October 2020: Rhythms of Reflective Living
Charles Dickens observed in his Tale of Two Cities the oft repeated truth that this is the best of times and the worst of times. The worst is obvious. In our world we witness a lack of morality, the diminishment of cherished values, corruption and dishonesty in all walks of society. Why have we forgotten what we
September 2020: Six Rules for Formative Reading
Asked to recount what we remember about our favorite teachers, we often recall reasons why their demeanor made a lasting impression on us. They may not have been the most brilliant woman or cleverest man, but they taught lessons from their heart; they related to their students on a human level, inspiring them to pursue excellence and
August 2020: Becoming Little Words in the Divine Word
Being attentive to every epiphany of the mystery in our own and others’ lives enables us to see ourselves in a new way—not as cogs in the machine of an impersonal cosmos but as little words in the Divine Word. This sign of epiphanic living helps us to remember who we most deeply are, however often we
July 2020: Habitats of Holiness
Once, at the start of a family picnic, when my then five-year-old niece seemed to have disappeared from the yard, I asked my brother to give me a minute to find her. I believed she might have gone to her “secret place.” I had the privilege of having its location divulged to me, her “favorite aunt.” There
June 2020: Two Ways of Knowing God
In the two-thousand-year treasury of spiritual literature, we find two main streams that point us to different yet complementary ways of knowing and loving God. The first is cataphatic or the way of affirmation of what we can see and know of God through our senses and reason, aided by faith. This is the via positiva represented
May 2020: Spirit of Fire and Light
The Holy Spirit, our “Advocate” (Jn 14:26), is the Director of all directors, who guides our life’s formation as a whole. The Spirit breathes courage in us when we feel powerless; bestows peace on us when we feel afflicted; and restores hope when we are beset by doubt and despair. When we cannot pray as we ought,