Archive: February, 2015

0

Call To Service

God’s transforming Word opens our ears to hear God and also opens our eyes to see our neighbors.  When our ears are opened, we can hear the cry of God’s people in need and when our eyes are opened we see more clearly the needs of those around us.  The Lenten journey is a call […]

picture
0

The Touch of Prayer

Some of us have overactive minds and it becomes difficult to stay focused in prayer.  For those who have this challenge, it is sometimes helpful to be touching an object in order to have a tactile connection that brings the prayer into focus.  It is like using a centering word, except you are touching something […]

picture
0

Meditation and Contemplative Prayer

Meditation and contemplation flow from the reading of God’s Word.  The reading of God’s Word is a “lectio divina]” or sacred reading.  After reading, one is invited to meditate or reflect upon the text, with specific application to the context of one’s life.  This is not Bible study.  Bible study is for a different time.  […]

picture
0

Authenticity as Dying, Rising and Conversion

In Benedictine values identified by the St. John’s Benedictine Community of Collegeville, MN,  the concept of truthful living is summarized in this way: We foster an environment for deep transformation of the whole person (conversatio). This environment for authenticity in the Christian life is brought forth in the practice of daily confession and absolution.  It […]

picture
0

Setting a Place and Time for Daily Retreat

Having a place and a time for a daily retreat is really helpful in the formation of a discipline and practice.  As an Oblate with the St. John’s Benedictine Community (Collegeville, MN), it is my goal to pray at 7:00 a.m. which is the time the community gathers for Liturgy of Morning Prayer.  I must […]

picture

Recent Items

  • The Loneliness Factor

    I was at a luncheon that was serving as a listening post for seniors to describe their sense of loneliness and isolation. I knew that the population invited to this luncheon was one that would probably have a higher sense of isolation, but, what I heard was much more intense than I expected. A man […]

  • Social Networks and Aging

    It is interesting that research is showing two demographics experiencing social isolation in such as way as to impact health: Young Adults (18-22) and Senior Adults (65+). I have worked with both populations over the past 50 years and I continue to be amazed at the similarity of the questions raised by both groups and […]

  • An Eye-Opening Awareness: One More Transition for this Guy

    I sat at a luncheon two weeks ago that opened my eyes to a reality that I knew was there, but as the discussion unfolded I began to realize how the discussion, about to take place, was going to expand my thinking. As I listened to the needs of the people with whom I shared […]

  • TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE: LETTING GOD SET THE AGENDA

    When it comes to the human condition and a desire to change, we can become easily frustrated: we think that we want to change … but we really don’t. Paul expresses this contradiction well in Romans 7:15-24: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do […]

  • The Crisis of Loneliness

    THE NATIONAL CRISIS CALLED LONELINESS From “LINKED IN” “America is becoming Isolation Nation. Nearly half of respondents to a nationwide survey by health insurer Cigna say they always or sometimes feel alone, and 54% say they feel no one knows them well. Such loneliness is connected to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death. The […]