Tag Archives: Mercy
A Metaphysics of Hope
For as the heavens reach beyond earth and time, we swim in mercy as in an endless sea. —Psalm 103:11 Cynthia Bourgeault explores the idea that mystical hope is something that arises from within us, not as a result of our own effort, but as a fruit of our ability to consciously abide in what… Continue Reading A Metaphysics of Hope
Christianity and Empire: Weekly Summary
Christianity and Empire Saturday, October 23, 2021 Week Forty-Two Summary and Practice Sunday, October 17—Friday, October 22, 2021 Sunday How can I trust that things like nonviolence, the path of descent, simplicity of life, forgiveness and healing, the preference for the poor, and radical grace itself are as important as they are, unless Jesus also… Continue Reading Christianity and Empire: Weekly Summary
Compassion as Steadfast Love
Compassion Compassion as Steadfast Love Monday, September 27, 2021 Quaker author Richard Foster has long written on themes of prayer and spiritual practice. Focusing on the Hebrew word hesed, Foster explores the many ways that compassion shows up in the Hebrew Bible, both in God and in how people relate to one another: [The Hebrew… Continue Reading Compassion as Steadfast Love
Contemplation Creates Compassion
Compassion Contemplation Creates Compassion Sunday, September 26, 2021 A practice of contemplation is one of the surest ways to develop the virtue of compassion—for both ourselves and others. Father Richard speaks to how this loving gaze is developed between ourselves and God. Much of the early work of contemplation is discovering a way to observe… Continue Reading Contemplation Creates Compassion
Choosing Heaven Now
Hell, No! Choosing Heaven Now Monday, September 13, 2021 The shape of creation must somehow mirror and reveal the shape of the Creator. We must have a God at least as big as the universe. Otherwise, our view of God becomes irrelevant, constricted, and more harmful than helpful. The Christian image of a torturous hell… Continue Reading Choosing Heaven Now
Shadow Work: Weekly Summary
Shadow Work Saturday, June 19, 2021 Juneteenth Week Twenty-Four Summary and Practice Sunday, June 13—Friday, June 18, 2021 Sunday The movement to second-half-of-life wisdom has much to do with necessary shadow work and the emergence of healthy self-critical thinking, which alone allows you to see beyond your own shadow and disguise and to find who… Continue Reading Shadow Work: Weekly Summary
Gazing on the Crucified Jesus
Trauma and Healing Gazing on the Crucified Jesus Friday, May 7, 2021 Those who “gaze upon” the crucified Jesus (John 19:37) long enough—with contemplative eyes—are always healed at deep levels of pain, unforgiveness, aggression, and victimhood. It demands no theological education at all, just an “inner exchange” by receiving the image within and offering one’s… Continue Reading Gazing on the Crucified Jesus
Love Revealed
All Will Be Well Love Revealed Tuesday, April 6, 2021 My dear friend Mirabai Starr, herself a mystic and author, has translated Julian’s Long Text (her second exploration of her visions) in a way that is both faithful to the original and understandable to today’s spiritual seekers. She introduces Julian’s work in this way: What… Continue Reading Love Revealed
African American Spirituality and Song: Weekly Summary
African American Spirituality and Song Saturday, February 13, 2021 Week Six Summary and Practice Sunday, February 7—Friday, February 12, 2021 Sunday The legacy of the spirituals is worth our continued attention now, not only as “museum music” . . . but also as a broad-ranging cultural tradition that remains relevant to pressing present-day social realities.… Continue Reading African American Spirituality and Song: Weekly Summary
Becoming Icons of Christ
Giving Birth to Christ Becoming Icons of Christ Friday, December 11, 2020 What is it that grasps and impels these men and women to push beyond conventional boundaries and so delight us, ultimately, with new creative spaces? Wisdom—God’s Playmate, the Feminine Principle of the Godhead—is at work, ever delighting in birthing new possibilities and inviting… Continue Reading Becoming Icons of Christ