The other day I heard someone say, “The more we are consumed with self-preservation the less attention we give to self-evaluation.” Continue reading “Suffering and Self-Preservation”
Category: Reflections
Jesus and the Children
While rummaging through boxes in the basement, I came across an old issue of the Magnificat. On the cover is a painting by the renowned Russian landscape painter , Vasily Baksheyev, entitled “Christ Blessing”. Continue reading “Jesus and the Children”
My Prayer Journal
I, like Flannery O’Connor, keep a prayer journal, Continue reading “My Prayer Journal”
My Lenten Dread
I always dread Lent. It’s for several reasons, really, but they all boil down to the fact that Lent tends to bring out the worst in me. Continue reading “My Lenten Dread”
Flannery O’Connor: A Prayer Journal
Below are two excerpts from Flannery O’Connors A Prayer Journal. Continue reading “Flannery O’Connor: A Prayer Journal”
The God of My Fears
In the summer between my first and second years of seminary, with a string of failed relationships and an emerging sense of internal pandemonium eroding the fragment of my self-confidence that remained intact, Continue reading “The God of My Fears”
All Shall Be Well
I don’t know when I first read these lines from St. Teresa of Avila but since then I’ve repeated them so many times that I have committed them to memory. I hope you find them as great a source of comfort as I have. Each time I say them I am then reminded of the words of St. Julian of Norwich: “All Shall Be Well.” Continue reading “All Shall Be Well”
On Laughter and the Time My Father Fell Into a Grave
After last week’s post On Faux Pas and Grace I received several requests to tell the story of the time my father fell into a grave. Continue reading “On Laughter and the Time My Father Fell Into a Grave”
A Reluctant Evangelist
I flirted with fundamentalism during my college years. I’d met a group of Christians who talked about their faith with the same zeal as a weight lifter, all beefed up on steroids and vanity, promotes his health regimen. They called this “being on fire for Christ.” I still wince every time I hear the phrase. Continue reading “A Reluctant Evangelist”
Prayer of Thomas Merton
The Merton Prayer
forty-one ten 