From Thomas Merton's great work New Seeds of Contemplation Some men seem to think that a saint cannot possibly take a natural interest in anything created. They imagine that any form of spontaneity or enjoyment is a sinful gratification of “fallen nature”. That to be “supernatural” means obstructing all spontaneity with clichés and arbitrary … Continue reading The Earthy Saint | Lent 38
Listen to your Life | Lent 37
“Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is … Continue reading Listen to your Life | Lent 37
A Basic Honesty with Ourselves | Lent 36
"What chance is there of loving and respecting others if I refuse to meet and listen to the many sides of myself? How can I be a reconciler if I shut my ears to the unreconciled conflicts within myself… Now I begin to see that the spiritual life is based on a basic honesty … Continue reading A Basic Honesty with Ourselves | Lent 36
Scared of our Shadows | Lent 35
If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow. Such a man has saddled himself with new problems and conflicts. He has become a serious problem to himself, as he is now unable to say that they do … Continue reading Scared of our Shadows | Lent 35
Looking for Someone to Blame | Lent 34
Are you looking for someone to blame? Don't be ashamed. We all are. It's our human history. Adam blamed Eve. Eve blamed the serpent. And we've been dodging blame ever since. We even created an elaborate system of killing animals who might carry our sin instead of us. Sacrificing others is easier than taking responsibility. … Continue reading Looking for Someone to Blame | Lent 34
Moving into Truth | Lent 33
An excerpt from A Season for the Spirit, by Martin Smith "Dwelling on this thought of letting go, and handing myself over to the Holy Spirit will bring me much closer to the experience of Jesus than the word discipline which so many of us have been trained to evoke at the beginning of Lent. … Continue reading Moving into Truth | Lent 33
Growing out of our Spiritual Adolescence | Lent 32
We live in a largely adolescent world. And it is, in great measure, a pathological adolescence. There is absolutely nothing wrong with (healthy) adolescence, but our cultural resources have been so degraded over the centuries that the majority of humans in “developed” societies now never reach true adulthood. An adolescent world, being unnatural and unbalanced, … Continue reading Growing out of our Spiritual Adolescence | Lent 32
Finding God | Lent 31
"The inner self is as secret as God and, like him, it evades every concept that tries to seize hold of it with full possession. It is a life that cannot be held and studied as object, because it not "a thing." It is not reached and coaxed forth from hiding by any process under … Continue reading Finding God | Lent 31
Nouwen on Inner Chaos | Lent 30
“As soon as we are alone...inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shutting the door, therefore, does not mean that we immediately shut out all our inner doubts, anxieities, fears, bad memories, unresolved … Continue reading Nouwen on Inner Chaos | Lent 30