Category Archives: spirituality

Mercy, Wide and Late

Posted on 9 March 2014 by

The concluding hymn at the parish struck me today in a way it has never done before. Two things. First, wideness, wideness, and kindness: There’s a wideness in God’s mercy, like the wideness of the sea. There’s a kindness in … Continue reading →

Posted in Liturgical Music, Parish Life, spirituality | 3 Comments

I Don’t Want A Francis Effect

Posted on 6 March 2014 by

I put it in the headline to underscore I’m serious. Not cynical. Not making a funny. Cathy Lynn Grossman at RNS cites some Pew Research on Catholic thinking and behavior since last March 13th. Truthfully, I don’t want people showing … Continue reading →

Posted in bishops, Commentary, spirituality | Tagged | 3 Comments

The Long Retreat Begins

Posted on 5 March 2014 by

The forty days are counted from this coming Sunday through sundown on Holy Thursday. I often tell people that this week’s four days are a prelude, a practice period, and preparation space to get accustomed to the Lord’s voice and … Continue reading →

Posted in Lent, spirituality | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Riches, Honor, and What Was That Other … ?

Posted on 5 February 2014 by

I thought my internet foils would share a laugh on me, one of the things (aside from heterodoxy) I’m most often accused of. I was reflecting on week 17 of the online Ignatian retreat. I thought that week was a … Continue reading →

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Retreat Update

Posted on 4 January 2014 by

I’ve been continuing along in the online spiritual exercises. I’ve fallen a bit behind on the schedule. My director affirms this is acceptable, for the weeks when insights come slowly or my resistance is strong or when something good on … Continue reading →

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What Thirty Days Can Do

Posted on 3 January 2014 by

The Catholic Herald reported that a politician in the House of Commons came to her decision to retire from politics after a Thirty Day Ignatian retreat. MP Sarah Teather: Sometimes you just have to shut up. This politician just needed … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, spirituality | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Long Psalms

Posted on 21 December 2013 by

The long psalms have been a curiosity to me ever since I first cracked open my mother’s Bible. Being a good Baptist, she referred to what is now my favorite book in the Scriptures as Psalms, and in her KJV, … Continue reading →

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Another Saint Peter

Posted on 17 December 2013 by

Pope Francis set aside required miracle #2 for Pierre Favre, SJ, and named one of my favorite Jesuits a saint. My favorite quote (blogged last week) from the man: Seek grace for the smallest things, and you will also find … Continue reading →

Posted in Saints, spirituality | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Merton in Advent, 1948

Posted on 10 December 2013 by

Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain was probably the first or second spiritual book I ever read, way back in my college days. I’m not a Merton fan(atic) like some people I know. You readers who read me carefully know … Continue reading →

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Cardinal Mahony Featured

Posted on 2 December 2013 by

Check this devastating report on Cardinal Roger Mahony. The man has largely disappeared from public view since the conclave. But in retirement he still blogs, mainly in immigration policy advocacy. The report seems thorough and balanced–more than fair to a man … Continue reading →

Posted in Ministry, sex abuse, spirituality | Tagged | 4 Comments

Tabernacle From Japan

Posted on 30 November 2013 by

My friend Bill sent me an image of the Eucharistic Tabernacle from a Franciscan chapel in Tokyo. I wasn’t enamored of the choice to place it behind the presider’s chair. Otherwise, I found the design elegant in every way: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Other Places, spirituality | Tagged | Leave a comment

On My Bookshelf: Ignatian Humanism

Posted on 25 November 2013 by

I’ve just finished this inspirational book by theologian Ronald Modras. It’s taken me about six weeks, but don’t let that guide your possible opinion of the work. This is a book that has accompanied me during my online experience of … Continue reading →

Posted in On My Bookshelf, spirituality | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A Central Christ

Posted on 24 November 2013 by

Pope Francis preaches the centrality of Christ, in three ways. Christ at the center of creation, of his people, and of history: 1. The apostle Paul, in the second reading, taken from the letter to the Colossians, offers us a … Continue reading →

Posted in Liturgy, spirituality | Tagged | 1 Comment

Mary No Postmaster

Posted on 15 November 2013 by

Yesterday’s Pope Francis homily was headlined in a few places suggesting that curiosity is bad. I thought that a curious thing, so I went a little deeper. Sometimes curiosity is a locus for confusion: Curiosity impels us to want to … Continue reading →

Posted in spirituality | Tagged | 1 Comment

On My Bookshelf: Jesuit Saturdays

Posted on 14 November 2013 by

I’ve spent the last few weeks paging through a collection of essays in William Byron’s slim volume subtitled Sharing the Ignatian Spirit with Friends and Colleagues. With widespread fascination (or consternation) with Pope Francis, this book might have some valuable … Continue reading →

Posted in On My Bookshelf, spirituality | Tagged | 1 Comment