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October 2018

October 02, 2018

How To Know When to Speak (and When to Be Silent)

Recently I posted this on Facebook: In response, a reader made this comment: Carl, it...

September 2018

September 29, 2018

Two Questions on the Practice of Silent Prayer

A reader of this blog wrote to me about the practice of silent prayer. He...

September 25, 2018

Is Mystical Experience the Antidote to Nihilism?

In response to my previous post from last October, Why Experience Is Not the Foundation of...

September 12, 2018

C. S. Lewis in the Digital Age: An Amazing Collection of Books from Verbum

Did you know that one of the most popular authors in Catholic bookstores is a...

September 11, 2018

God In The Balance: More Thoughts About Mary and Martha

Today's post is by a guest author, Dr. David Rensberger, author of Johannine Faith and Liberating...

September 08, 2018

Contemplation and Ecstatic Experience

A reader named Kevin wrote and asked me: What's your view on the phenomenon of...

September 05, 2018

Contemplating the Sacred Word

A reader wrote this message to me recently: Carl, I just recently started centering prayer...

August 2018

August 30, 2018

Get Started On Your Journey Into Celtic Wisdom

This fall my new book, An Invitation to Celtic Wisdom, will be published. You can pre-order...

August 27, 2018

Between Shambhala and the Catholic Church: On Being a Contemplative in Imperfect Institutions

I sure know how to pick them (he says, ruefully). The two organizations that I...

August 24, 2018

Getting to Know A Dangerous Mystic

Meister Eckhart is one of the most renowned of Christian mystics: a medieval philosopher who...

August 22, 2018

What’s The Point Behind Mary and Martha?

When I lead retreats, I often offer up a disclaimer: I am not an academic...

August 17, 2018

Three Forthcoming Books On Silence You Won’t Want to Miss

Over the next six months at least three noteworthy books on one of my favorite...

August 14, 2018

Four Keys to a Contemplative Life (Courtesy of Psalm 37)

For years now I have loved Psalm 37, for it includes one of my favorite...

August 11, 2018

The Contemplative Charism of the Humble Haiku (Anam Ċara in Verse, Part II)

N.B. Today’s guest post is by Judith Valente, poet, Benedictine oblate, and author of How to...

August 08, 2018

Two Complementary Guides to Mystical Devotion

Prayer and meditation — at least for people who believe in God, they go together...

August 05, 2018

Discerning the Difference Between Healthy Self-Esteem and Toxic Selfishness

In response to my article The Self, Self-Esteem, and Dying to Self, one reader posted...

August 02, 2018

What To Do When Mystics Feel Like Misfits

In response to my recent article Why Are Mystics So... Weird?!?, one reader posted this comment

July 2018

July 28, 2018

A Miscellaneous List of Books I Like (And Recommend)

I love booklists. I find browsing someone's list of recommended titles is a great way...

July 26, 2018

God Listens… Within You

Today's guest post is by Mark S. Burrows, translator of Rilke's Prayers of a Young...

July 25, 2018

The Self, Self-Esteem, and Dying to Self: Contemplative Spirituality and the Ego

A reader of this blog named John wrote to me a while back and asked...

July 23, 2018

Give Love, Receive the Kingdom: A New Treat for Lovers of English Spirituality

If you love the spirituality of the English people, a new treat awaits you, courtesy...

July 19, 2018

Saying Yes to “Prayer Without Ceasing”

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Saint Paul throws down the spiritual gauntlet. He instructs his readers...

July 16, 2018

Sarah Coakley on Thomas Merton: The Climate of Monastic Prayer

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the last book Thomas Merton completed before his death,...

July 14, 2018

Why Are the Mystics So… Weird?!?

One thing I love about the mystics is just how weird they are. Obviously, there are...

July 11, 2018

What’s in a (Sacred) Story? Meditating on the Mysteries of Your Faith

To be a mystic is to be the explorer of both Divine and human mysteries...

July 05, 2018

The Slowing: On the Contemplative Gift of Poetry

Today's guest post is by Mark S. Burrows, translator of Rilke's Prayers of a Young...

July 02, 2018

Mr. Rogers, American Animals, and Being Special: A Contemplative Perspective on Three Current Films

A few months ago my wife and I jumped on the MoviePass bandwagon. We don't...

June 2018

June 28, 2018

Why Finding God In All Things Leads to Fullness of Joy

One of the my favorite Christian writers is a woman who lived in fourteenth century...

June 25, 2018

Prayer of the Heart is the Heart of Prayer

Scripture very bluntly tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory...

June 22, 2018

Anam Ċara in Verse: How Poetry Is a Soul Friend

N.B. Today's guest post is by Judith Valente, poet, Benedictine oblate, and author of How to...