The Communion of Saints Who Watch Over Me As I Write
Today’s post is just for fun! This morning on Facebook my cousin Danny, up in Manhattan, made a comment about the beautiful icon of the Holy Cross, writte...
Tag: Prayer
How Does Contemplative Practice Benefit Us — And the Communities We Are Part Of?
In response to an old blog post of mine, Between Shambhala and the Catholic Church, one reader tweeted the following: These questions are too big for twitter, b...
Called to the Prayer of Listening to Christ
God saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time b...
Contemplation and Vocal Prayer: For a Balanced Spiritual “Diet,” Cultivate Both
A reader of the blog wrote to me with this question: We had an opportunity last night to attend a presentation on prayer & spiritual warfare. I’m now contem...
Seven Mystical Affirmations
Currently I’m reading two classic self-help books, both for my personal edification and as research for a project I’m working on. The books are Juli...
Less than 12% of the Catholic Catechism is devoted to spirituality. That, in a nutshell, is what’s wrong with the church today.
Over the years I have discovered that there are three types of people interested in Christian mysticism and contemplative spirituality: Some are practicing Chri...
Pray Without Ceasing: An Introduction to Christian Contemplation and Mystical Spirituality
Could your new year’s resolution be, “This year I want to grow spiritually?” If so, this course — meeting six Thursday evenings from January 30 to March 5 — cou...
Silent Prayer Every Day: How Much Do We Need?
A reader writes, I just finished reading the article about having everything you need for Divine union. I want to share it with my Carmelite spirituality group....
The Difference Between Meditation and Contemplation
A reader of my blog writes: As someone new and aspiring to find a more contemplative lifestyle, I’m curious of one thing. Is there a critical difference b...
The Point Behind “Be Still and Know”
One of the most popular verses in the Bible is Psalm 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.” You can go into a Christian gift shop and find paperweights, wall...
Spirituality and Technology: How Can New Ways of Communicating and Learning Support Our Ancient Practices of Prayer?
A few months ago I wrote about smartphone apps that are designed to support a daily prayer practice. Most of the people who gave me feedback on the post express...
Persevering Through the Dry Times of Prayer
In response to a post I wrote last year — “What to Do When Prayer Gets Dull” — a reader recently left this comment on Facebook: Carl, I think it wou...
The Easy Way to Pray the Liturgy of the Hours
I believe that anyone who is serious about embracing the Christian contemplative path needs some form of sustainable daily prayer. For most of Christian history...
The Heart Symphony: Another Perspective on a Contemplative Prayer Word
In response to my post Can Christians Use a (Non-Christian) Mantra?, a reader posted this comment on social media: As opposed to being an instrument of thought,...
Contemplation and Ecstatic Experience
A reader named Kevin wrote and asked me: What’s your view on the phenomenon of spiritual ecstasy? I used to think, before I experienced it, that it was a...