Tag Archives: Mercy
A Mutual Vulnerability
Wounded Healers A Mutual Vulnerability Wednesday, September 16, 2020 Earlier this year, my colleague and dear friend Jim Finley gave an unpublished talk to Illuman, an organization that supports men in authentic spiritual development. Jim shared some stories from his own life, including how he began to heal from his own childhood abuse and trauma… Continue Reading A Mutual Vulnerability
Greater Proximity, Greater Mercy
Restorative Justice Greater Proximity, Greater Mercy Friday, September 11, 2020 Love is the motive, but justice is the instrument. —Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. [1] In his book Just Mercy: A Story… Continue Reading Greater Proximity, Greater Mercy
A Radically Optimistic Theology
Julian of Norwich A Radically Optimistic Theology Friday, May 15, 2020 My friend Mirabai Starr is gifted with the ability to deliver the teachings of the mystics straight to our hearts. Here is what she says about Julian of Norwich: The medieval English anchoress Julian of Norwich bequeathed us a radically optimistic theology. She had… Continue Reading A Radically Optimistic Theology
Accountability Is Sustainability
Twelve-Step Spirituality: Part One Accountability Is Sustainability Friday, December 13, 2019 Step Five: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. [1] So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you. —James 5:16 Both Christianity and the Twelve Steps… Continue Reading Accountability Is Sustainability
The Gospel Economy
Economy: Old and New The Gospel Economy Sunday, November 24, 2019 Jesus said to the host who had invited him, “When you hold a lunch or dinner . . . invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; and blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.” —Luke 14:12-14 I’d… Continue Reading The Gospel Economy
Francis and the Lepers
Francisan Way: Part Two Francis and the Lepers Monday, October 7, 2019 The Lord gave me, Brother Francis, thus to begin doing penance in this way: for when I was in sin, it seemed too bitter for me to see lepers. And the Lord . . . led me among them and I showed mercy… Continue Reading Francis and the Lepers
Love the Contradictions
Conscious Love Love the Contradictions Wednesday, June 19, 2019 Struggling with one’s own shadow self, facing interior conflicts and moral failures, undergoing rejection and abandonment, all daily humiliations, experiencing any kind of abuse or form of limitation, can be gateways into deeper consciousness and the flowering of the soul—if we allow them to be. These… Continue Reading Love the Contradictions
Stumble and Fall
Dying Before You Die Stumble and Fall Sunday, March 31, 2019 Something in you dies when you bear the unbearable. And it is only in that dark night of the soul that you are prepared to see as God sees and to love as God loves. —Ram Das [1] Sooner or later, if you are… Continue Reading Stumble and Fall
Joy and Hope: Weekly Summary
Joy and Hope Summary: Sunday, November 25-Friday, November 30, 2018 The Gospel is primarily communicated by highly symbolic human lives that operate as “Prime Attractors”: through actions visibly done in love; by a nonviolent, humble, and liberated lifestyle; and through identification with the edged out and the excluded of the world. The very presence of… Continue Reading Joy and Hope: Weekly Summary
Healing Addiction
Western Christianity Healing Addiction Thursday, September 20, 2018 I’ve shared some of Western Christianity’s weaknesses—for example, how we have over-emphasized separateness, sin, and external religious exercises. But Western Christianity has unique gifts and strengths to offer. The dynamism of Western civilization has led to what I might call the “secularization” of the Gospel message into… Continue Reading Healing Addiction
