Tag Archives: loss
School of Gratitude
Even in pain, we can find a place of gratitude. Continue Reading School of Gratitude
Hope Beyond Our Lifetimes
Mystical Hope Hope Beyond Our Lifetimes Friday, December 10, 2021 Anniversary of Thomas Merton’s Death Theologian and Carmelite sister Constance FitzGerald identifies hope as a profound freedom to accept God and reality as it is. She takes inspiration from the work of St. John of the Cross (1542–1591): This dynamic of being able to yield… Continue Reading Hope Beyond Our Lifetimes
An Accumulation of Losses
Everybody Grieves An Accumulation of Losses Thursday, August 5, 2021 Psychotherapist and author Francis Weller has studied grief for decades and has developed many rituals and methods to help individuals and communities heal from their losses. Here he explores how we often attempt to keep grief separate from our lives, and how welcoming our grief… Continue Reading An Accumulation of Losses
Good Grief
Everybody Grieves Good Grief Wednesday, August 4, 2021 When someone you love very much dies, the sky falls. And so you walk around under a fallen sky. —Mirabai Starr, Caravan of No Despair My dear friend Mirabai Starr has suffered many losses in her life, including that of her fourteen-year-old daughter Jenny, which Mirabai writes… Continue Reading Good Grief
Grieving the Trees
The Contemplative Call to Nature Grieving the Trees Tuesday, April 20, 2021 Love and grief go hand in hand. Sometimes it is the deep grief we feel during loss that awakens us to the depth and sincerity of our love. As we witness the many ways the earth has been exploited and damaged beyond repair… Continue Reading Grieving the Trees
The Dark Nights
Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace, Part One The Dark Nights Thursday, October 22, 2020 His silence is a kiss, His presence an embrace. But now he is fading, fading. And I am alone . . . —Thomas Keating, “Loneliness in the Night” I don’t think anyone can get to my (Richard’s) age without deeply empathizing… Continue Reading The Dark Nights
God Uses Everything
Wounded Healers God Uses Everything Monday, September 14, 2020 Feast of the Triumph of the Cross The genius of Jesus’ ministry is that he embraces tragedy, suffering, pain, betrayal, and death itself to bring us to God. There are no dead ends. Everything can be transmuted, and everything can be used. Everything. It seems that everybody… Continue Reading God Uses Everything
It Must Happen to Us
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Two It Must Happen to Us Monday, August 17, 2020 Sooner or later, if we are on any classic “spiritual schedule,” some event, person, death, idea, or relationship will enter our lives that we simply cannot deal with using our present skill set, our acquired knowledge, or our strong willpower. It… Continue Reading It Must Happen to Us