Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (Wikimedia Commons). “These books are really records of the religious imagination, Arthur. […] They say things in these books that no one dares to say anywhere else. I feel comfortable with these acceptable heresies. God originally as sacred emptiness; ascents to God that are filled with danger, as if you were … Continue reading Hospital journal 2: Reading a novel about a Jewish mystic seeking ‘acceptable heresies’ in the shadow of the atomic bomb
Hospital journal 1: A merry romp through abstract theology, Christology, rabbit holes and a lovely prayer for good courage
Creation of Adam, Michelangelo (Wikimedia Commons). Sunday, Jan. 19. First, the good news: I'm getting lots of reading done. I've even finished three or four chapters of Ilia Delio's "Christ in Evolution" (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2008), and I've had plenty of time to read slowly and think about what I'm reading. Which means I'm beginning to understand … Continue reading Hospital journal 1: A merry romp through abstract theology, Christology, rabbit holes and a lovely prayer for good courage
Spiritual journal, Dec. 2024 (with a footnote on why I still find Pete Hegseth’s ‘crusader’ tattoos so embarrassing)
Muslim women visit St. Saviour's Church, Jerusalem, 2023 (Custodia Terræ Sanctæ).1 Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director today in advance of our session for December, archived here so I can go back later and see what I was thinking about when I posted it. Plus a bonus footnote in … Continue reading Spiritual journal, Dec. 2024 (with a footnote on why I still find Pete Hegseth’s ‘crusader’ tattoos so embarrassing)
‘Is the universe friendly?’Depends on who you ask, but not exactly: Einstein on his (and Spinoza’s) God, science and religion
Einstein shortly before he fled to America in 1933 (Wikimedia Commons). In my early days of white-knuckle sobriety, I heard a guy in a 12-step meeting rattle off what he said was a quote from Albert Einstein, "Is the universe friendly?" It didn't sound like Einstein to me, although, to be fair, the only Einstein … Continue reading ‘Is the universe friendly?’Depends on who you ask, but not exactly: Einstein on his (and Spinoza’s) God, science and religion
Praying to Einstein’s God (or Spinoza’s)? Dominican discernment journal (2 of _)
Raphael, 'Ezekiel's Vision,' 1518 (Wikimedia Commons). Second of (__) journals based on my answers raised by questions sent to Dominican Associates in advance f an Aug. 24 retreat at the motherhouse in Springfield. See HERE for more info in the first journal. Today's questions, on our Relationship with God, ask: “Who is God for you … Continue reading Praying to Einstein’s God (or Spinoza’s)? Dominican discernment journal (2 of _)
‘How Firm a Foundation’: Reading the lectio divina with a shape-note folk hymn when a hard rain’s about to fall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnQDqufENb0 Sacred Harp singers, Bethlehem Primitive Baptist Church, Old Chicora, Fla., 2018. According to longstanding custom in the shape-note singing community, the annual Illinois Sacred Harp Convention is held the Saturday before the third Sunday of September. In 2001 that came out to Sept. 15 -- the Saturday after the World Trade Center was destroyed … Continue reading ‘How Firm a Foundation’: Reading the lectio divina with a shape-note folk hymn when a hard rain’s about to fall
Trying Ignatian contemplation with Abraham at the sacred oak of Moreh and the radiology lab at SUI Med school
God Appears to Abraham at Sichem, Paulus Potter, 1625-54 (Wikimedia Commons) Genesis 12 (NRSVE) When they had come to the land of Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak[b] of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will … Continue reading Trying Ignatian contemplation with Abraham at the sacred oak of Moreh and the radiology lab at SUI Med school
Back to the 1980s: Getting a biopsy during a hospital cyberattack with a little help from a Jesuit exercise and a Jewish novelist
As soon as I checked in at the registration desk in the main lobby at HSHS St. John's, I knew this hospital visit was going to be different. Normally when I check in at a doctor’s office, I give my name, the receptionist calls up my file and I give my date of birth or … Continue reading Back to the 1980s: Getting a biopsy during a hospital cyberattack with a little help from a Jesuit exercise and a Jewish novelist
‘I believe, help my unbelief’: Of Pascal’s wager, prayer, empirical evidence and a New Testament miracle
Window, Loughrea St. Brendan's Cathedral, Ireland (Wikimedia) Mark 9 (NRSV). Jesus[f] asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 It has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you are able to do anything, help us! Have compassion on us!” 23 Jesus said to … Continue reading ‘I believe, help my unbelief’: Of Pascal’s wager, prayer, empirical evidence and a New Testament miracle
Richard Rohr, birdbath spirituality, praying to a personal God and growing up with St. Francis in a TVA town
St. Francis preaches to the birds, by Antonio Carnicero, ca. 1789 (Wikimedia Commons) While I was in chemotherapy, I didn't do much writing, but I did read a lot of theology. That's one thing you can still do when you feel lousy. In the process, I discovered a Franciscan intellectual tradition I'd only been dimly … Continue reading Richard Rohr, birdbath spirituality, praying to a personal God and growing up with St. Francis in a TVA town
‘Are you there, God? It’s me …’: My prayer life at 80 and the 11-year-old title character in a Judy Blume novel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzRzojHC3iE&t=51s One thing about living with cancer -- and cancer treatment -- for several months now, it's jump-started my prayer life. But not in the way I might have expected. For several years now, I've been meeting with a spiritual director, and I've read up on practices like lectio divina and Ignatian contemplation. Instead, I'm … Continue reading ‘Are you there, God? It’s me …’: My prayer life at 80 and the 11-year-old title character in a Judy Blume novel
‘I will arise and go to Jesus’: Seeking a personal God for a dark February twilight of the soul in Ilia Delio’s christology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0vo43hu_HQ Virtual Choir, FAPCinNYC, Sept. 27, 2020 There's an image in Gary Snyder's "How Poetry Comes to Me" that I like very much. He compares poetry, the creative impulse, to a wild animal that comes up to his campfire, but stays just out of range at the edge of the darkness. So, says the poet, … Continue reading ‘I will arise and go to Jesus’: Seeking a personal God for a dark February twilight of the soul in Ilia Delio’s christology
Praying for trust, acceptance and other graces in the emergency room, ‘singing softly … like the south wind blows’
Longleaf pines, Weymouth Woods, N.C. (CC 2.0 license, Wikipedia Commons) Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully -- Samuel Johnson (Goodreads). Welp, I don't plan on being hanged in two weeks' time, but a worrisome CT scan and a midnight trip … Continue reading Praying for trust, acceptance and other graces in the emergency room, ‘singing softly … like the south wind blows’
Spiritual direction, August 2022
Editor’s note. Lightly edited copy of an email I sent to my spiritual director in advance of our monthly meeting for August. I email her every month, mostly to focus my mind before we meet, and I archive them here so I have a record of issues I’ve dealt with over time. Being able to consult them … Continue reading Spiritual direction, August 2022
Reflecting on Ezekiel’s vision of God (and Cyndi Lauper’s) prompted by an email newsletter from America magazine
... by an author from whom I have a lot more to learn Raphael, 'Ezekiel's Vision,' c. 1518 (Wikimedia Commons) A reflection from America magazine landed in my inbox this morning (Mon, Aug 8, 6:33 AM, to be exact) that was thought-provoking, gave me a couple of new images of God and introduced me to … Continue reading Reflecting on Ezekiel’s vision of God (and Cyndi Lauper’s) prompted by an email newsletter from America magazine
‘What am I doing for Christ?’: An Ignatian triple colloquy F2F with Jesus via Zoom
Third in an occasional series of Ignatian colloquies ... Christ Pantocrator, Haiga Sophia, Istanbul, ca. 1080-1100 (Wikimedia Commons) Editor's (admin's) note. One of a series of posts in which I journal my attempts to incorporate Jesuit imaginative prayer exercises into my own prayer life. In today's, I try what is often known as the triple … Continue reading ‘What am I doing for Christ?’: An Ignatian triple colloquy F2F with Jesus via Zoom
Praying St. Ignatius’ colloquy with a story from the Talmud about Hillel the Elder and a corny Latin pun by Martin Luther
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APMu32sC2nM There Is No White Jesus | Famalam | BBC Three | April 12, 2017 Editor's (admin's) note. Second of two posts in which I try to imagine an Ignatian Colloquy, a one-on-one conversation with Jesus, on a series of Zoom calls. It's a prayer technique adapted from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. I’ve … Continue reading Praying St. Ignatius’ colloquy with a story from the Talmud about Hillel the Elder and a corny Latin pun by Martin Luther
Learning to pray from George Burns and a young adult novel by Judy Blume
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x0i-FfeA44 I know how hard it is in these times to have faith. But maybe if you could have the faith to start with, maybe the times would change. You could change them. Think about it. Try. And try not to hurt each other. There's been enough of that. It really gets in the way. … Continue reading Learning to pray from George Burns and a young adult novel by Judy Blume
Imagining a F2F colloquy with Jesus in a Zoom call: Talking back to the still, small voice of the triune God
An Ignatian colloquy for Trinity 2020 -- 1 of ___ Images of Jesus by Dutch graphic designer Bas Uterwijk, 20 Minutes, July 2, 2020 So I'm trying to practice a new prayer technique adapted from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, and I'm stuck. It's called the Ignatian Colloquy, and it involves imagining yourself … Continue reading Imagining a F2F colloquy with Jesus in a Zoom call: Talking back to the still, small voice of the triune God
Spiritual direction, March 2022
d r a f t Editor’s (admin’s) note: Lightly edited copy of email I wrote in advance of this month’s appointment with my spiritual director, giving her a heads-up on what I’d been journaling on since our last meeting and, more to the point, helping me focus over time by archiving the emails with my journals … Continue reading Spiritual direction, March 2022
How a Zoom class on the 2nd (or 3rd) commandment, Luther’s catechism and a Latin pun suggest a God I can pray to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WppMKwpXsQs Trailer for the Rev. Adam Hamilton's curriculum, "Words of Life" The last couple of weeks, I've been doing something I never thought I would ever do -- I'm teaching a Sunday school class. In more exact terms, Debi and I are co-facilitating an adult faith formation class on the 10 Commandments over Zoom. It's … Continue reading How a Zoom class on the 2nd (or 3rd) commandment, Luther’s catechism and a Latin pun suggest a God I can pray to
Praying for good courage in a hospital emergency room … and quiet confidence while sweating out a scary diagnosis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phngTmv7IW4 From "Mountain Vespers" service for Holden Village by Dr. Kent Gustavson Many of us pray best in church, or in the resonant silence of an empty cathedral. Others pray at home, relying on candles, music or other aids to help ease them into a prayerful attitude. Me? It seems like I pray best in … Continue reading Praying for good courage in a hospital emergency room … and quiet confidence while sweating out a scary diagnosis
Connecting the dots between a gospel reading from Mark, the historical Jesus, St. Francis and monarch butterfly eggs
Brother Caterpillar and Sister Milkweed (photo Debi Edumnd Ellertsen). Mark 7 [NRSV]. Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. 3 (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless … Continue reading Connecting the dots between a gospel reading from Mark, the historical Jesus, St. Francis and monarch butterfly eggs
Yiddish author’s prayer jotted down on scrap paper brings joy — and a call to do better — in dark, divisive times
Memorial to Bashevis Singer in Biłgoraj, Poland (Wikipedia, Creative Commons) Discovered while I was looking for something else: A remarkable prayer by Nobel Prize-winning Jewish-American author Isaac Bashevis Singer. I was reading coverage of the struggle to form a new governing majority in Israel's parliament, and I was pulled right in by a headline that said … Continue reading Yiddish author’s prayer jotted down on scrap paper brings joy — and a call to do better — in dark, divisive times
God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lx-iI-kFDA St. Patrick's Breastplate, Church of the Redeemer, Kenmore, Wash. John 3:1-17 (NRSV). 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being … Continue reading God’s presence in an 11th-century Irish poem and a gust of wind on a nice spring afternoon — for Trinity Sunday
Next year in Jersusalem? Keeping the faith in a time of pandemic, absence and exile
Everydayness in Jerusalem -- stray cat surveys his domain in the Old City. A couple of days ago we brought several weeks' worth of magazines in from the garage, where we quarantine our incoming mail. So I've been binge-reading the Christian Century, and an article from the Oct. 7 issue reached out and grabbed me. … Continue reading Next year in Jersusalem? Keeping the faith in a time of pandemic, absence and exile
Serendipity
"There are people walking so softly ahead of us we don't even perceive them." - Mike Anderson, singer-songwriter and storyteller of Jacksonville, Ill. OK, let's get something established right off the bat: This post isn't going to be about little miracles, divine Providence or God's intervention in my daily life. To the extent I even … Continue reading Serendipity
Ordinary Time 