Mar 3
If you are near — or can get to — the stunning Bon Secours Retreat & Conference Center in Marriottsville, Maryland, I’ve got a weekend retreat to kick off your summer. I’ll be presenting “Broken, Beautiful, and Beloved: Learning to See Ourselves through God’s Eyes,” from Friday, June 25, at 3 p.m. through Sunday, June 27, at 1 p.m.
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Registration is now open for the third-annual Stillpoint retreat at Pyramid Life Center to be held Friday, Sept. 10, through Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. Spots are filling up fast, so don’t wait to hold your space for this retreat that will allow you find calm amid life’s chaos, spend time in silence, build community, eat great food with great people, laugh (a lot), kayak, practice yoga, hike, pray, and just be.
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We started out on this revolution-not-resolution journey of inner transformation at the beginning of the new year. The plan was to bring some new habits into our lives — things that might foster peace, balance, and a sense of gratitude despite the craziness of the world around us. I can tell you that, for me, it was definitely a dance of moving forward a little bit, slipping back now and then, and standing still more than I would have liked. And that’s okay. After all these years of trying to make spiritual “progress,” I know this is par for the course, and I’ve come to accept the slowness of this work. This is not the kind of thing that can be rushed.
Read moreFlannery O’Connor, the American Catholic southern gothic writer, once said, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”
That line has always resonated with me, but never more so than when I sit down to write reflections on Scripture readings, verses that can feel so familiar there seems nothing new to uncover. My latest book of reflections, Not by Bread Alone 2021: Daily Reflections for Lent (Liturgical Press), is my third book of Lenten meditations and prayers, and so the challenge is real — but realer still is the truth that lives within Scripture. Old passages can speak new hope to us at any particular moment of our lives if we are willing to open ourselves up to the work and words of the Spirit. Even the familiarity of Lent itself can turn a season of growth into a rote spiritual exercise if we are not prepared to be surprised by God, sometimes in uncomfortable ways.
Read moreThe column originally ran on Huffington Post in 2015, but it’s a favorite so here it is one more time, just in time:
Lent is one of those seasons that always begins with the best of intentions and rapidly goes downhill, at least that’s how it usually plays out for me. I plan to pray more, eat less, and find creative ways to make my favorite time in the Church year more meaningful. Unfortunately, the ashes hardly have time to settle into the wrinkles on my forehead before I’m feeling like I’ve already failed.
Read moreThese days — especially in the time of COVID — throat blessings are hard to come by. No, make that near impossible. It’s just not that common anymore, even in the best of times. Years ago, I took it upon myself to do the blessings. And, yes, that’s allowed. The first time I blessed throats for my class of fourth-grade faith formation students, they looked at me in fear and asked if I was going to light those candles before holding them up to their throats. Ah, how sad that these kids don’t know some of the more interesting traditions of our faith. But once I told them about St. Blaise, a bishop and martyr who is said to have healed a boy who was choking on a fish bone, they were all in, and eagerly so.
Read moreOkay, so we skipped Week 4 here on the blog. I have to apologize. I was not taking my own advice and was allowing myself to sink into a bit of darkness and poor-me thinking. I couldn’t motivate myself to write or meditate or even do my personal yoga practice. None of that wallowing did me a bit of good, but you know how it is sometimes.
I think it’s important to share that with you if only to remind you that it’s okay if you stray off the path or pull into a rest stop for a few days. When you’re ready, dust yourself off and begin again. The only thing you should try to continue to do no matter what else is going on is your gratitude journal. But always, always continue to be kind and gentle with yourself no matter how this journey is going for you.
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Today is the 13th anniversary of this blog. I launched it back in 2008 on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of writers, not really knowing what would happen. Back then, I was able to be here daily, sometimes multiple times per day, a luxury I no longer have. I miss being here with you regularly and I do continually hope that I can increase my presence in the future, but I want to thank all of you who continue to visit. Thank you for being patient, for staying with me, and for lifting me up with your comments and emails when I do get around to posting something here.
Read moreAsh Wednesday is only four weeks away. I know if feels like we just got through Christmas, but, trust me, Lent will be here before you know it, and wouldn’t it be nice to have a companion to guide you through the desert, especially when getting to church these days is difficult if not impossible due to COVID? I have just the thing for you. My latest book of Scripture reflections, Not By Bread Alone 2021: Daily Reflections for Lent.
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How are we doing, gang? We are moving into week three already. Can you believe it? How is your 2021 so far? It definitely seems like it’s going to give 2020 a run for its money, so now more than ever we need to recommit to our revolution-not-resolution journey of inner transformation. We can’t control what’s going on out there, but we can control at least some of what’s going on in here (pointing to my heart right now).
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Writer, retreat leader, yoga teacher, seeker. Director of communications for the Diocese of Albany and author of six books on Catholic spirituality and four books of spiritual reflections. Read more
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