Tag Archives: transformation
Living in God
True Self and False Self: Week 2 Living in God Friday, August 18, 2017 Guest writer and CAC faculty member James Finley continues exploring insights on the true self and false self that he gleaned from Thomas Merton. In ways known only to God, the one seeking God in silence unexpectedly falls through the barriers Read More »
Who Am I?
True Self and False Self: Week 1 Who Am I? Sunday, August 6, 2017 Forgive me, if this seems too harsh, but it seems to me that much of religion has become a preoccupation with forms rather than with substance. People like Augustine of Hippo, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, and Karl Rahner tell us Read More »
Metamorphosis of Consciousness
Path of Descent Metamorphosis of Consciousness Friday, August 4, 2017 Today James Finley, one of CAC’s core faculty members, reflects on how hard it is for our ego to surrender to the path of descent, the transformative process. In meditation, our customary, ego-based ways of experiencing ourselves are yielding and giving way to more interior, Read More »
We Come to God by Doing It Wrong
The Path of Descent We Come to God by Doing It Wrong Thursday, August 3, 2017 Jesus’ story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) and his story of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) are both wonderful illustrations of how Jesus turns a spirituality of climbing, achieving, and perfection upside down. In both Read More »
The Belly of the Whale
The Path of Descent The Belly of the Whale Tuesday, August 1, 2017 And so long as you do not know that to die is to become, you are just a wretched visitor on this dark earth. —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [1] Jesus’ primary metaphor for the mystery of transformation is the sign of Jonah Read More »
The Way of the Cross
The Path of Descent The Way of the Cross Sunday, July 30, 2017 Jesus is a person and, at the same time, a process. Jesus is the Son of God, but he is also “the Way”—the way of the cross. He’s the goal and the means. For all authentic spiritual teachers, their message is the Read More »
Divinization
Salvation as At-One-Ment Divinization Friday, July 28, 2017 Yesterday we explored the metaphor of a wedding to describe what God is doing—preparing and drawing us toward deeper intimacy, belonging, and union. The Eastern Fathers of the Church were not afraid of this belief, and called it the process of “divinization” (theosis). In fact, they saw Read More »
Order, Disorder, Reorder
Rebuilding on a Contemplative Foundation Order, Disorder, Reorder Friday, July 14, 2017 First the fall, and then the recovery from the fall, and both are the mercy of God. —Julian of Norwich [1] Whenever we’re led out of normalcy into sacred, open space, it’s going to feel like suffering, because it is letting go of what Read More »
Revolutionary Contemplation
Rebuilding on a Contemplative Foundation Revolutionary Contemplation Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Today, we continue Archbishop Rowan Williams’ address to the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2012. [Contemplation] is very far from being just one kind of thing that Christians do: it is the key to prayer, liturgy, art and ethics, the key to the Read More »
Contemplation in Action: Week 2 Summary
Contemplation in Action: Week 2 Summary: Sunday, July 2-Friday, July 7, 2017 “We are concerned not just with going to heaven when we die, but with bringing God’s kingdom down here. That means figuring out how we can be a part of the restoration of our world.” —Shane Claiborne (Sunday) Action and contemplation live through Read More »
