Blog
I write about spirituality, spiritual direction and everyday places where I find God.Has Resurrection Been Put On Hold ?
With churches closed and life on hold due to COVID-19, is resurrection also on hold?
Where God Is Reliably Found
Ignatian Spirituality tells us that God can be found in all things, even outside your window.
Chopped-Down Trees and Lent
I get attached to trees, so when two HOAs (my own and one nearby) decided that "dangerous" trees should be chopped down, I was horrified. Supposedly the two tall pines in a common area of my neighborhood had a problem with their root system that would make it easy for...
My Jesuit Prayer Reflections
Five writing samples from my Jesuit Prayer.org reflections from summer 2018.
Let the Water Flow
It was the Sixth Sunday of Easter, and I hadn’t caught a single drop of water during the sprinkling rite that occurs near the beginning of Mass. As each Sunday passed and the water missed me, I recalled a reflection I’d read in which a little girl loudly complains to her grandmother: “I didn’t get any water!”
Finding and Savoring Small Joys
In this season of Christmas preparation, it is hard to stop and be in the moment. One way to do this is to deliberately look for small joys. My favorite Jesuit author, Fr. James Martin, says that happiness fades but joy does not.
Welcome Advent!
By now you’re either in the Advent spirit of welcome and waiting, or you’ve skipped ahead to the Christmas spirit with its hustly-bustly feeling of overwhelm—too much to do and never enough time to do it.
Meet the Enneagram
Last week an article I wrote about the Enneagram was published on The Change Blog. It didn’t seem to generate much buzz, and I was disappointed.
Then I realized that the Enneagram isn’t exactly a household word. In fact, when I bring it up in conversation, most people say, “The what?” After I explain a bit, they usually ask, “And how do you spell that?”
The Person God Intended Me to Be
“Humility consists in being precisely the person you actually are before God, and since no two people are alike, if you have the humility to be yourself you will not be like anyone else in the whole universe. ” ~Thomas Merton
We often want to be someone other than we’re not. Or we compare ourselves to others and come up short.
Happy Birthday, Thomas Merton
Today is the 101st birthday of Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk and author of more than 70 books and 2,000 poems. Merton also kept a personal diary that spanned much of his lifetime, and seven of his journals were published posthumously.
Honoring Care of Creation Day
Pope Francis has designated September 1 as a World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, following the release of his encyclical this summer, Laudato Si (Praise Be to You). In this document, the Pope urges all of us to take urgent action to care for and save God’s creation.
Signs and Wonders Are Everywhere
Spiritual direction can help you see what’s right in front of you. I wrote this poem-prayer after a walk through my neighborhood. You don’t have to walk far to see Divine signs.
Green Cars, Yellow Butterflies and God
One of the first exercises of E Squared by Pam Stout is to notice green cars and yellow butterflies. This exercise is supposed to make you aware that you see what you look for.