NEW FOR 2019: Now available! An Invitation to Celtic Wisdom draws on myth, folklore, poetry, and the tales of Celtic saints and heroes, to explore the spiritual tradition of the Celtic peoples — a tradition rooted in hospitality, love of nature, and a mystical sense of the presence of God. The Celtic way is more important […]
Please join me at the Copper Beech Institute in West Hartford, CT for a “Holy Wells and Thin Places” Celtic spirituality retreat, May 17-19, 2019!
| Date: | May 17, 2019—May 19, 2019 |
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| Event: | Celtic Retreat in Connecticut |
| Topic: | Celtic Spirituality |
| Sponsor: | Copper Beech Institute |
| Venue: | Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center |
| Location: | 303 Tunxis Road West Hartford, CT 06107 |
| Public: | Public |
| Registration: | Click here to register. |
| More Info: | Click here for more information. |
To invite me to speak to your community, click here.
| Date: | March 29, 2019—March 30, 2019 |
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| Event: | Seeking Stillness Retreat in Tampa |
| Sponsor: |
Hyde Park United Methodist Church 813.222.2299 |
| Venue: |
The Portico 813.222.2299 |
| Location: | 1001 N Florida Ave Tampa, FL 33602 |
| Public: | Public |
| Registration: | Click here to register. |
| More Info: | Click here for more information. |
To invite Carl McColman to speak to your community, click here.
A reader of one of my previous blog posts sent me this question via Facebook messenger. I read your article about non dualism Nonduality in the Bible … and us. So what about scriptures about God hating sin, wickedness, evildoers etc… Or am I misunderstanding? Also there’s a lot of…… Read more at Patheos
Mary Margaret Funk, OSB, is a member of Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana. She entered this Benedictine community in 1961 and served as the prioress from 1985 to 1993. In 1994 Sister Meg became the Executive Director of the Monastic Interreligious Dialogue Board. She has been in formal dialogue with people … Continue reading Mary Margaret Funk, OSB: Silence Matters, Part One (Episode 52) → … Read more at Encountering Silence
The other day I wrote a post about a dream I had back in the 1980s. I mentioned in that post that I used to shop at an old Catholic Bookstore that used to carry the old Image Books editions of the mystics. That was back when you could buy…… Read more at Patheos
One night in a dream I found myself near the Ballston Metro station in Arlington, Virginia (I lived close by there at the time). But as is so often in dreamscapes, the neighborhood in my dreams was radically different than in real life. For one thing, there was a large…… Read more at Patheos
Today’s episode is part two of a two-part interview. Click here to listen to part one. Our conversation continues with Shirley Hershey Showalter, the author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World. Singing is to a Mennonite what silence is to a Quaker. For me, singing is a way of bringing silence and voice … Continue reading Shirley Hershey Showalter: Simplicity and Silence, Part Two (Episode 51) → … Read more at Encountering Silence
I believe that anyone who is serious about embracing the Christian contemplative path needs some form of sustainable daily prayer. For most of Christian history, this has meant using a breviary — a prayer book which contains prayer “services” or offices for praying throughout the day. Such collections of prayers are known as The…… Read more at Patheos
Are you interested in learning the basics of Centering Prayer? If so, come to this introductory workshop that I will be co-facilitating with Maggie Winfrey, the director of Contemplative Outreach Atlanta.
Centering Prayer is a type of Christian prayer based on the teachings of great mystics like the Desert Mothers and Fathers and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. It is a wonderful means for entering into silence as a way of prayerfully making yourself available to the presence of God. Grounded in scripture and the teachings of the great saints and mystics, it is a beautiful and meaningful spiritual practice that can be learned in a day — and that yields spiritual fruit over a lifetime.
This introductory workshop is sponsored by Contemplative Outreach Atlanta and takes place at the beautiful Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center. Hope to see you there!
| Date: | May 22, 2019 |
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| Time: | 09:00 a.m.-03:00 p.m. |
| Event: | Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop |
| Sponsor: |
Contemplative Outreach Atlanta 404.717.6815 |
| Venue: |
Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center 404.255.0503 |
| Location: | 6700 Riverside Drive, NW Atlanta GA 30328 USA |
| Public: | Public |
| Registration: | Click here to register. |
| More Info: | Click here for more information. |
To invite me to speak to your community, click here.
Christianity has a long history of contemplative practice. But many scholars and spiritual teachers within the faith recognize that in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Reformation, the church (at least in the west) largely lost its contemplative heart. Theologian Robert Davis Hughes III addressed this topic in his…… Read more at Patheos
What is the relationship between silence and simplicity? Silence and peace? Or, for that matter, how does silence relate to the importance of our voice — as human beings in general, but especially for writers or for people whose voices have traditionally bee marginalized, such as women or those who live in traditional rural settings? … Continue reading Shirley Hershey Showalter: Simplicity and Silence, Part One (Episode 50) → … Read more at Encountering Silence
N.B. I wrote the first draft of this post about a year ago, at a time when several militant atheist commentators were active on my blog’s comment section. Eventually I banned the ones who were trollish, some of them moved on, and many of those original comments got deleted. I…… Read more at Patheos
Today is the feast of the presentation. It’s also traditionally known as Candlemas; it was a time when candles would be blessed —a candle, after all, emits light, and Jesus is the light of the world. If Christmas were a forty-day season instead of just a 12-day season, today would…… Read more at Patheos
I’m thrilled to be heading to western North Carolina for this special retreat on the spirituality of the Celtic saints.
| Date: | March 8, 2019 |
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| Time: | 2019-03-09 |
| Event: | Praying with the Celtic Saints |
| Topic: | Celtic Spirituality |
| Sponsor: | The Presbytery of Western North Carolina |
| Venue: | Bonclarken Conference Center |
| Location: | 500 Pine Drive Flat Rock, NC 28731 |
| Registration: | Click here to register. |
| More Info: | Click here for more information. |
To invite me to speak to your community, click here.
About ten miles or so from Thomas Merton Square in Louisville, KY — the street corner where Merton had his famous “Fourth and Walnut” epiphany in 1958 — is a Hindu house of worship, Swaminarayan Temple. Earlier this week, the temple was vandalized. The crime was described this way in the Louisville…… Read more at Patheos
