The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults — the Catholic process by which adults enter the Church — suggests that there are four stages or steps in the process of Christian…
Who’s Who Among the Christian Mystics
My friends, I’m happy to announce my forthcoming book, due in October 2016. Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages is a companion volume to The Big Book of Christian Mysticism….
“We have been given the Holy Spirit”
Jesus returned to Nazareth, the town where he had been brought up. And on the Sabbath day, he went to the synagogue, as was his custom. On this particular day,…
This Silent Blog is Going Silent
I hope you have had a wonderful and prayerful Lent, and that your Holy Week is likewise a time for reflection and contemplative waiting. Here’s looking forward to Easter —…
Do Contemplatives Need the Church?
A post on this blog received the following comment yesterday: Having been with the Catholic Church and seminary trained for all my 71 years of life. I am naturally contemplative…
Three Approaches to Prayer When the Dry Times Come
A friend of mine posed the following question recently on Facebook: You may have written about this before but how about dry times in prayer? What to do? Does it…
Is There a “Contemplative” Personality Type?
I once heard Richard Rohr tell a charming story of giving a retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived. Rohr was surprised to find that not all…
John Cassian: The Leap Year Contemplative
February 29 is the feast day of St. John Cassian — who, in addition to being a “leap year saint” is also one of the most important early contemplatives in…
Seven Blessings of Silent Prayer
Silent prayer — contemplative prayer, what the Catholic Catechism calls “wordless prayer in which mind and heart focus on God’s greatness and goodness in affective, loving adoration” — is an…
Books and a Film: All About Silence
I would love to attend the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin next month — if for no other reason than to be at the North American premiere of the…
"The Process of Being in Relationship with God"
Okay: to summarize… Spirituality: the process of being in relationship with God. Belief and Wonder: the mental and emotional qualities of being open to the possibility of Divine presence in…
Relational Contemplation
The Christian faith stands on the recognition that God is Love. Therefore, love is the heart of all spirituality, including contemplative prayer. We are called not just to be contemplatives — we…