Wildfires and wars, sickness and suffering of every kind. It can sometimes leave us crying out: “Where are you, God?” The silence can feel deafening at times. ...
We are approaching the mid-point of Advent, which, of course, includes the lighting of the rose-colored candle in our Advent wreath. It’s not just a pretty ...
One of my favorite things about this season of seemingly ever-present physical darkness is the occasional pocket or flash of light. Not just the leftover ...
It's amazing how the soul finds what the soul needs.
When I was on silent retreat last month, I sat in the dining room on our final morning, staring out the ...
Ever since I first came in contact with the writings of Thomas Merton almost 30 years ago, he has spoken to me. I know I'm not alone there. Countless people of ...
Today's Wisdom Wednesday is brought to you by Thomas Merton:
“At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, ...
My May Life Lines column, running in the current issue of Catholic New York:
Back when I was young, my mother would take me over to the chapel at St. Aedan’s ...
Peter never really used to be one of my favorites from Scripture, but the older I get, the more beloved he becomes. He gives me comfort because I identify with ...
"She carries a pearl
In perfect condition
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
"Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly ...
My "Soul Seeing" column, running in the current issue of the National Catholic Reporter:
If you look around my office prayer space or on my bedroom dresser, ...
This is one of those songs that stopped me in my tracks. I happened to have on K-LOVE, when I heard these words sung so sweetly:
You call me out upon the ...
So yesterday's post was pretty heavy, I guess, and I was reflecting on it as I went about my day and thinking about the depths of the darkness. And I realized ...
You will often hear me talk about being in "darkness," and almost always those posts happily wrap up with a light at the end of the tunnel, a glimmer of hope, a ...
I love Advent and Christmas. Really I do. I wear a Santa hat, light the Advent wreath, deck the halls, and drink eggnog like it's going out of style, but ...
Ever since I first came in contact with the writings of Thomas Merton about 28 years ago, he has spoken to me. I know I'm not alone there. Countless people of ...
If any of you were around these parts last year, you may remember that we started our Advent season not with a prayer but with a coin toss. Because that's how ...
Grace can be hard to put your finger on, like trying to grab at fog or hold onto a breeze. I remember even back when I was writing The Complete Idiot's Guide to ...
I had the honor of addressing 50 Catholic prison chaplains on retreat at Notre Dame Retreat House in Canandaigua, N.Y., this week. And while my presentation was ...
All of my regular readers here at NSS know that honesty is the name of the game. I always try to tell you the truth, even when it's not easy or pretty. You've ...
Although I can't respond to every blog response to my "Losing My Religion" and subsequent posts, I do want to include the comment I left over on OSV Daily Take ...