My latest column has been published on Patheos. It’s called Four Compass Points for the Spiritual Life. It grew out of an idea I have for this website (www.anamchara.com). It seems to me that there are four key dimensions to the spiritual life, no matter whether we are beginners or seasoned practitioners. And while I [...]
In modern Western society, many people turn away from the Christianity of their formative years because they find its truths smothered under an unreal kind of religiosity. They see that the people in the churches are not changing and becoming better, but rather are comforting themselves and each other in their unregenerate state. They find [...]
Readers of my blog may find this interesting: the story of Randy De Trinis, who explored monastic life at Gethsemani Abbey in the 1950s under the spiritual guidance of Thomas Merton. Although he did not stay at the monastery, his memoir reveals what an impact Merton had on his young life. In his own words: [...]
Consider these two interesting quotes. This one comes from Simon, who commented on my essay The Hidden Tradition of Christian Mysticism: One of the dangers of Centering Prayer, as I see it, is that contemplation is being served up as some sort of fast food. MacContemplation, so to speak! And this, from Ali at Meadowsweet [...]
When I was in Northern Ireland, I stayed at a retreat center in Rostrevor, in County Down. Just four miles down the road is Holy Cross Monastery, which according to its website is the first new Benedictine monastery in Ireland since the twelfth century! It was established in 1998, and currently is home to six [...]
A reader named Steven responded to my Wasting Time with God post by writing, in part: Carl, the terms “prayer,” “contemplation,” “meditation,” “non-discursive contemplation,” have been used in this conversation. I would very much like to understand how you would distinguish between them. Furthermore, I am trying to come to a deeper appreciation of the [...]
If you’re going to participate in the class on the Protestant Mystics that I’ll be teaching at First Christian Church of Atlanta starting on April 6, then you might enjoy reading one or more of these books. They’re all written by Protestant authors and each one features a different dimension of Christian spirituality that is [...]