Tag Archives: Presence
Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace, Part Two: Weekly Summary
Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace, Part Two Summary: Sunday, October 25—Friday, October 30, 2020 To begin this second week exploring Thomas Keating’s final poems, I offer a basic overview of the stages of spiritual development that Thomas so authentically modeled in his life and teaching. (Sunday) All emotional drama has dropped out, since there is… Continue Reading Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace, Part Two: Weekly Summary
The Sound of Silence
Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace, Part One The Sound of Silence Tuesday, October 20, 2020 The silence of the Creator is thunderous, Drowning out everything else, And hiding in endless creativity. —Thomas Keating, “Out of a Stone” One of Thomas Keating’s greatest legacies will surely be his development and teaching of Centering Prayer, a Christian… Continue Reading The Sound of Silence
The Light Within
Mystics and the Margins The Light Within Friday, October 2, 2020 First gathering in 17th-century England as the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers have always existed on the margins of Christianity, but that doesn’t mean their impact has been small. In many ways, they were ahead of their time (and even our times) when… Continue Reading The Light Within
The Fruitful Margins of the Empire
Mystics and the Margins The Fruitful Margins of the Empire Wednesday, September 30, 2020 On the margins of the Roman Empire, Ireland and Scotland helped hand down the Christian contemplative lineage. The Romans had conquered much of Europe by the time of Jesus’ birth; though they ruled Britain, the Romans never occupied Ireland or parts… Continue Reading The Fruitful Margins of the Empire
An Unspeakable Name
Interspiritual Mysticism An Unspeakable Name Monday, September 21, 2020 Remember what God said to Moses: “I AM Who I AM” (Exodus 3:14). God is clearly not tied to a name, nor does God seem to want us to tie Divinity to any one name. Which is why, in Judaism, God’s statement to Moses became God’s… Continue Reading An Unspeakable Name
Viriditas: The Greening of Things
The Rhineland Mystics Viriditas: The Greening of Things Monday, August 3, 2020 Hildegard is not only mystic; she is also prophet. . . . She disturbs the complacent, deliberately provoking the privileged, be they emperors or popes, abbots or archbishops, monks or princes to greater justice and deeper sensitivity to the oppressed. . . .… Continue Reading Viriditas: The Greening of Things
A Communion of Subjects
Cosmology and Nature A Communion of Subjects Friday, June 26, 2020 Acknowledging the intrinsic value, beauty, and even soul of creation, elements, plants, and animals is a major paradigm shift for most Western Christians. In fact, many in the past often dismissed such thinking as animism or paganism. We limited God’s love and salvation to… Continue Reading A Communion of Subjects
A Community for All
Community A Community for All Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Jesus’ intimacy with the nature of God as relationship inspired him to redefine the boundaries of family and tribe. Jesus extended kinship to everyone. Author and scholar Beatrice Bruteau (1930–2014) looks to Jesus for a fundamental understanding of what it means to be Christian community: Jesus… Continue Reading A Community for All
Reconnecting with the Unconscious
Liminal Space Reconnecting with the Unconscious Thursday, April 30, 2020 My friend John Philip Newell is a poet and scholar who believes in the transformative power of Celtic Christian spirituality to support us in our era. The ancient Celts made great use of liminal times and places to integrate the “paired opposites” of which the… Continue Reading Reconnecting with the Unconscious