Jan Brueghel the Elder and Pieter Paul Rubens, Fall of Adam and Eve (Wikipedia) When God closes a door, as an old saying down South has it, God leaves a window cracked open somewhere. We may have to exercise a little creativity to find it, but there's always another opening. Another old saying, one I … Continue reading Stray thoughts on original sin, Franciscan spirituality and a painting of the Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel the Elder
A spiritual mutt discovers Franciscan spirituality in a time of apocalypse, learns he knew at least some of it all along
Click here https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/2021/ for directory. Last week I signed up for Richard Rohr's daily meditations. I figured a brief daily exercise might lend a little discipline to my spiritual routine (or lack thereof) in these days of lingering pandemic, self-quarantine and isolation. I've read his stuff before, and it liked it. So I haven't been … Continue reading A spiritual mutt discovers Franciscan spirituality in a time of apocalypse, learns he knew at least some of it all along
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
Was Luther a mystic? It all depends …
... on (a) who you ask; and (b) what you mean by "mystic." "Mystic" has always been one of those words I've been suspicious of. It sounds New Age-y to me, or it reminds me of those desert monks who used to sit on top of a pole for years. I wasn't quite certain what … Continue reading Was Luther a mystic? It all depends …
‘Sometimes a little writer’s block can be a good thing’ — spiritual formation, August-September
Email sent this afternoon to my spiritual director and and copied here so I don't forget what I said or, worse, lose it in my increasingly cluttered "sent" queue. After asking to reschedule our appointment, I wrote: ... I didn't have much to show you anyway. I've been doing more reading than writing the last … Continue reading ‘Sometimes a little writer’s block can be a good thing’ — spiritual formation, August-September
Ordinary Time 