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Contemplative

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--Year-- 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2004 --Month-- December November October September August July June May April March February January

December 2016

December 01, 2016

“You Wrote Books About Paganism?!?”

The late Kenneth Leech used to tell the story about giving a lecture at a...

November 2016

November 23, 2016

Thoughts are to contemplative silence like a monstrance is to the Host

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines contemplation like this: A form of wordless prayer...

October 2016

October 03, 2016

Instructions on Prayer from a Trappist Monk

"I'm speechless," remarked Brother Elias Marechal, OCSO, after a congregation of several hundred young evangelicals vigorously applauded...

September 2016

September 28, 2016

Why I Wrote a Book About Christian Mystics

When Peter Gabriel came to Atlanta in 2003, my wife Fran and I were able...

September 21, 2016

The Flicker of the Screen

For if there is no dark night of the soul anymore that isn’t lit with...

September 14, 2016

Who’s Your Favorite Christian Mystic?

I'm happy to announce that my latest book — Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages...

September 14, 2016

Who’s Your Favorite Mystic? Here’s a Book to Help You Find Out

I'm happy to announce that my latest book — Christian Mystics: 108 Seers, Saints and Sages...

August 2016

August 24, 2016

Know Who You Are: When God Gazes At You, Who Does God See?

In Delphi, in ancient Greece, at a famous pagan temple these words were carved above...

August 20, 2016

Books For Celebrating the Canonization of Mother Teresa

Next month, Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be canonized — the process by which the...

August 17, 2016

Proof that the Contemplative Life is Good For You

Okay, my new hero is Sister Madonna Buder. Here is what Wikipedia has to say...

August 16, 2016

Books for Beginning the Spiritual Journey

Here is a list of several books I recommend for spiritual seekers — especially those...

August 10, 2016

The Mystical Body

How do we embody the contemplative life? And how does the contemplative life make a...

August 04, 2016

Remembering the Three Dimensions of Prayer at Every Mass

Do you know why Catholics make three small crosses with their thumb — on their...

August 03, 2016

Joyful Sanctity

What is the relationship between holiness and joy? A reader named Gordon writes, in response...

July 2016

July 22, 2016

St. Benedict and the Prosperity Gospel

This past Tuesday night my wife and I went with some 19,000 other folks to hear...

July 20, 2016

Spiritual direction, also known as spiritual accompaniment, is an essential ministry for anyone seeking to embrace...

July 14, 2016

The Place of Joy in Christian Spirituality

What is the relationship between prayer and joy? If we enjoy our prayer, does that...

June 2016

June 22, 2016

Reviving an old page from my first blog

Reading books about the spiritual life can be a substitute for actually devoting time each...

June 16, 2016

St. Athanasius on the Nature of Angels

The Life of St Antony of the Desert, written by the fourth century Bishop of...

June 15, 2016

Contemplation and Peace

A Facebook friend shared with me that she has been "thinking about contemplative prayer as a...

June 15, 2016

Remembering (and Praying with) Evelyn Underhill

Today (June 15, 2016) marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the death of Evelyn Underhill, the...

June 09, 2016

Rehabilitating Catholicism?

Rodney Stark is a Protestant historian who teaches at a prominent Baptist university. He's not...

June 08, 2016

What is Contemplation?

What is contemplation? Unfortunately, answering this question is tricky — for contemplation is like some other...

June 08, 2016

Georgia Author of the Year!

This past Saturday evening I received a lovely honor. The Georgia Writers' Association selected me as...

June 01, 2016

Charismatic Mysticism

"Do Gifts of the Spirit, especially those like tongues, have any connection with mysticism? Historically, theologically,...

May 2016

May 31, 2016

Remembering the Monks of Tibhirine

May 31, 2016 marks a grim anniversary in the history of the Cistercian Order. It's been...

May 25, 2016

Mystagogy: the Heart of Spiritual Formation

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults — the Catholic process by which adults enter...

May 18, 2016

Who’s Who Among the Christian Mystics…

My friends, I'm happy to announce my forthcoming book, due in October 2016. Christian Mystics:...

May 18, 2016

Coming in the Fall of 2016

Friends, I'm so excited to announce my forthcoming book, due in October 2016 from Hampton Roads...

May 17, 2016

“We have been given the Holy Spirit”

Jesus returned to Nazareth, the town where he had been brought up. And on the...