Tag Archives: transformation
God Uses Everything
Wounded Healers God Uses Everything Monday, September 14, 2020 Feast of the Triumph of the Cross The genius of Jesus’ ministry is that he embraces tragedy, suffering, pain, betrayal, and death itself to bring us to God. There are no dead ends. Everything can be transmuted, and everything can be used. Everything. It seems that everybody… Continue Reading God Uses Everything
Our Sacred Wounds
Wounded Healers Our Sacred Wounds Sunday, September 13, 2020 Ministry can indeed be a witness to the living truth that the wound, which causes us to suffer now, will be revealed to us later as the place where God intimated [God’s] new creation. —Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932–1996) Christianity, in its mature forms, keeps pushing us… Continue Reading Our Sacred Wounds
Reorder: The Promised Land
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part Three Reorder: The Promised Land Sunday, August 23, 2020 Our recent Daily Meditations have been focusing on what seems to me a universal pattern of spiritual transformation that takes us from Order, through Disorder, to Reorder. Order, by itself, normally wants to eliminate any disorder or diversity, creating a narrow and… Continue Reading Reorder: The Promised Land
Necessary Boundaries
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part One Necessary Boundaries Monday, August 10, 2020 Law, tradition, and boundaries—what I call Order—seem to be necessary in any spiritual system both to reveal and to limit our basic egocentricity. Such containers make at least some community, family, and marriage possible. Boundaries seem to be the only way that human beings… Continue Reading Necessary Boundaries
The Universal Pattern
Order, Disorder, Reorder: Part One The Universal Pattern Sunday, August 9, 2020 It seems quite clear that we grow by passing beyond some perfect Order, through an often painful and seemingly unnecessary Disorder, to an enlightened Reorder or resurrection. This is the universal pattern that connects and solidifies our relationships with everything around us. This… Continue Reading The Universal Pattern
Two Revelations of Faith
Contemplative Activists Two Revelations of Faith Friday, July 17, 2020 Everything begins in mysticism and ends in politics. —Charles Péguy It seems to me that a regular practice of contemplation makes it almost inevitable that our politics are going to change. The way we spend our time is going to be called into question. Our… Continue Reading Two Revelations of Faith
Change Is Inevitable
Wisdom in Times of Crisis Change Is Inevitable Sunday, July 5, 2020 The word change normally refers to new beginnings. But the mystery of transformation more often happens not when something new begins, but when something old falls apart. The pain of something old falling apart—chaos—invites the soul to listen at a deeper level, and sometimes forces… Continue Reading Change Is Inevitable
The Fifth Conversion
Solidarity The Fifth Conversion Thursday, May 28, 2020 The Fifth Conversion to solidarity is a choice to walk with the poor and oppressed, to be taught by them, and to love them as equals, each of us bearing the Divine Indwelling Spirit within. Although he was raised Roman Catholic and worked with many religious organizations, Paulo Freire rarely used religious language or metaphors to make his… Continue Reading The Fifth Conversion
The Liminal Paradox
Liminal Space The Liminal Paradox Wednesday, April 29, 2020 Sheryl Fullerton, an editor and author with whom I have worked for many years, received a cancer diagnosis two years ago which required a difficult surgery. Like many individuals who are on earnest spiritual journeys, she allowed the painful and challenging experience to transform and guide… Continue Reading The Liminal Paradox
Why Suffering?
The Universal Pattern Why Suffering? Tuesday, April 14, 2020 Sooner or later, the heart of everybody’s spiritual problem is “What do we do with our pain? Why is there evil? Why is there suffering?” Job begs God for an answer to this mystery, and he can’t get one. He only begins to trust when he… Continue Reading Why Suffering?
