Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Contemplative

2018-12-11T15:41:28-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Walking in Wonder: This Book of Conversations with John O’Donohue is Everything You Hope It Would Be

Last updated on: December 11, 2018 at 3:41 pm By Carl "Skye" McColman

“So the spiritual life is about the liberation of God from our images of him,” said John O’Donohue. This is just one of the many nuggets of wisdom that await you when you read this wonderful new anthology of interviews with the late Irish poet and mystic John O’Donohue. Walking in Wonder: Eternal Wisdom for a Modern World is a new book featuring transcripts of interviews with O’Donohue, a best-selling author and Catholic-priest-turned-avatar-of-Irish-spirituality. On a number of occasions between 1997... Read more

2018-12-11T16:18:55-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Christianity is a Myth — and I say that as a faithful Catholic

Last updated on: December 11, 2018 at 4:18 pm By Carl "Skye" McColman

I lost a follower on Facebook today. I’m sure it happens all the time, but this time was unusual, in that the person announced that she was leaving. What triggered this was a quote I posted from the Benedictine monk, Fr. Bede Griffiths: I got this reply from a (soon to be former) follower: Catholic doctrine is only a myth?? I had met this person, years ago, out at the monastery; I knew her faith was important to her and... Read more

2018-12-05T13:11:32-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Are Art and Mysticism Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Last updated on: December 5, 2018 at 1:11 pm By Carl "Skye" McColman

I’ve been thinking about the relationship between contemplation and creativity. This is inspired in part by the many contemplatives who are also artists. We see this in the past — think of William Blake, or Johann Sebastian Bach, or of course poets like John of the Cross and Thomas Merton. It often seems that a contemplative personality or philosophy goes hand in hand with a gift for one more forms of creative expression. Evelyn Underhill certainly understood this. She writes... Read more

2018-12-11T01:17:15-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

An Ocean of Light — Martin Laird’s Must-Read New Book on Contemplation

Last updated on: December 11, 2018 at 1:17 am By Carl "Skye" McColman

Rejoice, my friends. The author who is arguably our most eloquent and learned living authority on Christian contemplation — at least in the western church — has released a new book. And it’s a gem. Martin Laird’s An Ocean of Light: Contemplation, Transformation and Liberation combines the author’s lyrical, accessible writing, along with his scholarly knowledge of the Christian contemplative tradition and astute insight into the dynamics of contemplative practice today. If you’re familiar with his previous books on contemplation,... Read more

2018-11-27T13:02:50-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Seven Contemplative Artists/Creators Who Deserve Your Support via Patreon

Last updated on: November 27, 2018 at 1:02 pm By Carl "Skye" McColman

Like many bloggers and other creatives, I rely on Patreon to fund my blog. Patreon is a crowdfunding website which allows people to support artists and other creatives whose work they love. But since today is “Giving Tuesday,” I’d like to talk about some other creators on Patreon who I think you might want to support. Since I’ve been on Patreon, I’ve connected with a number of other creators who, in some form or fashion, are doing contemplative work. Most of them... Read more

2020-02-22T14:40:42-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Three Wonderful Julian of Norwich Books

Last updated on: February 22, 2020 at 2:40 pm By Carl "Skye" McColman

I’m not sure why the fall of 2013 belonged to Julian of Norwich (except to the extent that any time is a good time for reading and reflecting on Julian’s wisdom). What I do know is that three wonderful books about Julian were published that fall. If you’re already a Julian nut (yes, that’s a pun) like me, rejoice, for these are all worthy books to add to your library. If you have not yet discovered Julian — the medieval... Read more

2018-12-21T08:00:02-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Devotional Reading for the Three Celtic Lents

Last updated on: December 21, 2018 at 8:00 am By Carl "Skye" McColman

Previously I have written about how, in ancient times, Celtic monks observed three “Lents” — which is to say, three forty-day periods of fasting, prayer, and sacrifice, in preparation for three sacred moments in the year: The actual season of Lent (forty days prior to Easter) A summertime “Lent” (forty days prior to the Feast of the Transfiguration) A forty-day period of Advent (prior to Christmas). I love the spirit of the three Lents, because, all told, it means that... Read more

Books

2018-11-15T10:34:46-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

If Mystical Christianity is Shamanistic, then the Divine Office is the Drum

Last updated on: November 15, 2018 at 10:34 am By Carl "Skye" McColman

For years, I have thought that one of the best ways to understand Christian spirituality is by the study of shamanistic forms of spirituality and religion, typically found among indigenous cultures the world over. Wikipedia defines shamanism as “reaching altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with what [shamans] believe to be a spirit world and channel these transcendental energies into this world.” Altered states of consciousness? From Jesus’s transfiguration to Paul’s vision of the “third heaven”... Read more

2018-12-08T23:13:05-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

God is Love — and Love is a Story

Last updated on: December 8, 2018 at 11:13 pm By Carl "Skye" McColman

If the 1959 plane crash which claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens marked “the day the music died” — as Don McLean put it — then I think we could make a case for November 12, 2018 being the day the stories died. For this was the day we lost Stan Lee. Lee — the chief storyteller behind legendary comic book superheroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther... Read more

2018-10-31T21:39:09-04:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Day of a Stranger: Forthcoming Movie Reveals a Hidden Side of Thomas Merton

Last updated on: October 31, 2018 at 9:39 pm By Carl "Skye" McColman

Here’s a trailer for a forthcoming short film about Thomas Merton and the hermitage he lived in at the end of his life. Take a few moments and watch this. It’s a treat. And be sure to watch it to the end. “Most human speech is devised to evade being, and simply to keep on a stream of sound and noise and apparent meanings.” — Thomas Merton Like most indie films, the producer and director of this film are relying... Read more

Art

movies

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the Roman emperor during Jesus’ birth?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Herod Nero Tiberius Caesar Augustus

Support this
Column

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism Announcements Art Books Catholicism Celtic Christianity Christian mysticism Christianity Contemplation Current events Etc. Family humor interfaith dialogue Interfaith Wisdom Interspirituality Lay Cistercians Living the Faith Meditation movies Mysticism Mystics nature Poetry Reviews Scripture silence Spirituality Uncategorized Writing

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

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Contemplative