Tag Archives: Simplicity
Taking a Step Towards Simplicity
St. Francis: A Message of Our Times Taking a Step Towards Simplicity Wednesday, October 7, 2020 As you announce peace with your mouth, make sure that greater peace is in your hearts. . . . For we have been called to heal wounds, to bind up the broken, and to call home any who have… Continue Reading Taking a Step Towards Simplicity
Freedom in the Desert
Mystics and the Margins Freedom in the Desert Tuesday, September 29, 2020 When Christianity became the established religion of the Roman Empire, something remarkable and strange took place. A whole set of people began to flock to the margins of the Empire to pursue God. They went to the deserts of Palestine, Cappadocia, Syria, and… Continue Reading Freedom in the Desert
The Glory of God in Us
True Self/Separate Self The Glory of God in Us Monday, August 31, 2020 Today we begin with Thomas Merton’s classic description of the True Self as written following his “conversion” at Fourth and Walnut in Louisville. [1] It is so inspired; I want to quote it at length: At the center of our being is… Continue Reading The Glory of God in Us
Simplicity: Weekly Summary
Simplicity Saturday, July 4, 2020 Summary: Sunday, June 28—Friday, July 3, 2020 As we grow spiritually, our lives become more and more centered and simple. There are only a few things that matter, and eventually really only one. (Sunday) Francis of Assisi truly experienced radical participation in God’s very life. Such practical knowing of his… Continue Reading Simplicity: Weekly Summary
A Simple Truth
Simplicity A Simple Truth Friday, July 3, 2020 During World War II, Jesuit priest Walter Ciszek (1904–1984) was accused of being a “Vatican spy.” After spending five years in a Moscow prison, he was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor in Siberian prison camps. He is an example of someone whose life has been… Continue Reading A Simple Truth
God’s Simple Pleasure
Simplicity God’s Simple Pleasure Thursday, July 2, 2020 The land is God’s. . . . Caring for the land, every day, is my way to be close to God. [God’s] land must be honored. —Eli, an Amish farmer Poet, author, and farmer Wendell Berry is a shining example of humility and simple living. He’s made… Continue Reading God’s Simple Pleasure
Openness and Receptivity
Simplicity Openness and Receptivity Wednesday, July 1, 2020 Despite many differing views of Jesus’ life and teaching, we can say confidently that Jesus was a poor man who fully embraced life with those on the margins of society. Francis of Assisi certainly did the same, and it became his litmus test for all orthodoxy and… Continue Reading Openness and Receptivity
Embracing Enoughness
Simplicity Embracing Enoughness Tuesday, June 30, 2020 I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. —Lao Tzu Most of us have grown up with a capitalist worldview which makes a virtue and goal out of accumulation, consumption, and collecting. It has taught us to assume, quite falsely, that more is better. But it’s… Continue Reading Embracing Enoughness
Radical Simplicity
Simplicity Radical Simplicity Monday, June 29, 2020 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them [a scholar of the law] tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all… Continue Reading Radical Simplicity