contemplative
Barbara Holmes taught us to see our cosmic ties
A visionary of Black liberation, she broke open what it means to be a contemplative.
Our unseen companions
“Angels, saints, and ancestors are real presences that are not visible to us in our linear, rational mind,” says Abbey of the Arts founder Christine Valters Paintner.
Thinking about God’s desire with the medieval mystics
“I have the sense that Mechthild of Magdeburg’s whole life was lived in pursuit of her divine beloved.”
Howard Thurman’s contemplative nonviolence
The pastor and mentor to Martin Luther King formed a vision of resistance around prayer, not politics.
Manufactured disruption: Why we keep checking our phones
We seem to always want something—anything—to happen. This has implications for the life of prayer.
Eager to Love, by Richard Rohr, and When Saint Francis Saved the Church, by Jon M. Sweeney
Richard Rohr and Jon Sweeney, authors of two new books on St. Francis, would be united in their advice to us: forget the statue with the birds.
Falling into prayer: Bede Griffith's pilgrimage and mine
What is it about Western culture that makes it so difficult to taste God? Why would we rather prove propositions than experience the holy?
In pursuit of silence: My annual sojourn into the Sinai Desert
All deserts are silent, harsh and beautiful. Sinai adds its history of God’s dealings with humanity. It’s a holy place where the veil is lifted.