Drew Jackson 

May 24th, 2024
Do you ever ask yourself—what is it that we cannot see? Poet and CAC Staff Member, Drew Jackson asks us to embrace the webs of unseen connection that underlie our daily reality in this beautiful poem, “This Unveiling,” featured in “ONEING: Unveiling.” This is the pressing question of every age:

Rooting in Nature and Community

May 24th, 2024
How do we remind ourselves that we are all connected to each other—just as we are connected to the earth? Anna Johnson, North America Senior Program Manager of Laudato Si’ offers words of encouragement for our long and complex struggle to heal each other and our earth. Wandering through an old-growth forest

Living Simply and Sustainably in April’s We Conspire series 

April 25th, 2024
What if St. Francis and St. Clare arrived on your doorstep in 2024? What would these medieval counterculture icons think of how you spend your time—how you treat our earth? In April’s We Conspire series, we hear reflections from those applying Franciscan wisdom to the crisis in our modern world. While many

Lessons from a Pair of Medieval Dropouts

April 25th, 2024
St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi embraced the beauty of the natural world as their guiding spiritual practice. Their radical emphasis on simplicity was not for the faint of heart—challenging us to sink deeper into devotion and really question what we can live without. Join us in finding wisdom from some key

Modeling a Life of Prayer and Action 

April 25th, 2024
How do we model a life of prayer and action? Michele Dunne, the Executive Director of the Franciscan Action Network (FAN) explores how the legacy of St. Francis Assisi’s life inspires her work today. She invites you to join her in creating a modern movement grounded in the values of St. Francis.   At one point

Seeing Our Ecological Crisis as a Spiritual Crisis

April 25th, 2024
What if today’s ecological crisis was actually a spiritual crisis? Theresa Martella, former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scientist and Living School sendee reflects on her own changing relationship to Nature as she expands her awareness of contemplative spirituality and practice. Think back to a

Reimagining a Contemplative Lifestyle in March’s We Conspire Series

March 21st, 2024
What does it mean to live a contemplative lifestyle? March’s We Conspire contributors say it has to do with balance. When we learn to weigh our everyday responsibilities with essential time of rest and stillness, we become more deeply connected to ourselves and Divine wisdom. From ancient prayer to

Resting in the Wisdom of The Philokalia

March 21st, 2024
How do we balance our inner practice with our everyday responsibilities? This month, we turn to wisdom from Eastern Orthodox Christianity to explore key principles of the contemplative lifestyle—specifically, Hesychasm, a contemplative prayer of stillness. Join us in discovering more about the Philokalia, a

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